Accidents happen. Chewing gum in the house usually means that at some point, a wad of the sticky substance will get stuck on a surface where it does not belong, such as your carpet. Don’t panic. There are several ways to get it out. One solution is to soak the affected area with vinegar for five minutes, then rub with a soft cloth until the gum dissolves. This works most of the time. <>
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Another way is to stick a piece of ice on the gum until it freezes, which usually takes about fifteen minutes, then peel it off. This keeps your carpet nice, as you are not putting vinegar or any other chemical into the fabric of your carpet that will need to be rubbed out later. A much quicker way to apply the peeling method is to use a can of compressed air used to clean electronics. There is a solution at the bottom of the can that will make it quite cold if you shake it first. Spray this on the gum and it will freeze instantly. Then peel it or hit it with something hard to break it into pieces. It can then be vacuumed up. There are oily substances such as Goo-Gone that can be used for sticky substances. It eliminates the stickiness from the gum with just a little rubbing. Other home remedies such as peanut butter or vegetable shortening have been known to work, but don’t use too much. You don’t want to stain your carpet. Vegetable or baby oil works fine, too. Just be sure to clean it out afterward to with a solvent to avoid staining. You can rent a steam cleaner that works with high pressure to remove the gum by force and heat. This works well if you are willing to rent or buy a steam cleaner. Sometimes just using a regular multi purpose cleanser is enough to get the gum out of your carpet if you rub vigorously. Just try not to spread the gum to other areas, creating an even bigger mess. You can also damage the carpet’s material if you scrub too much.
Aside from these methods, there are plenty of solutions made specifically for getting sticky substances out of furniture which can be bought online. You need to know what kind of carpet you have and what is likely to cause the least amount of damage. If you find that, after getting the gum out of your carpet, you need to remove the stain leftover from the method you used, make sure to use something mild that will not harm the fibers of your carpet. Carpet is expensive, and protecting your investment is smart. The methods that don’t involve applying oil or heavy solvents to your carpet are probably going to be your best bet if you do not wish to do further damage to your carpet. All of these same principles apply to the furniture and upholstery in your car or van. Freezing your carpet will not do permanent damage, so I would recommend trying that method first. Breaking it into pieces to pick up or vacuum up is fairly simple and does not involve harsh chemicals. Even so, if chemicals need to be used, go ahead and use them because over time, the gum will set in and become virtually impossible to completely remove later. The sooner you take care of it, the better for your carpet.
Also take into consideration that your carpet’s material and age will affect how easy or difficult it is to remove the gum. Something like Goo-Gone is a better option than cleaning chemicals because it is less harmful to your carpet. It’s made specifically for getting substances like gum out of carpet and upholstery. Apply as much or as little as you need to, because in the long run, it will be better for your carpet to get the gum out, even if you have to do a little bit of cleaning up afterward. Regardless of the method you choose to use, make sure that you continue to care for your carpet as before, and try to prevent this from happening by instructing your kids to be more careful in the future, or have them chew gum outside.
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