How to Get Gum Out of Pant Pockets

Forgetting to remove a pack of gum from your pants pocket before throwing them in the washing machine can have disastrous consequences. Chances are the gum cements the fabric to itself, resulting in a pair of pants that is unwearable at the very least. There are a number of ways to get gum out of fabric, but the simplest method involves purposefully hardening the gum prior to removal. Reclaim your pair of pants using your freezer and a few household materials.

Freezer
Butter knife
Cotton balls
Solvent

Instructions

- 1
  Reach into the pocket, grasp the bottom and pull it out of the pants. The gum stain should be exposed.
- 2
  Place the pair of pants into the freezer for several hours, or overnight for better results. The gum should be hard to the touch when you remove the pants.
- 3
  Chip away as much of the gum as possible using the blade of a butter knife.
- 4
  Saturate several cotton balls with a solvent, such as lighter fluid, acetone or isopropyl alcohol, and press them to the remaining gum stain. Allow the solvent to penetrate the gum and loosen it for several minutes.
- 5
  Flake off the remaining gum stain using the butter knife.
- 6
  Push the pocket back into the pants and launder as normal, or according to the care instructions printed on the tag.

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