Chewing gum is one of the world’s oldest candies, having been created from the latex sap (chicle) found inside a sapodilla tree. Gum base, sweeteners, softeners, and flavors are now common constituents in all chewing gums. Different flavorings are used by different gum makers, resulting in a variety of tastes. Chewing gum, on the other hand, isn’t all fun. It’s difficult to remove if it becomes attached to your shirt or the sole of your shoe. Let’s check out how to get gum off shoes.
Freeze the Gum
In a plastic bag, place the shoe. Put your gum-covered shoe in a plastic bag, such as a large grocery bag or a large food storage bag. It doesn’t matter if the shoe doesn’t fit completely in the bag; just make sure the gum is pressed against the plastic.
Grasp the plastic and press it on your gums. For many seconds, firmly press the plastic bag against the piece of gum. This procedure will not work unless the gum adheres to the plastic before freezing.
Place the shoe in the freezer for a few minutes. Make room in your freezer for the shoe with the plastic covering. If the shoe isn’t completely enclosed in the plastic bag, keep it away from any food to avoid spreading germs.
Place the shoe in the freezer for at least two hours. This will allow the gum to stick to the plastic bag and freeze. Remove the shoe and bag from the freezer after they have frozen.
Taking the sneaker out of the plastic bag is a good idea. Instead of sticking to your shoe, the gum should attach to the plastic bag, keeping your shoe gum-free! [1]
Putting Ice to Work
Ice cubes should be placed in a large plastic bag. Place your shoe, gum-side down, on top of the ice cubes. Allowing the ice cubes to go inside or around the shoe will cause your shoe to become moist.
Keep the ice cubes ice cold. Use a food storage bag that can be zipped closed or tied securely to keep it from melting too quickly.
Firmly press the ice against the gum until it has completely frozen. Only until the gum has frozen solid will you be able to remove it. Please be patient as this may take some time.
Scrape the gum from the shoe once it has frozen. Scrape the hard, frozen gum from the shoe with a putty knife or dull butter.
Use WD-40
WD-40 should be sprayed on the gum. Spray WD-40 on the sole of your shoe, as well as on and around your gums. Allow the WD-400 to loosen the gum’s adhesive bond by allowing it to sit for at least a minute.
Remove the gum using a damp cloth. Wipe the gum off the sole of the shoe with a paper towel, rag, or other cloth. It should be quite simple to remove. If that doesn’t work, give the gum another spray and try again.
Your shoe’s sole should be clean. After the gum has been removed, wipe the shoe with a paper towel or clean rag to eliminate any remaining residue from the spray.
Using Peanut Butter
Grab a jar of creamy peanut butter and apply a thick layer to the gum and let it sit for 10 minutes.
Remove the peanut butter with a scrub. After 10 minutes, clean the peanut butter and gum away with a wire brush. It might take some elbow grease, but the gum should come out as well.
To avoid hurting your shoe, scrape with the grooves of the sole rather than against them.
Make sure your shoe is clean. To remove any peanut butter residue, soak the sole of your shoe in cold running water and scrub it with a sponge.
Using a Stick and Sand
Find a dry sandbox and a wooden stick. If you’re outside and happen to step on some fresh gum that is still soft and flexible, this method works wonderfully. All you need is a tiny wooden stick and some dry sand (or mud).
Over the gums, strew some sand. Remove your shoe and sift some sand over your gums. Start rubbing the sand into the gum with the stick; it should start breaking away in little chunks.
Continue rubbing and adding more sand. As the gum begins to peel away, add additional sand to the top and continue rubbing. The sand functions as a natural exfoliant for your shoe’s bottom!
Dissolve the Gum
Make use of lighter fluid to Soak an old cloth or a piece of paper towel in naphtha and rub the gums with it. The gum should start to break down.
Because naphtha is highly flammable, make careful you utilise it in a well-ventilated place away from any heat sources.
Remove your nail polish with nail polish remover. Chewing gum can be removed off the sole of a shoe with an acetone-based nail polish remover. Soak a paper towel or rag in the remover and rub it on the gums until they are gone.
Only use this approach on certain types of shoes, as acetone might destroy the finish of patent or suede shoes.
Making Use of Olive Oil
Apply olive oil on your gums. Avoid getting it directly on the shoe’s leather or suede, as it may discolour.
Allow the oil to settle for a minute before using.
Using a paper towel, wipe away the oil.
With a pointy-ended instrument coated in olive oil, remove any excess gum.
Done. The gum should now be completely removed. Dispose of in a proper manner.
How do you remove gum from suede shoes?
Other approaches are required when it comes to removing gum from suede shoes. After all, when ice melts, which it does after 10 minutes of rubbing on your shoe, it turns into water. Freezing away your gum may not be the greatest approach because water is not good for your suede and might develop stains of its own.
Rubbing peanut butter on the delicate suede may cause further damage, thus softening the gum appears to be out of the question as well.
The first step, on the other hand, should be to delicately scrape away the gum with a credit card or knife without disturbing the top layer of your suede. After that, utilizing a suede shoe eraser is your best bet for getting them back to their original appearance.
The FootFitter Professional 4-Way Suede and Nubuck Cleaner, for example, has a stain eraser as well as other essential brushes. On fragile suede, the eraser works nicely and should remove any lingering gum residue.
