Home : Cleaning : General cleaning tips : Remove chewing gum

Remove chewing gum

Chewing gum is not my favorite type of candy or sweet thing but the kids sure love it. If you ever look down at a pavement you can see where people have spat out their chewing gum for you to step in. It is a terrible problem for local authorities who are in charge of cleaning it up, as soon as they remove it, someone will replace it.

I have gathered a multitude of ways that you can remove chewing gum from your hair, clothes and carpets. So read on if you are looking to remove some chewing gum.

Egg White.
The white of an egg will remove chewing gum from most things, including your hair. Put the white of an egg on the gum and leave for a couple of minutes. Then work the gum out with your fingers little by little.

Freeze it out.
If the chewing gum is on an item of clothing, put the item in the freezer. The chewing gum will go hard and all you need to do is crack it off. You can also use the freezing technique on larger items, such as a car seat or carpet, by using ice cubes. Place an ice cube onto the gum and slowly rub it around. The gum will harden and you will be able to crack it off in big pieces.

Chocolate.
This technique will work great if you have chewing gum in your clothes or hair. Melt some chocolate and rub some of the melted chocolate into the gum. The chocolate dissolves the chewing gum's stickiness - so it can be brushed or combed out instead of having to cut it out. 

Mayonnaise.
Mayonnaise will also remove chewing gum. Simply apply and work it in, gum softens and comes off easily.

Vinegar.
Saturate the area that has the gum on it with vinegar. The gum will actually dissolve. If the vinegar is heated first the process will work faster.

Peanut Butter.
Simply apply peanut butter to the offending gum and work it in. The gum comes right off.

Lemon Juice.
Chewing gum can be removed from clothes if the gum is first soaked in lemon juice and then the clothes are washed as normal.

WD40/Penetrating Oil.
Very similar to the other tips. Simply spray the sticky gum with WD40 and work it into the gum. The gum will come out easily.

