Tips For Removing Gum and Adhesives from Carpets

This article was originally published in Clean Link.

Spring’s here, and that means many commercial facilities will be cleaning their carpeting. It also means that gum, adhesives, and similar soiling that found their way onto carpets now need to come out.

Removing this type of soiling can be a challenge. Even when it appears that gum or adhesives have been removed, they sometimes reappear a few days later. This is because some of the sticky residue remains in the carpet.

To remove gum and adhesive residue from carpets, read the following suggestions:

• Scrape: Scrape off as much of the gum/adhesive as possible. Freezing the gum and “chipping” it off is also an option.
• Heat: After scraping the matter from the carpet, a sticky residue usually remains. Often this can be removed with hot-water carpet extraction or steam vapor applied over an absorbent towel (the residue transfers to the towel).
• Chemicals: Either a non-volatile dry solvent, a volatile dry solvent, or a gel solvent can be used to remove any remaining residue. Allow for dwell time, and then agitate the area using a scraper. This works the solvent into the residue. Rinse with hot water and detergent.

Other options include placing a paper towel directly on the adhesive. Then place a clean cloth over the paper towel and iron over it until all the adhesive is lifted onto the paper towel. Sometimes applying a cloth soaked in water and vinegar and placing it on the problem area overnight may also remove the adhesive.