How to remove chewing gum from jeans at home: effective methods and means for cleaning denim

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Author of the article

Svetlana Pavlikhina

Reading time: 4 minutes

Any persistent stain, especially chewing gum, is quite difficult to remove from jeans. To prevent the adhesive mass from spreading and clogging into the canvas of the fabric, it must be removed according to certain rules.

There are many methods for removing chewing gum from your favorite denim pants without damaging them.

What are the difficulties of removing from jeans?

If you find a light stain from the remains of toffee on your trousers, you do not need to tear off or scrape off the mass. If the gum has melted, it is almost impossible to remove it with a napkin.

The sticky mass is absorbed deep into the fabric, clogging into the fibers. In this case, cold will be needed to harden the elastic base. Chewing gum can be heated and removed with a soft cloth.

Cold removal

At low temperatures, the rubber backing hardens, hardens, and is easier to scrape off and separate from the woven material.

Freezing

A small smeared item is placed in the freezer for an hour. The jeans are first wrapped in plastic film .

When exposed to cold, the rubber band hardens and becomes brittle. After freezing, it can be easily scraped off with a knife or other hard, non-sharp object.

Ice

If the size of the freezer does not allow you to place trousers in it, remove the food gum from the fabric with a piece of ice: it is wrapped in a thin material and applied to the contaminated area.

The smeared toffee, which covers a large area of the trousers, is covered with several pieces of ice, wait until the gum has completely hardened and scraped off.

Frozen food

If there is no lump ice in the freezer, use any frozen product, which is wrapped in clean polyethylene or a thin towel and applied to the stain for 20–30 minutes. When exposed to cold, the chewing gum becomes colored and can be easily separated from the jeans.

Useful tips

Following simple rules will help you achieve a positive result. When starting to process denim materials from chewing gum, you should take into account their characteristics.

Eg:

The freezing method is suitable for wool and synthetic products;
Velcro can be removed from thick jeans using organic solvents, aggressive substances and intense mechanical stress;
if there is no result from one method, you can try another;
preliminary testing of the fabric will prevent possible changes in the structure of the fabric and discoloration during hot processing and freezing.

Following precautions and useful recommendations will help you avoid mistakes when removing sticky substances. It will also eliminate the need to go to the dry cleaner.

You will find all the most important and useful information about removing chewing gum from various surfaces in this section.

Heating

Remains of elastic are difficult to remove from fabric. They are steamed and removed with an absorbent cloth or napkin.

Boiling water

The ingrained chewing gum is separated from the jeans with a stream of very hot water or boiling water. The liquid is poured onto the contaminated area for 1–2 minutes. As soon as the mass becomes viscous and soft, it is cleaned with a brush; you can also use a toothbrush.

Iron

The dirt on the front side is covered with an unnecessary absorbent cloth and ironed from the back side with a well-heated iron.

The fabric is changed periodically until all the rubber remains on the napkin.

The work can be completed when the stain has completely disappeared. If, after ironing and chewing gum, a greasy stain remains on your jeans, wash it out.

Hairdryer

At home, you can melt chewing gum with a hairdryer. A stream of hot air is directed to the site of contamination. As soon as the gum begins to melt, it is cleaned with a stiff brush, then blotted with a napkin.

Chemistry

Under the influence of various chemicals, chewing gum melts, dissolves, and is easily separated from denim fabric.

Work is carried out only in protective gloves.

Solvents, gasoline, acetone

You can quickly remove chewing gum stains using solvents or gasoline. It is not recommended to remove such stains from black clothes or dark jeans with acetone: the fabric will become discolored.

The selected cleaning agent is first applied to the underside of the jeans and the reaction is monitored. If the fabric has not turned white, treat the stain on the front side of the product with the product.

Apply any product to a cotton pad and wipe the area of contamination with it. You can simply drip gasoline onto the stain. As soon as the contamination becomes invisible, the item is washed in the usual way - with powder or soap.

Ammonia

Ammonia will help remove toffee from shorts or jeans. A napkin is generously moistened with a caustic substance and applied to the adhered mass, pressed. Wait about half an hour. The chewing gum is then removed.

Exposure to heat

There is an easy way to remove chewing gum from jeans using heat. Chewing gum melts quickly when exposed to high temperatures. 80 degrees will be enough to greatly soften the substance, and then it can be removed with any convenient means at hand - a clothes brush, a soft butter knife, a toothbrush.

The easiest way to remove chewing gum is with boiling water. How to do it:

Turn the jeans inside out.
Turn on the hottest water possible.
Leave the jeans under the running water for 5 minutes.

Soon the rubber band can be easily removed.

“Wedge with wedge” – removal with chewing gum

This method of removing sticky mass is the easiest. It is used in cases where no chemicals are available.

Algorithm of actions:

The tissue with the gum stuck on is frozen for half an hour.
Take a new gum and chew it until all the sweetness is gone.
The taffy is applied to the stain and pulled out with sharp movements.

The action is repeated until all particles of the substance have come off the fabric.

Cold ways

When exposed to low temperatures, chewing gum becomes hard, making it easier to remove from fabric. This way you can easily remove chewing gum from clothes with a thick texture, such as jeans. Cold methods include:

Freezing. To get rid of chewing gum on clothes, put the spoiled item in a plastic bag and put it in the freezer. After the substance hardens, carefully scrape it off the surface with a knife. A significant disadvantage of this method is that not every freezer will fit large-sized clothes. Agree, freeing the camera while trying to remove chewing gum from clothes is quite troublesome. But a light T-shirt or T-shirt, as well as children's clothing, will fit there without difficulty.
This method will help remove small pieces of chewing gum from clothes. The damaged item should be spread with the problem areas facing up. Cover the chewing gum with ice or snow. As the substance hardens, it must be removed with a sharp object. If you cannot remove the chewing gum completely, repeat the procedure.
Wash in cold water. For this purpose you will need very cold water, even ice water. Soak the item in water for a short time. After hardening, try to peel off the gum. The method is a little inconvenient due to the fact that your hands will freeze and therefore not everyone will be able to remove chewing gum from clothes using this method.
Treatment with a special spray. There are cooling aerosols on the market, spraying with which you can bring the chewing gum to a solid state, and then scrape it off.