Visitors comments

removal by mayonnaise Comments By: Jude Foote Thanks so much I tried mayonnaise like you say and hey presto the gum is gone from my trousers Well done a great tip!!!   brillinat Comments By: Anon THANKYOU soo much!your tips really helped i had my jeans in the freezer for weeks and the gum wouldnt budge but thnaks to your vingegar tip my jeans are gum free!thanks a lot!   Remove Gum With Mayonnaise Comments By: Malcolm Smith Worked a treat.   oil & vinegar combo Comments By: Kelly first I put in vinegar and let it break down then I added olive oil to comb through my four year olds hair   Gum gone in seconds with VINEGAR!!! Comments By: t. marquardt I removed gum from a pair of jeans in seconds with the vinegar method. I heated the vinegar up in the microwave and applied it to the gum on the jeans. The vinegar immediately softens the gum so I took a old toothbrush and brushed in circles and the gum balled up for easy removal. Literally took less than 30 seconds.   freezing didn't work WD40 did Comments By: Jim thanks   Vinegar !!! Comments By: Jim in Los Angeles Some lowly, disgusting #%@**#% at the gym put gum in the bottom of the cup-holder in the cardio machine, where someone would certainly put a water bottle. I use a fabric bottle holder with a shoulder strap and the gum adhered right onto the bottom. Freezer had no effect on this type of gum. After removing the main chunk of gum with a dull knife, I dipped the whole area with the gum into warm vinegar. The gum started to melt. Rubbed in a circular motion with a toothbrush and cleaned the gum off the toothbrush with paper towels. Complete success. Washed the entire bottle-holder with dish soap afterwards to remove vinegar scent. I wonder how many gum-remover products are just re-packaged vinegar?   ice, vinegar & mayo! Comments By: Sandy My daughter got gum on her terry cloth shirt and I figured there wasn't much hope. The ice got a chunk out, but I was afraid it would damage the material. The vinegar softened it...but it was still messy. The mayo did it. I guess different gum and different material react differently or maybe it just needed the combination on solutions. My daughter looks great! Too bad she smells like a salad. Only kidding.   chewing gum & mayo Comments By: anon Brilliant, mayonaise removed chewing gum from my dogs fur. Don't have a clue how it got there, but my son is now banned from chewing it!   Heated Vinegar Works ! Comments By: Tracy I discovered a piece of gum had stuck in my car's driver's side car mat and tried the Vinegar removing method. I heated up about 1/4 cup of Cider Vinegar for 30 seconds in the microwave. I applied the area,(the size of a quater)with the heated vinegar, scrubbed it with a butter knife, picked out the gum residue, and scrubbbed the area again with a vegitable scrubber, it worked Great !   Ultimate gum removal - works on anything! Comments By: Angelica Blanco G'day! here in Australia, we use good old fashioned Eucalyptus Oil - that's right. Cheap, easy to apply and remove, with a strong but pleasant lingering odour. eg. in hair, carpet, car upholsery, clothes (if you sat on it), or off any surface shiny/poreous/soft/hard, great for concrete and pavers. Avoid using on anything that you cannot wash or wipe down afterwards eg. books, paper lamp shades, delicate materials eg plain white silk or satin. I've never tested on these. The basic rule is to use it on anything that won't be damaged by the oil itself. Method: take a cloth, rag, towel, or an old t-shirt if need be, pour a small amount of eucalyptus oil onto it and rub directly onto the chewing gum. It will dissintegrate before your very eyes - LIKE MAJIC! :) Caution: Don't touch your face (especially your eyes) whilst using this product. It's pretty strong and should be kept well away from little children as it can be toxic if swallowed.   WOW - HOT VINEGAR DOES IT Comments By: Janet in St Albans In March I was in the leisure centre for my senior citizen keep-fit class and sat down to put my trainers on. Of course you know what I sat on - I had to do the whole session with a big blob of chewing gum stuck to the bum of my tousers!! I kept putting off trying to shift it as I was afraid that your tips would not work! So it had dried on really hard by today 18 July - I used very warm wine vinegar, a toothbrush and a knife and lo! it is all gone. Took four minutes. Thanks a lot Tipking.   TRY THIS TOO Comments By: Bobbi--mom of 5 angels I have not personally tried any of your ideas, but would like to offer one of my own. Shower gel--smells much better than some of the others offered, and washes out in the shower before normal shampooing. Just wet your hair, rub some shower gel onto the gum, and work out. I have one little girl and 4 boys, and can not tell you how many times this has saved my daughter's hair from being cut, which would have been more detrimental to me i am sure. Anyway, hope this helps!!   ice ice baby Comments By: diva i had ice put onto my uniform for school and it workd a litle bit......right now i am freezing my hoodie in the freezer for pictures that are supposed to be taken friday for cheerleading. ! wish me luck.! peanut butter works too though.   Vinegar works a treat Comments By: Jon Rowe On the off chance asked Jeeves what to do with our sons trousers after he had sat in some chewing gum. Heated some vinegar and it worked a treat. Shows how you can combine modern technology with traditional methods.   