When I was a kid, my dad would do laundry, and sometimes my money would get washed in my pants pocket.  He would remind me over and over to check and empty my pockets before putting things in the clothes hamper, and I ‘d always complain and say, “Why can’t you check them?”

Fast forward several years later! My Do-Over Moment:

I’d been married for about a year, and we’d just bought a washer and dryer.  It was slightly used, but very new to us.  I think we’d had the set for about a month, when I opened the dryer one day and found the entire inside was covered in gum! It was cinnamon gum from my husband’s shorts pocket!

Miraculously none of the clothes were ruined.  The shorts with the gum inside the pocket had to be re-washed, and there were a couple of other pieces that had trace amounts of gum on them, but this was easily removed.  However, I had a dryer filled with dried gum!

So of course I did what any good blogger or modern housewife would do.  I ran to the internet to search for ways to get rid of the gum!  I found two solutions which worked very well for me.  Here they are:

Baking Soda:  In a bowl, make a solution of baking soda and water. Place the solution in the dryer, and use a washcloth to rub and scrub te dryer. This will loosen the gum and rub it away.

Dryer Sheets:  For small amounts of gum or for places where you’ve used the baking soda method but still have trace amounts of gum, take a dryer sheet and rub. Gum will become loose and stick to the dryer sheet.

Apart from these two tips, I’ve also learned that it’s a good idea to check all pockets before doing laundry.  I’ve asked my husband to try and remove things from his pockets, and at the same time, I try to check them myself before putting them in the wash.  I think this is a good compromise, and hopefully if everyone works together we can avoid this mistake in the future!

Disclosure:  I was compensated for this post as a member of Clever Girls Collective. All the opinions expressed here are my own.