• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
go to homepage

Search by
Category
  • Cleaning Blog
  • Automotive
  • Bathroom Appliances and Fixtures
  • Carpets and Rugs
  • Cats
  • Closets and Organization
  • Dogs
  • Electronics
  • Fabrics
  • Floor & Carpet
  • Floors
  • Food
  • Furniture
  • General Housecleaning
  • House
  • Household Appliances and Fixtures
  • Jewelry
  • Kitchen Appliances and Fixtures
  • Kitchen and Bathroom Surfaces
  • Kitchenware
  • Metals
  • Outdoors
  • Other Pets, Animals and Pests
  • People
  • Stain Removal
  • Stuff
  • Surfaces
  • Things You Own
  • Tools and Techniques
  • Walls and Ceilings
  • Windows
  • Everything Else
  • Ask us your cleaning question

go to homepage

How To Clean Stuff.net

Search by
Category
  • Cleaning Blog
  • Automotive
  • Bathroom Appliances and Fixtures
  • Carpets and Rugs
  • Cats
  • Closets and Organization
  • Dogs
  • Electronics
  • Fabrics
  • Floor & Carpet
  • Floors
  • Food
  • Furniture
  • General Housecleaning
  • House
  • Household Appliances and Fixtures
  • Jewelry
  • Kitchen Appliances and Fixtures
  • Kitchen and Bathroom Surfaces
  • Kitchenware
  • Metals
  • Outdoors
  • Other Pets, Animals and Pests
  • People
  • Stain Removal
  • Stuff
  • Surfaces
  • Things You Own
  • Tools and Techniques
  • Walls and Ceilings
  • Windows
  • Everything Else
  • Ask us your cleaning question

Home / Cleaning Guides / Floor & Carpet / Carpets and Rugs / How to Get Chewing Gum out of Carpet

How to Get Chewing Gum out of Carpet

Table of Contents:
  1. Freezing Method
  2. Hair Dryer Method
  3. Method to Remove the Remaining Residue
  4. Additional Tips and Advice

Ugh!Seating-Room How did gum get there? Gum and carpet fibers tend to bond well and seem as though they’ve become friends for life. Here are a few ways to break their connection and rid your carpet of the gooey, sticky nuisance.

Freezing Method

You Will Need:

  • Ice
  • Plastic bag
  • Spoon or dull knife

Steps to Remove the Gum:

  1. Fill a small plastic bag with a few pieces of ice.
  2. Rub the ice over the gum to freeze it hard.
  3. Use the spoon or dull knife to scrape it away. Dispose of the removed gum immediately before it softens and sticks again.
  4. Repeat until the gum is removed.

Hair Dryer Method

You Will Need:

  • Hair dryer
  • Plastic bag
  • Soft cloths

Steps to Remove the Gum:

  1. The exact opposite of the ice method, this method heats the gum to make it pliable so it can be scraped away.
  2. Use the hair dryer to heat the gum. Be careful not to overheat the area or it may burn the carpet fibers.
  3. Once the gum is softened, gently pull it out of the carpet fibers.
  4. It may help to cover your hand with a plastic bag or rubber glove so you can use your fingers to work the gum out of the carpet. Remove as much as possible, then move onto the next method to remove the remaining residue.

Method to Remove the Remaining Residue

You Will Need:

  • Choose one:
    • Peanut Butter
    • WD-40
    • Oil soap (such as those used for cleaning wood)
    • Muscle Pain Reliever (ex: BenGay)
  • Soft cloths
  • Soap
  • Water

Steps to Remove the Gum:

  1. Once you’ve removed a large portion of the gum, you are ready to tackle the residue left behind. This should be minimal.
  2. Apply one of the above items to the remaining gum. Each of these have a lubricating quality that will help release the gum from the carpet fibers.
  3. Apply the chosen product to the remaining gum.
  4. Work it in gently with your fingers.
  5. Blot or pull gently on the fibers with the soft cloth to remove the gum. It may also be helpful to scrape at it with your fingernails.
  6. Once the gum is removed, you will need to clean the area to remove the residue from the cleaning product.
  7. Mix a small amount of soap or dish detergent with warm water.
  8. Blot the area with a soft cloth that has been moistened with the mixture. Continue blotting until the area is clean.
  9. Rinse by blotting with a clean cloth.
  10. Press on the area with a dry cloth to remove any excess water.
  11. Allow the area to dry completely.

Additional Tips and Advice

  • Warm vinegar is another cleaner that can remove gum. After applying it, allow it to set for awhile to give it time to work. Rinse with clean water.
  • There are commercial products designed for removing gum. These are available in the carpet cleaning section in the cleaning aisle and from janitorial stores.
  • If the gum absolutely cannot be removed, you can either try filing it out with a nail file or sandpaper, keeping in mind this will likely remove some of the carpet fibers as well. Another option is to cut out a tiny square from the carpet and get a carpet sample that matches your carpet to cut out a matching tiny square from and put glue the clean square piece into the cutout area.
  • If a stain remains after the reside is removed, treat it as a grease stain using the methods in the article How to Get Grease out of Carpet.