Sprays

The modern chemical industry produces special formulations (sprays) designed to remove stuck chewing gum from clothes. Household chemical stores sell Chewing Gum Removers spray or any other spray with a similar effect. Their effect is similar to freezing.

The liquid is applied to the contaminated area, wait a few minutes (the exact exposure time is indicated in the instructions for use). After which the mass is scraped off with a hard object, perhaps a non-sharp knife.

Hair fixation spray

At home, if you don’t have a special sprayer on hand, you can use hairspray to remove chewing gum. The substance is applied to the adhered mass, after 5–10 minutes it is quickly scraped off or brushed off.

What not to do and why?

Removing stains from fabric is always fraught with a high risk of causing final damage to the product. Therefore, the use of improvised means, as well as special stain removers, requires strict adherence to safety precautions.

Among the unacceptable actions:

violation of instructions for using home remedies and household chemicals;
careless use of chemical ingredients;
carelessness in using boiling water, vinegar and other aggressive ingredients;
ignoring recommendations on the need to use a respirator and rubber gloves when in contact with household chemicals and improvised materials that can cause burns, suffocation or an allergic reaction;
excluding the use of sharp objects to remove chewing gum, as well as intense mechanical impact on the fabric.

Violation of the listed aspects leads to at least a disruption of the structure of the fabric, its discoloration, and sometimes to permanent damage to the item.

Ignoring the rules for using methods and methods for processing denim products can cause burns to the skin, eyes, and respiratory tract. Some substances can cause allergies.

Removal by washing

Chewing gum stains can be washed off manually or in an automatic machine. First, the bulk of the adhering substance is removed by any of the proposed methods.

Machine

If the taffy is still on the denim pants, remove it with liquid laundry detergent. The substance is poured onto the stain, wait 15–20 minutes, scrape off the sticky mass, then put the trousers in the wash.

Cleaning is carried out at high water temperature with the addition of effective washing powder (bleaches are not used).

Handwash

Contaminated denim trousers are pre-treated: a cotton pad is generously moistened with alcohol and applied to the sticky mass. Exposure time 10–15 minutes.

Then the chewing gum is cleaned off with a stiff toothbrush, the fabric with the stain is soaked in liquid powder with a chlorine-free stain remover.
You can wipe off the dirt with laundry soap .
The process will take approximately half an hour. After all the manipulations, the item is washed by hand, the stain from the food gum is cleaned again with a clothes brush or a stiff sponge.

Remove chewing gum from denim pants with solvent

When using solvents or other chemicals, extreme caution should be used. They perfectly degrease and remove adhesive substances, but can harm both the skin of the hands and the already damaged item. Aggressive chemicals such as acetone, white spirit, gasoline should be used only as a last resort and following the instructions:

Using the blunt side of a knife, scrape off most of the sticky mass.
Wear rubber gloves.
Carry out a test test: drop a drop of solvent on an inconspicuous area of the trousers.
If the fabric passes the test, apply the substance to the chewing gum with a cotton swab.
Wait 5-7 minutes.
Remove any remaining gum with a brush.

It is safer to use more gentle solvent compounds such as alcohol or nail polish remover (without acetone). However, it is better to test the reaction of the material and make sure that the chemical will not discolor or corrode the material.

You can dip a sponge or cotton pad into such solutions and wipe the affected surface with force.

What not to do

When cleaning your favorite jeans from stuck chewing gum, it is important not to overdo it. Exposure to harsh chemicals and high temperatures can damage even the toughest denim.

After careless manipulation, the item will not look presentable; it will have to be left for home wear.

What not to do:

You should not wash away stains with ordinary water without first cleaning it - this will have no effect, and unnecessary abrasions will appear.
First, the food gum is removed, then the item is sent to the drum of the washing machine. You cannot wash jeans with chewing gum in the machine: the mixture will not only stain your pants, but will also get into the inside of the machine.
It is unacceptable to wash trousers with sticky toffee together with other things.
Do not use an iron heated to maximum for a long period of time; yellow spots will appear on the surface of the fabric.
It is unacceptable to scrape chewing gum from the surface of denim with a sharp object (blade): one careless movement and a hole will appear.
Do not use dirty, oily or dyed fabrics to remove the adhesive mass - the stain will easily transfer to the surface of the trousers.
It is not recommended to postpone cleaning jeans damaged by sticky mass until later . The sticky toffee hardens quickly, and it is almost impossible to remove the substance after a few days.

During the heating process, place a clean, unnecessary cloth under the trousers, since, as the chewing gum softens, it can ruin the surface of the ironing board or table.

How to remove gum from jeans using heat

High temperatures are just as destructive to chewing gum as cold. Under their influence, the gum also loses its structure, but does not harden, but rather melts. The best tool at hand here is an iron. We act in stages:

Lay the jeans out on the ironing board, gum side up.
We insert a towel folded in several layers into the pant leg from the wrong side (so that the melted product does not smear the clean areas).
Cover the problematic part of the item with a paper napkin or regular newspaper.
Iron until a stain appears on the paper.
We put the napkin in the trash and the jeans in the wash.

This method has been tested many times and has never failed. The only negative is that the iron can get a little dirty, but this problem can be solved.