Everyone loves to enjoy chewing gum for various purposes such as jaw exercise, quit smoking or eliminate boredom. Sometimes people throw it carelessly on the carpet which creates an ugly spot on it. The situation can be worse if the sticky gum is not removed immediately. If you find a sticky gum on your carpet, there are some easy ways to remove gum and stain from the carpet. Here are few simple and quick ways for how to remove gum from carpet.
1.How to Remove Gum from Carpet – Freezing the Gum Off
- First of all, you need to freeze the gum using an ice pack. Place few ice cubes in a releasable plastic bag. Now lay it on the top of the gum wad. You can also spray the gum at close range using a computer duster with compressed air. Place a dry ice piece on the gum to quickly freeze the gum.
- When the gum sticks to the carpet and is not so absorbed into the carpet fibers, freezing it can be very handy to remove it from the carpet.
- Make sure that the gun is frozen completely before taking next step.
- Use a metal spatula or butter knife to remove the frozen gum from the carpet.
- Lift the gum off the carpet fibers gently with a scraping motion. Give it some time to crack and break into small fragments. Now remove the gum as much as possible. Use ice on stubborn areas that can’t be removed on the first attempt. Repeat the process if necessary.
- Clean the gum spot to remove the remaining residue. Make a soapy solution using vinegar. Now dip a rag in it and gently rub the gum spot area. Use a thick towel to dry it. Don’t walk in the cleaned area until it dries completely.
2.How to Remove Gum from Carpet with Oils
Before using oils for removing gum, test it on an inconspicuous carpet area. Various oils may bleach or discolor fabrics. Make sure you are not going to create another big stain using oil. It is better to use oils at a hidden location and check the discoloration. Oil helps to reduce the gum stickiness which allows it to remove from the carpet fibers. Here are oils you can use to remove gum from carpet.
- Olive Oil
- Eucalyptus
- Peanut Butter
- You will need to clean the oils from the carpets after removing the gum.
- Use a cloth to apply oil on the gum. Never pour the oil directly on the gum. When you place oil on a clean cloth, it is very easy to control the oil while applying it on a gum spot.
- Use a butter knife to scrape the gum off the carpet in the same direction each time. Don’t forget to remove the gum from the knife blade to avoid gum sticking to the carpet.
- Use Dish Soap and water to clean the area. There may be some residual oils left when you are done the cleaning. Mix a quarter of water with a teaspoon of grease resistant dish soap and then scrub the carpet with a clean cloth dipped in a soapy solution.
3.How to Remove Gum from Carpet Using Other Solvents
- Apply Mineral Spirits, Citrus Based Degreaser or Dry-Cleaning Solvent to the gum. Such solvents have the ability to dissolve the gum polymers making them less sticky and simple to remove from the carpet. Take a clean cloth and directly apply the solvent to the affected area.
- Try to choose a hidden area of the carpet to test the solvent in a small area in order to avoid staining.
- Give solvent some time (5-10 minutes) to absorb well into the gum. The solvents will work their way into the gum polymers during the time and will help to loosen the structure to remove gum from carpet.
- Use a butter knife to remove gum from carpet. Avoid damaging the carpet fibers by scraping motion in the same direction with each pass.
- Make a soap solution from 1 quarter of lukewarm water and 1 tablespoon of mild detergent. Sponge the gum area with the solution. Remove the remaining traces of the solvents with water and soap to finish the cleaning process. Enjoy your gum free carpets by removing gum from carpet using these easy techniques.
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