There are many reasons why chewing gum may be an issue at your place of work. Whether it’s looking unprofessional and driving everyone to distraction with loud chewing, or nasty, stamped-in messes on the carpet, gum can be a real sticky issue for businesses. For outward-looking companies who welcome the public into their premises, the problem is magnified hugely, leading to ugly spattered outdoor surfaces and the occasional unpleasant surprise beneath tables…
Whether gum is a big problem or a small annoyance at your business, these tips will help you keep mess to a minimum and clean up stuck on gum…
How to reduce gum mess
They say that prevention is the best cure. If you can stop gum from making it to surfaces where it shouldn’t be, you’ll already be “winning the war” for a tidier, cleaner place of work. So how can you prevent the mess?
Ban gum outright
It may sound strict, but many UK workplaces (and the entirety of Singapore!) have actually banned gum full stop. This is not likely to be a popular policy and may irritate your staff, but if you’re serious about stopping the sticky stuff, it’s one route you might want to consider.
Ensure that bins are readily available
Only outright thoughtless vandals would spit out gum or stick it somewhere antisocial when a bin was readily available. Ensure that your place of work is well served by bins, so there’s always a place to put chewed gum. Make sure you place bins next to outside doors to ensure that no gum is spat out around your premises which can then be trodden inside on unsuspecting shoes.
Invest in decent doormats and bootscrapers
To make certain your workplace’s carpets remain as immaculate and gum-free as possible, considering ordering in hardier doormats and even installing bootscrapers by your main entrances. The world can be a messy place, so ensuring less mess crosses your threshold can make a big difference.
How to remove gum from carpets
Unfortunately sometimes there’s simply nothing you can do. If gum winds up trodden into your carpet however, all is not lost – the trick is to deal with it quickly. That’s because the longer gum has to harden, the more difficult it is to remove. If you catch the problem early:
- Apply ice in a plastic bag to the gum without squashing it further into the carpet,
- Allow the gum to harden as it cools,
- Use a tool (like a butter knife) to scrape the hardened gum from the carpet,
- Scrub the area with a cleaning spray and sponge,
- If any gum remains, try applying a small amount of WD-40, allowing it to soak in, then scrubbing with a fingernail brush in just one direction.
The Abbey Cleaning Service know more than a thing or two about dealing with all common workplace stains. Whether you need a one-off clean or regular tidy-ups, contact South Wales’ long-established commercial cleaning team on 029 2067 9323 today!
It’s truly useful. It can save a carpet from looking untidy and making a bad impression, but we don’t need to worry about the problem if we don’t accept chewing gum in the first place. Thanks a lot for the advice.