How to get gum out of sheets or a blanket

How to remove gum from sheets

1. 1

   Don't wash it yet

   Strip the bed and set the item aside without putting it in the washer or dryer. Check the rest of the bedding for other pieces of gum.

   Why: Washer heat and tumbling spread soft gum, and dryer heat melts it onto other items and the drum.

2. 2

   Harden the gum with ice

   Spread the sheet or blanket flat and hold a plastic bag of ice cubes on the gum for several minutes, until it's rigid. A pillowcase or small throw can go in the freezer in a bag instead.

   Why: Gum base is soft and tacky at body temperature but rigid and brittle when chilled, so it cracks off instead of stretching.

3. 3

   Crack and scrape it off

   Work a dull knife or spoon under the hardened gum and flick it away in pieces. Re-ice it if it starts to soften. Don't yank warm gum off the fabric.

   Why: Removing the bulk mechanically leaves only a thin film for the solvent. Pulling soft gum stretches it and leaves more behind.

4. 4

   Dissolve the residue from the back

   Lay the spot face down on paper towels. Saturate the back of the stain with a prewash stain remover or dry-cleaning fluid and blot, changing the towels as they pick up residue. Test on a hem first.

   Why: The gum base doesn't dissolve in water but does in solvents. Working from the back pushes it out into the towel instead of deeper into the fabric.

5. 5

   Rinse and wash

   Let any solvent evaporate, rinse the area, rub a little liquid detergent into any colored or sugary mark left, then wash the item as its care label directs.

   Why: Gum coloring and sugars can leave a second stain once the base is gone, and detergent lifts it. Solvent-damp items shouldn't go into the machine.

6. 6

   Air-dry and check

   Check the spot before drying. Air-dry if any trace remains, and repeat the solvent step.

   Why: Dryer heat would melt any remaining gum back into the fibers.

Why gum clings to bedding

Chewing gum is a gum base of elastomers and resins with softeners, plus sweeteners, flavor and often color. Warm from a mouth or a sleeping body, it's soft and wraps around fibers. It won't dissolve in water, but it hardens with cold and softens in oils and solvents. It belongs with wax and resin stains, and the general method is on the gum stain page.

That's the logic of the method: cold to release the bulk, solvent to dissolve the film, and a wash for any sugar or dye left behind.

Sheets, fleece blankets and comforters

Cotton and microfiber sheets are tightly woven, so frozen gum usually pops off cleanly. Fleece, plush and knit blankets have a pile or loops that gum wraps into: freeze it thoroughly, then lift it out a little at a time with the tip of a dull knife, working along the pile. Comforters and duvets have fill inside, so ice the spot and treat only the shell, using as little solvent as possible.

Silk sheets, wool blankets and anything labeled dry-clean only should be frozen and gently lifted, then taken to a cleaner rather than treated with solvent. Care basics are on the sheets page.

By situation

Gum found in the morning

It doesn't matter how long it's been there. Gum doesn't dry like a liquid stain, and older gum is often harder, which can make it easier to freeze and crack off.

Gum went through the washer

It may have spread or stuck to other items in the load. Check every piece. Re-ice and scrape each spot, apply the solvent, and rewash.

Gum went through the dryer

It may have melted onto several items and onto the drum. Let everything cool, then harden each spot with ice, scrape, treat with solvent and rewash. Unplug the dryer and work only on a cool drum when scraping gum off it.

Gum in a fleece or sherpa blanket

Give it a long freeze so the gum is brittle all the way through, then work it out in small pieces. A prewash remover from the back handles the residue tangled in the pile.

Colored gum left a mark

After the gum is out, pretreat with liquid detergent and wash. For leftover dye, use oxygen bleach, or chlorine bleach on white cotton labeled bleach-safe.

What not to do

• Don't wash or dry the bedding with gum still on it. Heat softens gum and spreads it into the fibers and onto other items.
• Don't pull warm gum off. Soft gum stretches and leaves residue, and it can pull out fibers or loops.
• Don't put solvent-damp bedding in the washer or dryer. Solvents are flammable. Let them evaporate or rinse them out first.

Other methods that work

Cooking oil or petroleum jelly

Oil softens gum base, so rubbing a little in can loosen gum. Old government guidance used similar tricks, but it's traditional advice with weak evidence, and it leaves an oil stain you then have to remove.

Caution: Follow with a liquid detergent pretreatment and a warm wash.

Fabric or upholstery spot cleaner

The University of Georgia's method for fabric ices and scrapes the gum, lays it face down on an absorbent towel, and sponges it with a commercial fabric or upholstery cleaner before laundering.

Caution: Read the label and test it first, especially on colored bedding.

Stain still there?

A sticky, shiny patch remains

That's a thin film of gum base. Re-apply the prewash remover or dry-cleaning fluid from the back, blot onto fresh towels, and wash again.

Gum keeps softening as you scrape

Your hands and the room are warming it. Re-ice the spot more often, or put a small item in the freezer for an hour.

A pink or colored stain is left

That's dye from the gum. Pretreat with liquid detergent and wash with a bleach safe for the fabric.

Safety

• Prewash removers and dry-cleaning fluids are flammable and give off vapors. Ventilate and keep them away from flames.
• Keep frozen gum fragments away from small children, who could choke on them.

Never mix cleaning products; see chemicals you must never combine.

Questions

Gum on other surfaces

• Gum stains: the complete guide
• Gum on carpet
• Gum on clothes
• Gum on hair

Other stains on sheets

• Stains on sheets: the complete guide
• Blood on sheets
• Slime on sheets
• Sweat on sheets