Three Ways to Remove Gum From Your Laundry

Chewing gum.  For adults it is a great breath freshener or a way to keep your mouth busy between meals.  For a child it is a fun treat.  Unfortunately, for parents, it is a laundry nightmare in the making.  Few parents can say that they made it through their child’s entire lifetime without having to try to get gum out of their laundry without resorting to a dry cleaner.  Here is what can be done to make the task simple.

The first thing you should do is to run the part of the fabric with gum on it under hot water.  Using a butter knife, scrape as much of the gum away as possible.  Then scrub the fabric as hard as possible without damaging it before allowing it to dry.

If this doesn’t work, or if you are seeking a different method, you will find that the other extreme temperature may also work.  Freeze the laundry in a plastic bag until the gum is solid.  Then, using a butter knife, remove the frozen gum from the clothing by scraping it.  Remember to work quickly, as once the gum is thawed it will simply start to embed itself further into your laundry.

If any gum remains after using one of these two methods, there is a simple trick to remove the remainder from your laundry.  Turn the clothing inside out, and put a piece of clean cardboard under the gum.  Iron the other side of the fabric over the gum until it has gotten hot enough and has transferred itself to the cardboard.  Remove the cardboard, launder the garment as normal, and pat yourself on the back for your laundry saving skills.