The morning after spending an evening child-sitting for my wife’s young niece and nephew, we discovered that they apparently spit out some chewing gum and mashed it into a new couch and carpeting. As is natural with most kids, they didn’t say anything to us about it.
My wife was heart-broken, because we just recently paid a lot of money for both the couch and the carpeting. I once saw some information about a technique for removing chewing gum from clothing using and ice cube and decided to try it with our couch and carpet.
The trick is to take an ice cube and hold it against the gum for about a minute. The gum freezes and becomes brittle. It can then be removed by picking at it with a fingernail and a toothpick. Be sure to collect the pieces on a paper towel so that they do not become embedded again. If the gum softens while going through the removal process, apply the ice cube again. This can be a tedious process, but it is more cost-effective than replacing a couch and carpeting.
The same process can be used for removing chewing gum from clothing or a car seat.