because we are a home cleaning service we have come to “hate” chewing gum in general because of the cleaning nightmares it can cause. but we also know a few tricks of the trade to make cleaning it up easier. if you can harden the gum by freezing it, you can crack it up or shatter it. then quickly vacuum up the pieces before they soften again. there are several ways to harden or freeze the gum. you can use regular ice cubes, or dry ice. with the ice cubes, place several in a zip lock bag and let them sit on the gum stain for 10 to 15 minutes. this should harden the gum so you can chip it off. dry ice may work a little better because if will harden the gum even more, but with the dry ice wrap it in a paper bowl instead of a zip lock bag. or perhaps best of all, try a product called “gum freeze” available at janitorial supply stores. canned air, used to clean key boards, will also freeze the gum.
another method is to pull off all the gum you possible can and then apply a citrus based cleaner called “De-Solve-it” available in grocery stores and even hardware stores. other products called “Goo Gone” and “Orange-sol ” are basically the same thing. but use it sparingly because it can also dissolve the glue backing on your carpet. it can also leave an oil stain, so test it in an inconspicouous spot first. this product is great for taking off sticky residue from labels and price tags too.
some have suggested that peanut butter will breakdown the consistency of the gum, but we don’t recommend this because then you have to clean the peanut butter out of the carpet.
If you need help getting gum out of your carpet, or any other home cleaning service, give the professionals at daisy maids a call. or, click here to get a free estimate online.
