End-of-Lease Cleaner Tips: How to Get Gum Off Your Carpet

When doing end-of-lease cleaning, you end up seeing all sorts of things stuck in rugs: dried blood, animal fur, fossilised bits of food, and so on. Usually, tenants try to clean everything out as it drops, but one of the most stubborn things to clean is chewing gum. Usually tenants just give up when they see gum in their carpet, but cleaning it isn't the nightmare everyone makes it up to be if you know the right methods.

1. Freeze it off

This method works perfectly no matter where your gum is, carpet, clothes, floor or anything else. Grab an ice pack from the freezer and let it sit 30 - 40 minutes on top of the gum. This isn't recommended if your carpet is made out of a material that doesn't play nice with water.

After the allotted time period, make sure the gum is frozen solid. Grab any time with a straight, thin edge that won't cut your carpet (such as a spatula, a ruler) and start peeling off your gum. If you didn't get it all off, use a toothbrush and rub at the remaining pieces.

2. Heat it up

Dried gum is the worst to clean because it has had time to cling to everything. However, bringing it back to its sticky origins using a hair drier and some plastic wrap might just do the trick. Put half the wrap on the gum and carpet, and hold the other part with your hand for later peeling. Heat the wrap up with the hair drier and gently start peeling away the wrap, millilitre by millilitre until the gum has been lifted off completely.

3. Lather it in oil

Use this method at your own risk, as it can stain certain carpet types. Avoid getting any oil on the rest of your carpet. Any oil works for this method, be it eucalyptus, olive, corn or vegetable oil. Apply 1 tablespoon of oil on the gum and let it sit, and then pick up the gum using your fingers. Oil breaks up the chemical bonds in the gum, making it less sticky. Make sure to clean the carpet afterwards.

4. Butter it up 

Apply 1 tablespoon of butter on the gum, let it sit for a few minutes, then remove it with a moist cloth. You can use creamy peanut butter or regular butter. This method will likely leave a little residue, so use the tip of a cloth or a toothbrush and some carpet stain remover or dish washing soap to remove it. Clean the area afterwards to avoid staining.

5. Spray it down

WD-40 spray boasts over 2000 different uses, one of which is cleaning gum. Spray a small amount on the area and then work it in with a toothbrush. Once the gum is loosened, pick it up with your fingers. Make sure to clean your hands afterwards! Clean the area afterwards with a washcloth and detergent to avoid staining. Also, beware that 40-WD is highly flammable, so avoid having any open flames near it while using it.

For more help with your end-of-lease cleaning you can contact services like Jet Carpet Cleaning and Services.