# Getting chewing gum out of clothes **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 14, 2002, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-chewing-gum-out-of-clothes/132162 "2002-10-14T00:50:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![IcicleFuzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ba8739/32.png) [@IcicleFuzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IcicleFuzz)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2002, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-chewing-gum-out-of-clothes/132162/1 "2002-10-14T00:50:41Z")
How do I get bloody chewing gum off my clothes? Somehow I’ve managed to get a big blob of it stuck to my pants and somehow my freaking _underpants_. I feel like a damn fool. Will throwing them into a warm wash do or is it going to turn into a long, painful drawn out process? ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2002, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-chewing-gum-out-of-clothes/132162/2 "2002-10-14T01:08:29Z")
Throw them in the freezer, then break off the gum when it is brittle and has lost its elasticity. (Or, if you have too small a freezer, the old fashioned way was to use an ice cube to localize the cold and pick it out.) Carbonara (available and JoAnn Fabrics) makes a number of “removers”, but I don’t recall whether gum is one that they provide. One thing to avoid: some solvents that will destroy the gum will destroy the fabric, so you have to be careful what to apply. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2002, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-chewing-gum-out-of-clothes/132162/3 "2002-10-14T01:09:37Z")
(Bloody gum? You’re chewing gum when you suffer gingivitis?) ---
**Author:** ![IcicleFuzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ba8739/32.png) [@IcicleFuzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IcicleFuzz)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2002, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-chewing-gum-out-of-clothes/132162/4 "2002-10-14T01:20:32Z")
> [@](#): > > (Bloody gum? You’re chewing gum when you suffer gingivitis?) 😃 Actually, they’re grass encrusted, but you don’t need to know that. Right, that should take care of my boxers, but I don’t have any ice cubes. I’m freezing some now, but is there any other way? That won’t dissolve my pants? ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2002, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-chewing-gum-out-of-clothes/132162/5 "2002-10-14T04:27:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by IcicleFuzz \* > \*\*… but is there any other way? That won’t dissolve my pants? \*\* Kerosene, diesel fuel or mineral oil breaks up gum pretty well. ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2002, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-chewing-gum-out-of-clothes/132162/6 "2002-10-15T14:14:33Z")
There’s also a bottle of magic stuff called Goo Gone, which works wonderfully well. Follow the instructions. ---
**Author:** ![Bindlestiff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Bindlestiff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bindlestiff)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2002, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-chewing-gum-out-of-clothes/132162/7 "2002-10-15T15:39:09Z")
Find an active Amway distributor. They have some stuff that is supposed to work on gum. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2002, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-chewing-gum-out-of-clothes/132162/8 "2002-10-15T15:47:41Z")
I have tried many times and the freezer thing has never worked for me. It always turns slightly harder, but never brittle enough to crack when being bent. ---
**Author:** ![Sunglasses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5fc32e/32.png) [@Sunglasses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunglasses)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2002, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-chewing-gum-out-of-clothes/132162/9 "2002-10-15T16:45:07Z")
There is a product called Un-Du that professes to remove chewing gum from clothing. You can find it at Walmart or any craft store. ---
**Author:** ![FlyingDragonFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c89c15/32.png) [@FlyingDragonFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyingDragonFan)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2002, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-chewing-gum-out-of-clothes/132162/10 "2002-10-15T21:10:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Duck Duck Goose \* > \*\*There’s also a bottle of magic stuff called Goo Gone, which works wonderfully well. Follow the instructions. \*\* Ditto on the Goo Gone (or similar name). It can be had at just about any hardware, grocery, or drug store. It also works well on inks, tar, grease, and cat urine. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![peepthis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9d8465/32.png) [@peepthis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peepthis)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2002, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-chewing-gum-out-of-clothes/132162/11 "2002-10-15T22:19:26Z")
[Sideshow Mel] I have a word of advice: Don’t try to dig gum out with a bone; it only makes things worse. [/Sideshow Mel] ---
**Author:** ![galt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@galt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galt)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2002, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-chewing-gum-out-of-clothes/132162/12 "2002-10-15T23:03:55Z")
Better than the freezer or ice cubes: get a can of Freez-it. It’s worked for me. Kind of expensive if that’s all you want it for, though. ---
**Author:** ![IcicleFuzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ba8739/32.png) [@IcicleFuzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IcicleFuzz)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2002, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-chewing-gum-out-of-clothes/132162/13 "2002-10-16T02:15:26Z")
Well, I gotta say that the freezing technique didn’t really work for me. On the other hand, it was a small novelty to have my underpants next to the ice cubes. 🙂 Eventually I had to resort to getting the gum gooey and then scrubbing it off. Seemed to work ok.