How to remove GUM from hair and clothes

With 7 kids I am the master at removing gum from clothing and carpet. With 5 girls, I am the master at removing gum from hair…

First, let’s start by saying that gum is banned from our home and cars. But for some reason I am still removing it from places that make me hate it even more and I also know why my PARENTS were gum haters.

This is one of my favorite pictures of my little one. What you don’t see is the HUGE wad of gum in the back of her hair that I had to hide for family pictures and spend 3 hours later that night trying to get out…

How to get gum out of clothing: 

• Ice – Take a piece of ice and hold it on the gum for about 5 minutes until the gum hardens. Take something like a putty knife and work the gum off. You can also freeze the piece of clothing, then try and pull off the gum in pieces with tweezers.
• Hair Spray – It might be the rubbing alcohol, I am not sure, but hair spray has always worked well for me. Just spray some on, and use a toothbrush to start rubbing away the gum.
• Goof Off – Or Goo Be Gone, I think it has a few names. This is my last resort because it can leave a stain on the clothes, but if nothing else works, this will remove it for sure!

How to get gum out of hair: 

• Peanut Butter – This has worked just about every time! Take some smooth peanut butter and rub it onto the gum. Start pulling sections apart and picking out the gum with your fingers. I don’t use this on clothing because it will leave a grease stain. You can also try mayonnaise.
• Ice – Same as with clothing, take some ice and hold it on the gum until it becomes hard and start pulling the gum apart in the hair and removing it a little at a time.
• Hairspray – Grab a comb and get comfy! Spray some hairspray on and start combing the gum out. Just a little bit at a time and separate each piece of hair from the gum… This is the least effective in my opinion but I have tried it as a last resort and it worked a little bit.
• Cutting it out – A few times I have had to cut out the gum. I always try to get as much of it out with peanut butter as I can, but if it isn’t possible and it isn’t a huge amount of hair I have cut it. Try cutting a little section first and see if you can’t work it out that way without having to cut all of it. Usually with a little snip in the largest section you can get the rest of it out.

How do you remove gum from clothing and hair?