October 2005 Problem
October 27th 2005

I work in a large college as cleaning manager. I have a problem with a large amount of chewing gum stuck to carpets. Having just started here I think the gum has been there for years. With the size of the area, Ice is not an option. Do you have a quick and foolproof method for removing old gum from carpets.

Julie at Chemspec provides a solution

Firstly if there was a quick foolproof method for removing large quantities of gum without any damage I have yet to hear about it. However when it comes to Chewing Gum Removal – there are two main products on the market for the removal of gum from carpets freeze spray and gel type* spotters.

Both these types of gum removal were initially pioneered and developed for the industry by Chemspec, so we do know a little about safe gum removal from carpets. The freeze spray is often used for individual pieces of gum and is too time consuming and fiddly for large quantities of gum. The gel is perfect as it is applied to all the pieces and then all scraped gently away without causing any damage to the carpet and not taking anything like the time it takes for the freeze method and much more inexpensive than the freeze method to use.

Some of the gels on the market are like a hand cream consistency and others are like clear toothpaste consistency. The latter was especially designed for low profile carpet tiles or impervious backed carpets. The thickness allows the gel to sit on the surface of the gum and break it down without running into the backing of carpets and causing any damage to the backing (which is often affected by the solvent which dissolves the gum). The gel is then scraped away, along with the residue using a spatula or round ended knife. We can offer either but I would add that the solid gel is by far the most popular. If the residue is a big area the product can be brushed in and blotted away. The product smells of oranges and in based on orange oil. It is also very effective on adhesive residues, make up, photocopier toners and in fact any oil or adhesive based substances. Some carpet cleaners will use a form of knuckle duster to penetrate the gum before application instead of the spatula or knife. Some will use steam to help to break down the gum, but care must be taken not to damage the carpet. Some commercial operators even resort to using a Stanley knife and sheering off the gum. This is either a very highly skilled operation or a very risky way of removing gum. I would suggest the gel as a good choice, ours is also Woolsafe approved and is therefore suitable for general use on all fibres safely, subject to industry pre-testing procedures of course.

* Chemspec’s clear gel is Liqua Gel

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