How to Remove Chewing Gum From Carpet

By Steve Gillman

To remove chewing gum or bubble gum from carpet, get out your electric hair dryer. Heat the gum, being careful not to melt the carpet fibers. Use a piece of plastic wrap or a plastic bag to lift the softened gum away. Just allow it to stick to the plastic, then pull it up. This may get most of it.

Next, apply Extra Strength Ben Gay, or another muscle rub containing methyl salicylate. Use plastic again, or a rag to pull more gum out. Repeat if necessary. Once you completely remove the chewing gum from the carpet, clean the area with a mild detergent solution (a few drops of dish soap in a cup of warm water will work). Rinse with warm water and dry the area.

Using Commercial Carpet Stain Removers

Some common carpet stain removers will work to remove chewing gum from carpet. Goo Gone, in particular, works fairly well. Pull out as much gum as you can, then heat what remains. Apply Goo Gone, using a brush or the edge of the cap to work it in and break up the gum. Pick it out a piece at a time. Patience is required. Repeat the process until you remove all the gum.

Be sure to thoroughly rinse the spot afterwards. Use a shop-vac if you can, or just rinse and blot with a white cotton cloth repeatedly. It is important not to leave any cleaning solvent in your carpet for too long, and to extract it completely.

If you cannot remove all of the chewing gum from the carpet using either of the two methods here, don't worry. A carpet cleaner with a truck-mount hot water extraction unit (a steam cleaner) can get it out easily. The heat generated by the machines they use will soften up even the oldest gum (sometimes with a little help from Goo Gone or another cleaning solvent), making it possible to break it up and suck it out.

Did this information help? Please let others know by using one of these...