rubish Comments By: kezza i liked the way u have sumthink for nearlly everythink but for chewing gun there is hardley anythink like it doent even say about the vinegar or nuthin i think u should add more   mayonnaise fantastic Comments By: dev though I'd try mayo as it was the only thing of the list (apart from vinegar and I didn't fancy the smell).It worked,first time I haven't had to throw anything away.It came off poly/cotton trousers without any effort.Put a blob on the large patch and rubbed it in.Then washe dtrousers to remove mayo - fantastic   Mayo - fantastic Comments By: dev Tried mayo as this was the only thing on the list in the house (apart from vinegar and I didn't fancy the smell) Put a blob on the gum,worked it in and hey presto no chewing gum.This was on poly/cotton trousers.Then washed to remove mayo.Fab tip thanks   ewww bubble gum in the car Comments By: jaxy68 I was furious when my son sat on bubblegum in the car and smeared it into the seat and his shorts. Hot vinegar ..thank goodness....it actually worked. my son will live to see another year! Hehe.   AMAZING...MAYO REALLY, REALLY WORKS!! Comments By: Tina Cribby from Toronto Thanks a million!! It saved my brand new sofa and my kids. I just put mayo on the blob of gum and rubbed it off lightly with a butter knife and it came right off and it didn't stain my sofa.   Balsamic vinegar + toothbrush = gold Comments By: dev balsamic vinegar and toothbrush on my jeans worked a treat   hot vinegar - excellent Comments By: Heather daughter sat on gum on a train - picked most of it off -tried hot vinegar for the residue - soaked it, rubbed it in and washed it - wouldn't even know it was ever there.   chewing gum removal Comments By: Cyndi Thanks so much! I had green chewing gum on a brand new pair of black pants. I tried ice, but that didn't work. After reading your tip I warmed some vinegar in the microwave. The gum dissolved in a few minutes.   Eucalyptus Oil Works! Comments By: KathKiwi Yes, must agree with the Aussie...being a Kiwi we do have the odd alliance! The Eucalyptus oil does work wonders. I tried this after sitting on bright green chewing gum on a bus :-( Make sure you use a lint free cloth though.   COMBINATION Comments By: Ashley Mora I sat in gum at school the other day, while wearing my favorite pair of pants);I used a combination of mayo and vinegar. The surprising results were that it actually worked. I'm AMAZED by the wonders of food! Now my beautiful pants look as good as new, and I don't smell like vinegar, or winter fresh either.YAY!If you get stuck in a gooey situation, I recommend the COMBINATION.   IT REALLY WORKED Comments By: hilary duff it worked a treat the gum was out in seconds!!!!!!!!!   hot vinegar and peanut butter Comments By: Penny I washed the pants first thinking the gum would come out of the seat of my jeans. Well, they looked worse when I brought them out of the washer. So, this time I tried vinegar but for some reason it didn't really touch the gum. Then I put peanut butter on it and took the back part of a butter knife to scrap the gum off. I washed them again and now I have to go to my van and try a similar method. I didn't see anything on here about hair spray. I had heard that works, too.   egg white Comments By: anon Tried the egg white tip for the removal of chewing gum - it works - really surprised but it did - i had tried the freezer but the gum would not go hard - thanks for your tips really useful   Holy shiz-nit!!! Comments By: Crystal Ritter I bought a new pair of duckhead jeans last night then went 2 the movies and hadn't noticed 4 a while that I had done sat on gum!! Boy was i Pis**e* off It ruined the movie then I found this site and used the vinegar and warmed it up then rubbed it with a tooth brush and it came out!! Thank god 4 vinegar and you people on this site with your ideas thank u sooo much cause I was gonna have throw my jeans away!! Thank u!   Stuck at work with gum on your pants? Vinegar!! Comments By: PattyK Black pants, white gum on the seat... what to do? Can't wash pants at work, but thankfully the office has a bottle of vinegar for the coffeemaker. Heated some up (45 sec) and off to the ladies room. Dabbed on the warm vinegar in a circular pattern using a pop-up soft cloth (Wet Ones-type)and the gum melted and came up into the cloth easily! Great idea!! Thanks.   Vinegar Fantastic Comments By: Laura I have to admit, I was a bit sceptical, it seems too easy, but the warm vinegar and a toothbrush got the gum out of my favourite jeans. Thanks for the tip.   Mayo worked Right off Comments By: Kevster thanks a lot it came right off!   Vinegar is AMAZING!! Comments By: Jordana, Fife 2 Smart price tooth brushes for 15p, a bottle of vinegar for 45p, half a cup of vinegar heated up in the microwave for a minute and in less than 30 seconds the 2 bits of chewing gum on my car seat were gone!!! My mum had sat on chewing gum and without realising got into my car and got it on my seat. Thank-you for the Vinegar tip it was brilliant! Called my mum to tell her to try the same on her trousers. THANK-YOU!!!   vinegar Comments By: Anon i applied heated vinegar to the gum on a pair of jeans with a toothbrush. like magic, the gum just scraped right off (with the toothbrush)   Remove chewing gum with vinegar Comments By: Becca Thank you so much - can't quite believe it worked but i poured hot vinegar on my brand new jeans that id somehow managed to get chewing gum stuck to on a night out (grrr) and it came off straight away! so glad i gave it a go or they would be in the bin now! thanks again!   remove with mayonaise Comments By: hugh thanks for the tip! worked perfectly - and i got to eat the mayonaise afterwards!   It WORKED!! Comments By: Anon In school, leaned on the radiator, gum melted and stuck to my skirt..walked round looking stupid all day it dried in really deep. Freezing didnt work but combo of warm vinegar and mayo worked a treat! Thanks!   