When kids gets their hands on chewing gum, it hardly ever stays in their mouths. They'll put the gum in their pocket, their hair and even in your carpet. If you take care of it immediately, then there is usually no harm done. Unfortunately, if the gum gets pressed into the carpet, it becomes a very sticky and gooey mess. There are a lot of different ways you can get that gummy mess out of your carpet. You even have four items in your kitchen right now!

1. Ice Cubes

Ice is probably one of the easiest and fastest ways to get gum out of your carpet. All you need to do is grab an ice cube from your freezer and press it against the gum on the carpet. The ice will cause the gum to become hard as well as brittle, which is necessary to remove the gum. Once the ice has made the gum hard, you can use a butter knife to scrape it off.

2. Peanut Butter

Another very popular remedy is peanut butter. Head to the pantry, grab the jar of peanut butter and scoop about a teaspoon of it out. Rub the peanut butter on the gum. Give it a minute for the oils to soak into the gum, then use a damp cloth to remove the peanut butter and the gum. There may be a small amount of residue left behind, but you can easily remove it with some soap and water.

3. Cooking Oil

Whether it is vegetable oil or olive oil, cooking oil is very effective in removing gum from the carpet. This is because, like peanut butter, it is oily. Apply a teaspoon of your choice of cooking oil. The oil helps to reduce the stickiness of the gum, which will allow you to literally pick the gum out of the carpet with just your fingers. However, you need to be careful because the oil could stain the carpet, so you'll want to limit the time you leave the oil on the carpet. You also need to have soap and water handy so that you can clean the area immediately after you get the gum up.

4. Vinegar

If you have a light-colored carpet, you can use vinegar to remove the gum. The vinegar will soak into the gum, reducing its stickiness and helping to release it from the carpet fibers. After about 15 minutes of soaking, you should be able to scrape the gum off with a butter knife. If you have a dark-colored carpet, you will want to avoid this option or do a test area in an unseen area because the vinegar could cause the colors in the carpet to bleed.

If you have tried all four of these remedies and still can't get that gum to let go of your carpet, then it may be time to give a professional carpet cleaning company like Chem Dry of Spotsylvania a call. While the aforementioned kitchen staples will generally work, there is always that one piece of gum that is going to give you a hard time. Luckily, professional carpet cleaners can put their equipment and chemicals to use and get that gum out without damaging your carpet in any way.