How to get gum off leggings. Yes, I know, I thought it will never happen to me, I bet you did too, but if you’re reading this article, it happened, and it sucks! But life is like that sometimes, you just have to role with it and not lose your cool. Sometimes we sit on things that we should not, most of things come off easily, but gum is different, it’s sticky, and hard to wash off, I hope this article on how to wash gum of leggings will help you get that leggings up to speed again with no damage.
There is no worse feeling than finding you have gum stuck to your clothing. However, when you discover that your favorite pair of leggings have gum stuck to them – that feeling is much worse!
A massive bugbear for many people, gum on any clothing type, is problematic. Yet, when it comes to leggings, the problems increase due to their unique use of materials, which require special care when cleaning.
For this reason, the job of removing gum from leggings has to be approached with care.
Here we offer some expert advice and guidance on how to get rid of gum from your leggings. Ultimately, we show how you can do this while maintaining the quality of your leggings, ensuring they continue looking as good as new.
How to Get Gum off Leggings – The Problematic Issue of Gum
Gum is a problem that many of us may have encountered at some point. Yet, discovering gum on your leggings need not mean they are permanently spoiled. However, understandably it is a distressing find.
The physical thought of having gum that has been in someone else’s mouth on your prized leggings is unthinkable! In fact, the mere act of having to get to work on touching someone else’s nasty gum can be worst still.
But, if the offending gum is not dealt with, it will in time wreck an otherwise perfectly good pair of leggings. So, it cannot be left on them to simply hope it will work its way out.
However, this isn’t just a case of pulling the offending substance off the leggings, and that is that! Unfortunately, the gum will not just be removed by picking it off. Therefore, you may well need to attempt a specific process of cleaning to be successful here.
Yet, there are indeed several practical ways that you can remove gum from your leggings that are all easily tackled.
10 Ways to Remove Gum from a Pair of Leggings
1. Use more gum to get rid of the gum!
Though it is a tip that is often considered a little ironic, some people swear by using gum to remove gum. This means using another wad of chewed gum and placing it on the gum, which is stuck to your leggings. Then gently pull to ease it away from the material. This method ensures you don’t add any more sticky substances to the fabric in the process.
2. Use an iron to remove the gum
Taking a piece of cardboard, place your leggings gum side down onto it. Put your iron onto medium heat and press it down over the leggings. Do not move the iron; instead, allow it to melt the gum. Then, rather than spreading the gum, you should see the gum transferred to the cardboard piece.
Related: How to make ripped leggings | What are ponte leggings
3. Remove the gum with ice
Whether in the form of cubes or a freezer pack, ice can be placed on the offending gum to freeze and harden it. Aim to keep the ice on the gum for around twenty minutes or so. Then, you can scrape it off using a paint scraper or even a credit card.
4. Place your leggings in the freezer
If you would rather let the ice do all the work, you can also place your leggings with gum on into the freezer. Make sure the gum is facing up and leave it to harden for around an hour or so. Then, when you remove the leggings, work on scraping the gum off as before.
5. Use steam to extract the gum
Working to soften the offending gum, the steam from a kettle is ideal. Once it has weakened, the gum should be easier to remove with a scraper tool or even with an old toothbrush.
6. Try removing gum with vinegar
Distilled white vinegar is ideal for jobs such as this as the acid in it works to soften gum. You can either pour a little of this vinegar over the gum itself and sprinkle on baking powder. Or, you can heat the vinegar in the microwave and then rub the warm liquid directly into the gum. Either way, this product will work to release it from the leggings.
7. Spread peanut butter over the gum
Though it may sound strange, peanut butter has an active element of fats and oils. This means if you can spread a generous amount of creamy peanut butter over the gum, it will make it less sticky. Then you can scrape off the gum using a gentle scraping tool or credit card to finish.
8. Try a gum removing product
There are several specific gum-removing products on the market that you may be able to get your hands on. These are designed with the sole purpose of problematic gum and clothing in mind, so it should be ideal when it comes to leggings! These work in the same way as the other methods here by softening the remaining gum. Then, you can remove the residue with a scraper tool or using a rag.
9. Attempt to remove the gum with canned air
Though often considered a solution for cleaning a computer keyboard, canned air has its uses with gum too. This works by solidifying the gum as it is, in fact, a freezing agent. All you have to do is spray the can directly over the gum until it becomes hardened. Then, continue to scrap it off.
10. Dab some alcohol on the gum
Rubbing alcohol can be most useful here when used sparsely. Simply dab a little over a piece of cotton wool and apply it directly to the gum. Allow the alcohol to soak through and then dry out. Then use a piece of duct tape and pull off the gum.
What to Do Next
When you have attempted one of the above methods, you will have removed as much gum as you can from your leggings. However, you will likely still be left with a small amount of visible residue.
You will then need to complete a couple of other vital steps. This involves:
- Using a stain remover spray to pretreat the affected area.
- Alternatively, apply a generous amount of laundry soap or dish soap here.
- Wash the treated leggings in your usual cycle but apply the hottest cycle recommend on the label.
- Refrain from putting the leggings in the dryer and air dry them instead. This will ensure that if a visible stain remains, you can repeat the above process again for better effect.
