How To Remove Gum From Shoes - Unhappy Hipsters

Bubble gums are good. They help you to get an instant fresh breath. They can also cure your boredom and strengthen your jaw.

What makes them bad is when people just throw them on the streets. Thanks to them, now you need to know how to remove gum from shoes.

Trainers, heels, or flats are not immune to this. Once the sole steps on one, trouble comes next. It is not a pleasant experience, especially since you cannot just remove it with your bare hand. Yuck.

There are ways on how to get gum off shoes.

1. The Best Weapons in Removing Gum from Shoe

Alright, before you decide to throw your shoes away with gum on it, do not give up yet. There are other ways to keep them with you, without the extra gum. Here are the best weapons that you need:

Peanut butter
Ice cubes
Compressed air (WD4)
Credit card (No joke)
Plastic tool
Spoon
Knife (dull-edged)
Soap
Water (definitely)
Olive oil

Why is there a lot of them here? Removing gum from shoes has different methods for different types of shoes. One may not work for the other, so that explains the best weapons here.

Still, some of these weapons may work for all kinds of shoes. We will check them out soon.

2. The Peanut Butter

Remove Gum from Shoes with peanut butter

Yes, we are talking about the peanut butter you normally spread on your bread. Guess what? It can save your shoe soles too from nasty, sticky gum.

Prepare your spoon or a dull-edged knife. You will use any of them to smear the peanut butter over the gum. Wait for the gum to soften before you carefully scrape off all of it with the knife.

Once the gum (and the peanut butter) is off your shoe, then wash the shoes.

How long does it take before the gum softens? It only takes about 20 minutes. Do not try this method on your suede shoes, though. It will only damage your shoes even worse.

Peanut butter can also be used to remove the gum from your hair. This definitely saves you from a possible bad haircut.

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3. Freeze It Up

This is probably one of the basic science facts and experiments we all can have fun with.

First of all, keep your shoes sealed inside a plastic Ziploc bag as tight as possible. This way, the gum will be pressed against the inside of the bag. Put the bag in the freezer and leave it for maximum two hours.

Make sure the freezer is big enough for your shoe. Remove other contents for a while if you have to.

After that, the gum usually hardens. Take the bag out, get your shoe out of it, and check. The gum usually gets taken out too once the plastic bag is pulled back.

Another cold method is to use some ice cubes. For 15 to 20 minutes, rub an ice cube over the gum on your shoe. Once it hardens, carefully scrape it off with a dull-edged knife or a credit card.

This method also works wonders if the gum is on a door handle. Whether the door handle is made of steel or wood, it does not matter.

However, it is best that you should not do this to your suede shoes. Not only the ice cubes will leave some permanent stains, but it will also ruin the quality of the suede material too.

4. The Compressed Air

This is another method to remove the gum from the bottom of shoe.

WD4 is one of the examples of this method. Simply spray it to where the gum is on your shoe. Wait for it to harden before you remove it with the knife or a credit card.

A toothpick or a tweezer is also possible to get rid of the remaining residue. This can be used if your shoe soles are textured.

5. The Olive Oil

This is also another method to remove gum from shoes. This is how it works:

Apply some olive oil on the gum. You can rub it up using a tissue before you let it be for a few minutes.

Then, rub it off with a paper towel. You might still need to pluck it out with a plastic tool, because some bits might resist the attempt. Do not forget to dip the edge of the tool in olive oil.

This method is also a big no-no for leather and suede shoes. Never apply oil directly on those materials. You will ruin them.

6. Leather and Suede: In Need of Special Care

When it comes to learning how to remove gum from shoes, sports trainers and slippers are probably the easiest to deal with.

However, your leather and suede ones are in need of special care. You cannot just rub the gum off in the usual way.

Your leather shoes

To remove gum from leather, you can apply some ice on the gum. Wait for it to harden before you scrape it off with a plastic tool or a credit card.

Since the knife can tear off the material, do not use it.

Then you can shine your leather shoes again once the gum is completely out. However, before you do so, check again. You may have to repeat the first attempt, since bits of gum residue might still stick.

This also requires patience and persistence.

Your suede shoes

As mentioned earlier, using peanut butter or ice cubes for these is not recommended. You do not want any permanent stain, which in time will damage the quality of the material.

It is true that when you have expensive stuff, be ready to invest on their special care. Your suede shoes are included. To remove chewing gum from shoes like this requires a special cleaner or eraser.

You are usually suggested this package when you buy suede shoes in stores.

Yes, gum can be nasty once it is on the floor. Nobody likes having it on the bottom of their shoes or else. By knowing how to remove gum from shoes, you will not have to worry about this matter anymore.