Removing Chewing Gum from Clothes – Freeze, Don't Pull

Why you have to freeze the gum, not pull it

Chewing gum is made from a tough gum base – essentially a soft plastic – with softeners that make it sticky. It does not dissolve in water and barely cares about ordinary detergent. Pull at soft gum and it stretches into strings and is only pressed further between the fibres. The solution is to flip the problem: make the gum cold enough that it loses its stickiness, turns hard and brittle, and can be cracked off instead of smeared around. This is a mechanical job, not a chemical one.

The freeze method – step by step

The method is the same whether you use the freezer or an ice cube.

1. Put the garment in a plastic bag and into the freezer for one to two hours, until the gum is hard all the way through.
2. If it won't fit the freezer, hold an ice cube – ideally in a bag so the fabric stays dry – against the gum until it is stiff.
3. Take the garment out and quickly bend it over the gum while it is still hard, so the gum cracks apart.
4. Scrape and pry off the pieces with a blunt edge, such as a spoon or a butter-knife blade – work from the edge inwards, not from the middle.

Residue and a greasy shadow

Once the gum itself is gone, a sticky or greasy shadow is often left. Here is how to take it on:

1. Rub in a little dish soap, which dissolves the greasy part of the base, and let it work for a few minutes. A small drop of cooking oil can first break the tack on stubborn residue – then wash the oil out with dish soap afterwards.
2. Dab from the back with a damp cloth to lift the rest out of the fabric.
3. Wash at the warmest temperature the fabric tolerates according to the care label.
4. Don't put the garment in the tumble dryer until the stain is completely gone – heat melts and sets residue you can't see.

Don't use heat first

There is a heat method – warming the gum with a hair dryer and peeling it off – but it is easy to get wrong. Warm gum gets softer and stickier, smears more easily and is drawn into the weave, and on synthetic fabrics the dryer can do damage. On the vast majority of garments, cold is the safe route. If you do go for heat, put paper in between and peel gently – never pull straight at the soft gum.

Wool, silk and gum that sits deep

On loose knits, wool and silk, the cracking itself can stretch or reshape the fabric, and if the gum has been trodden deep into a coarse weave or a pile surface, it can be hard to get it all out without harming the fibres. If the garment is delicate or important to you, it is safest not to risk it yourself.

Send the garment to us

If the gum is on a delicate garment, deep in the fabric or on something you are afraid to ruin, you can send it to us wherever you are in Norway. Professional cleaning uses solvents that dissolve the gum base gently, and treats the garment according to the fabric and its care label. You describe the stain when you order, and you see the price before you order.

Frequently asked questions