What To Do If You End Up With Gum In Your Carpet

Carpeting offers comfort and warmth for cold feet, but we all know it can be difficult to keep clean, especially with young children or pets in the home. Sometimes it's a spilled glass of fruit punch, or stains from dirty paws or shoes, or that dreaded Nickelodeon Slime you wish you never bought, but what if it's a piece of chewing gum?

Realizing there's gum stuck on your carpet is just as annoying as finding a piece on the sole of your shoe, if not more. That's because it can be tricky to remove, especially if it's been allowed to settle into the fibers. The good news is, gum can quickly and easily be removed from carpet with something you already have in your freezer: ice cubes. All you need to do is place a few cubes in a small plastic bag, and place the bag on top of the gum for about a minute. After the gum hardens, scrape it off with a butter knife. Repeat these steps until the largest pieces are gone. Then, you can pull the smallest remnants with your fingers. However, sometimes you'll need a bit more elbow grease.

After freezing the gum and lifting as much of it as possible, its advised to vacuum or scrub away the remaining pieces with a bristled brush. For the final step, you can make a solution of dish soap and water in a spray bottle, and saturate the gum spot with it. Finish it off by taking a small cloth and blotting the area. 

If the ice and scrubbing method aren't enough to eliminate all the gum bits, another method is to add a few drops of a cream that includes the ingredient methyl salicylate to the gum residue. This ingredient is commonly found in muscle rubs like Icy Hot and Bengay. Other methods that don't involve ice, but can still be effective at removing gum, include using WD-40 or warm vinegar. Accidents happen, and yes, sometimes they result in gum getting stuck in the fibers of your living room carpet. The ice technique is a great option if you prefer a chemical-free approach. Plus, it involves using some of the most common kitchen items.