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Last night I somehow had chewing gum on the back of my shirt, and before I knew it was there, I leaned against a throw pillow on my couch, getting gum on the pillow too.
How would you remove the gum?
NOTE: This is different than the existing question of how to get gum out of a carpet, since carpets are typically stuck to the floor and are big. The fact that the shirt and pillow are "free" and small results in different answers (like the one that worked for me; see below!).
I put my shirt and the throw pillow in the freezer overnight. In the morning, I was able to break off most of the gum. There was still some stringy residue. I pressed duct tape against it, peeled it off, pressed the duct tape against it again, peeled it off again, and both the shirt and the pillow are now gum-free.
My top ways, as an avid gum chewer:
Hot water. We all know that hot water makes gum fall apart so try boiling water. Cover the area with hot water and then scrub while soaked by the water. (Do not put your hand in boiling water...)
Use peanut butter. Cover the gum with peanut butter and then let it sit. Repeat as needed and let the peanut butter sit for a while. Scrape it off when done. The peanut butter may leave a stain, but you can use oil removers and other stain control to get rid of it.
If all else fails or you don't feel confident enough to operate on the clothes, then go to a professional. It will be more expensive, but will make sure that your clothes are fixed, in most cases.
Additional Info
Alcohol, orange oil and hair spray are said to work.
Dry ice. Apply dry ice for 5-10 minutes and then treat the gum as you'd treat dirt: use brush of something similar. Be careful not to freeze-burn yourself.