Carpets and Rugs, Cleaning Guides

Was This Guide Helpful?

+41
-8
Rating: 84%. From 49 votes.
Please wait...

Related Posts

  • How to Remove Plastic from Carpet
  • How to Remove Carpet Glue from Carpet Pile
  • How to Remove Chlorophyll from Carpet
  • How to Remove Glue from Carpet
  • How to Disinfect Carpet
  • How to Remove Toner from Carpet

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, conse ctetuer adipiscing elit, sed diam.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit sed diam.


Thank you for subscribing!

Reader Interactions

About the Author

Avatar photo

Mark

Mark is the founder and lead content planner here at HowToCleanStuff.net. He spent 4 years as a professional carpet cleaner followed by a career providing professional cleaning services to businesses and residential homes.

Leave a reply Cancel reply

Helpful comments include feedback on the recipe or changes you made.

show comments +

Comments

  1. Ray says

    October 16, 2007 at 12:12 pm

    Tools needed: dry ice, whist broom, metal blade (putty knife, dinner knife, or screwdriver).

    Remove as much of the excess gum as possible. Freeze the gum for about two (2) minutes, with the dry ice and at the same time, freeze the tip of the metal blade. Break the gum into a powder using the metal blade, brush the residue into a dustpan and discard it. If an additional treatment is needed, repeat the process.

    Reply
  2. Christy says

    October 27, 2007 at 11:28 am

    This tip works for carpet or hair. Use any kind of peanut butter, preferably smooth and not chunky. Rub the peanut butter on the gum. The oil in the peanut butter will dissolve the gum base. Wash with soap and water soon after because peanut butter may leave a spot on carpeting.

    Reply
  3. Cameron says

    August 6, 2009 at 8:05 pm

    Actually, even regular ice cubes can help to make the gum brittle enough to chip off of the carpet fibers.

    I like to use a can of air duster though. It’s easy to obtain, it’s small, and it freezes stuff quickly. This also works better than peanut butter, because there is no oily residue left over that will attract dirt.

    The trick is to ignore the warnings on the can and turn it upside-down. When you press on the cap, instead of releasing compressed air, you will get liquid CO2. Don’t spray it on your hands – you’ll get frostbite.

    Once the gum is frozen, scrape at it with a butter knife. If it starts to soften, spray it again.

    I’ve also used this on various candies stuck in carpet.

    Reply
  4. Bob says

    August 26, 2009 at 6:46 am

    Chewing gum can be removed with peanut butter. This is especially helpful if a child goes to bed and ends up with it in their hair. The gum is dissolved with peanut oil. The oil causes the gum to turn to something like sand. To test, chew some gum and put some peanut butter in your mouth. You’ll wonder where the gum went.

    Reply
  5. Kris says

    January 18, 2010 at 10:53 pm

    I stumbled on De-Solv-it, which can be found in most grocery or home building stores. It is amazing on anything that is gummy. It actually will totally dissolve the gum whether it is in hair or on clothing. Well worth a try.

    Reply
  6. Peter says

    August 23, 2013 at 12:40 pm

    Well done; the WD-40 worked great. Thanks.

    Reply
  7. TW says

    November 10, 2013 at 9:01 pm

    After removing the largest quantity of the stuff, I just used paint thinner and a rag to remove the remains of some I’d tracked onto my carpet. This worked instantly, surprising me how fast it dissolved the thinned remains of the gooey stuff. But show some caution in how much you use, or you’ll be smelling if for quite some time. It might be wise to rinse the area after cleaning with a solution of dish soap just to avoid any possible spotting. I find the paint thinners to be much less stinky than WD-40, which works great too, but I avoid it due to it’s lingering odor.
    Good luck.

    Reply
  8. Judith says

    February 4, 2014 at 6:14 pm

    The gum had been trodden into the carpet. I picked and rolled up what I could, then used bath oil to loosen the remainder. Bath oil dissolves in water so was easy to wash off with a little dishwash liquid. Good result.

    Reply

Primary Sidebar

Featured Guides

How to Clean a Hairbrush

How to Clean a Microwave Oven With ZERO Chemicals

How to Clean Every Dental Retainer

How to Clean your Macbook’s Screen

Join our mailing list.
Be the first to know about new arrivals, sales, and special events.
Thank you for subscribing!

Footer

Browse by Category

  • Automotive
  • Clothing & Fabrics
  • Floors & Carpets
  • Housecleaning
  • Kitchen & Bath
  • Outdoors
  • People & Pets
  • Household Stuff

Contact

  • Ask Us Your Cleaning Questions
  • Contact Form

Follow us on Social Media

Site Information

  • Cookie Policy
  • Guest Post Policy
  • Accessibility Policy
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service
  • XML Sitemap

Copyright © 2023 · HowToCleanStuff.net · All Rights Reserved · Website by Anchored Design