vinnegar rox!!! Comments By: nate in Oshkosh WI we used vinnegar on my jeans that used to sit outside in the snow that we tried the freeze method with but that failed horribly the blue gum came out very quickly the warm vinnegar is awsome.   Washing up liquid and salt Comments By: Julie Tried freezing them and though the larger chunks came off the rest didn't but just with a bit of washing up liquid, salt and scrubbing it came off quickly and easily. Thanks for the simple yet very effective advice.   white wine vinegar Comments By: Gill Used warm white wine vinegar on a cloth to remove chewing gum on red fabric car seat (beloved mini!). Removed fine and no colour loss. Great. Thanks.   vinegar worked on skirt and car seat Comments By: beckyalsbury Hi tried vinegar as I didn't want to wait ages for skirt to freeze and mess about with ice - came off very easily - the scouring pad idea was very good as the butter knife didn't work at scraping off the gum.   Vinegar Comments By: tori after a night of hardcore partying last saturday woke up with a bad hangover and chewy on my faverite dress which i paid 50 quid for. Ouch. froze it didnt seem to work cos it spread itself out. used vingar and a toothbrush came out well without damaging the fabric. thanks for the tip. Dirty wenches stop spitting chewy on chairs. thank you.   Using White Vinegar on Seemingly Fused Chewing Gum Comments By: Anon Hi everyone. I recently went to a movie theater and came away with an extremely unpleasant surprise. I had sat in a very large wad of just expelled chewing gum during the entire feature. Oh was I mad! My mother suggested using nail polish remover on the gum which absolutely did not work. However, I just tried your vinegar method (I used cold white vinegar), and it worked like a charm! Now I can launder my jeans as I normally would and won't have to discard them. A thousand thank yous.   vinegar is the best Comments By: steph i have never seen chewy go so quickly from clothing before. Heated up in microwave and applied with old toothbrush. Gone in matter of minutes.   Gum on Car Seat vs Mad Grandfather Comments By: Joe B. Gum won round 1 when ice did not work. Grandfather scored a 15 second round 2 knockout with the aid of hot vinegar. THANKS YOU for the vinegar tip.   mayo Comments By: liam mayo works a wonder got it on the top of my trainers dont ask how ! got the gum off in mins thanks ....   vinegar helps!!! Comments By: Shiney the gum got rubbed way into my NEW jeans. we tried the freezer tip, that barely worked on the big chunks. then my mom found this great tip! we only had cider vinegar and that took a little bit longer than what some other people said. we had to work on it for about 2 minutes but every bit came out! thanx a lot!!!   thanks great tip Comments By: dee i heated the vinegar in the microwave then put it on the jeans, used a nail brush to scrub and the chewing gum just rolled up and disapeared, thanks great tip.   Icely does it Comments By: Adrian Ice. Fingers. 15 seconds. Done. Superb.   Use Mayonaise to remove chewing gum Comments By: Lauri I had some chewing gum on my car and I used your tip to use Mayo to remove it.Awesome.It works great and saved my life. Thank you guys.   great suggestions. Comments By: Laura But what about my grandson's face? Please help.   warm vinegar is the best Comments By: stevetton worked a treat on my daughters sheets, she fell asleep with gum in her hand and it went everywhere   gum on marble step Comments By: Dee All advice is for clothes - my prob. is a front door step on high street - just CANNOT remove it even with sharp knife - do not believe mayo will work, it is simply oil, egg, and vinegar. HELP ME!   Wow Comments By: Anon i go to school and i got some gum on my trousers on the bus and i tried the warm vinegar and it worked really well. Thank you so much!!! xx   Removal with vinegar Comments By: Anon I had put my jeans in the freezer fro ages and teh chewing gum still wouldn't come off. I tried warm vinegar and a nail brush and it was gone in a matter of seconds - a fantastic tip. Thank you!   Removal with vinegar Comments By: Anon I had put my jeans in the freezer for ages and the chewing gum still wouldn't come off. I tried warm vinegar and a nail brush and it was gone in a matter of seconds - a fantastic tip. Thank you!   mayo Comments By: david i was pretty sure this couldnt work but it did. thanks alot.   WD40 its magic Comments By: philip mckay All I did was spry it onto the gum that was in the carpet then with a dry cloth rub it and it just dissapeared , its the best trick I have ever done.   3rd Time Lucky Comments By: Alex Waghorn First I tried freezing it and that didn't work, then I used hot vinegar and that just made the room stink. But then I used peanut butter, and it worked really well! Too bad I suddenly had a craving for it...   WD40 Rules! Comments By: Tim It easily removed the gum I somehow got on the top of my shoes   blonde Hair Comments By: shona When my daughter came to me with th chewing gum in my daughters blonde long hair i thought wow'i'm going to have to cut that out,until i found your web page and saw hot vinger would get it out. when i tried it ,it work straight away ,thank you so much...   OMG vinegar Comments By: Jenesse I never heard of vinegar working on gum but it works so well. I came home, put on my housecoat, and sat down for some food. I got up and was stuck to the floor. There was a horrendous rip sound. I looked at the floor and saw gum on the carpet then I checked my but and did not find anything. I sat in the leather chair and got up with a rip and found more gum. Then I looked at my pants and it was on my pants. So now it’s in the carpet on the leather chair on my fluffy housecoat and on my good jeans. The hot vinegar and a cloth got it out of everything in seconds.