How To Get Gum Off Car Seat | The Easy Way

The sticky composition of gum makes it hard to get off a car seat completely. Sometimes you are lucky enough to clean part of it, but you still have to deal with left-over residue.

Your best bet to clean gum entirely from a car seat is to freeze the affected part of the seat with an ice pack. The ice will stiffen the stuck gum residue making it easier to remove. Using a spatula and scrape off the frozen gum.

There are different situations where the gum is stuck on a larger portion of the car seat. Worse still, you want a remedy for previous stubborn gum residue that will not go away. Read and learn useful methods to get rid of that gum stain.

How To Get Gum Off Car Seat

The best method to clean gum from a seat is to freeze the gum. Here we have discussed the different steps and methods of getting rid of gum from your car seat.

Freezing

1. Remove ice cubes from your freezer and put them into a Ziplock bag. Alternatively, use an ice pack.
2. Rub the ice pack on the gum surface for some minutes.
3. At this point, you will notice the ice cubes have begun melting, don’t worry; the Ziplock bag is supposed to hold the water.
4. If you feel the water would leak out, go ahead and double the ziplock.
5. Check that the gum feels stiff to touch.
6. Use a spatula to scrape the gum off.
7. Be careful not to ruin the car seat by scraping too tough.
8. Be gentle as you work and wrap your hand with a towel to protect it from the ice.

Vinegar

Vinegar is like a wonder product when it comes to cleaning surfaces. It is non-toxic yet effective. You can remove those tough gum residues that wouldn’t clean from your car seat.

1. Pour some white vinegar into a bowl.
2. In another bowl, pour in hot water. Using the double boiler method, put the bowl containing the white vinegar over the bowl of water. It would warm up the vinegar a bit.
3. Now, you have warmed up your vinegar, dip a cloth into it and rub the dipped cloth on the soiled surface. 
4. Ensure the vinegar saturate the gum, and then allow it to sit for some time.
5. The vinegar would cause the gum to soften. It’s easier to remove this way.
6. Using a pair of tweezers and pick off the gum.

Please note that this method would work for cloth car seats and not for leather seats.

Mild Soap

A mild soap mix would remove residue from leather seats.

1. In a bowl, mix in dish soap, vinegar, and warm water.
2. Plunge a brush into the mix and scrub the sticky surface.
3. Scrub until it is clean.
4. Wipe off the foam residue with a damp cloth.
5. Leave the seat to air dry

Scotch Tape

Scotch tape is like using sticky to get rid of sticky. Genius right? You can use this on the leather car seat.

1. Cut out the length of the scotch tap you need and stick it on the gum.
2. Apply pressure and peel it off
3. Notice the gum bits stuck under the tape? Repeat as required

How Do I Use DIY Methods To Clean Gum Off A Car Seat?

Peanut Butter 

Peanut butter is particularly good for removing gum because of the oils in it. For this method, gently scrape off the gum residue as much as would come off. Apply and rub in some peanut butter onto the surface.

You want to get the peanut butter into the gum residue. But do not spread the gum further into the car seat. Allow the oils to soak the gum.

Scrap off the gum with a dull knife. Pay attention not to ruin the seat with cuts from the knife. Further, clean the seat with soap and water to get off any residual stains.

Dab and blot dry with a damp cloth.

Degreaser

Degreaser is a store-bought product and would work to remove gum from your car seat. Please read your car seat manual to be sure this product is safe to use.

• Soak a damp cloth with this product.
• Using the saturated cloth, rub on the sticky surface.
• Use another cloth to wipe off the soap and gum residue.

Ice Cubes

Ice is one of the most used and trusted DIY to remove gum residue. The ice freezes the sticky gum and turns it hard. Here in this method, you need;

• An ice pack or ziplock bag of ice
• Dish soap
• Scraper
• Toothbrush 
• Soft cloth

Procedure

1. Use the ice pack to rub your car seat. 
2. Rub it until it hardens.
3. Scrap off the gum.
4. Make a stop mix and ensure it lathers well.
5. Dip a cloth in the soapbox and rub your car seat surface.
6. Wipe off using a damp cloth.

Adhesive Remover

You can use a store-bought product like goo gone. To use this product;

• Apply the adhesive remover on a cloth.
• Rub the cloth on the gum surface
• Scrap off the gum using a scrapper.
• Apply the product directly on the car seat
• Use a scrubber to scrub off the residue.
• Wipe off using soap and water to remove any other remnant.

Vinegar

Vinegar is effective in removing stains. It can effectively get rid of the gum and sticky residue. It loosens and turns the gum into goo you can easily remove.

For this method, you need; 

• Vinegar 
• 1 tbsp. of liquid dish soap
• 1 tbsp. of vinegar
• 2 cups of warm water

Procedure

1. Make a mix with the above ingredients.
2. Use a cloth to soak the mix.
3. Place the saturated cloth on your car seat fabric.
4. Peel off the gum.

Vinegar can work effectively alone but must be wiped off with water. Vinegar gets rid of any dirt without ruining the seat. 

How Do I Get Rid Of Gum From My Leather Car Seat?

Vegetable oil is one fast way to remove gum from leather seats. The freezing method also works but may not completely get off the residue. Soap also is a good strategy to utilize.

For the vegetable oil method, put a few drops on your car seat. Blot to remove excess oil. Scrub off with a brush and remove the gum.

Wipe off loose debris and apply a good conditioner to prep the leather seat.

The tape is another ideal DIY hack for your leather seat. To use this method, cut out some tape and place that strip on the gum. Press the tape down so it sticks and then peels off. Do this multiple times until you get off all gum residues. 

These cleaning strategies are easy to use. They can be used together or as stand-alone hacks. Check through your household and find out which ingredients you have, and try out different methods. There are other methods to clean urine , clean grease or clean leather seats 

Conclusion

We have discussed the different ways to remove gum from the car seat. Gum stains can be easy to get rid of if you utilize the easy hacks above. The freezing method is great for cloth material seats. For leather seats, the easiest gum remover is oil. On a related note, if you’re wondering how to tell if your old car will be as new, check out our article on ‘Make Old Car Look New‘ for some helpful tips.