While bubble gum may be the bane of the service industry where they have to regularly remove it from the underside of tables, chairs, and the trashcans, it can affect any industry. In fact, these days, it is more common for people to spit their gum out on the sidewalk rather than stick it to the underside of a table. While there is less of a stigma about spitting gum out on the sidewalk, it makes it no less of a menace.
When gum lands on a sidewalk, when it is fresh, it is malleable but sticky. Particularly on warm days, people might step in it and get a little on their shoe, but in many cases, the gum will actually split. Some will leave on the shoe, while the rest is pressed into the concrete. Unfortunately, as gum ages, it absorbs into the pores of the concrete that are meant to make the surface absorb and quickly dry any water like rain. Once this happens and the gum hardens, you can scrape off the top surface with enough elbow grease and a scraper, but discoloration will remain in the concrete’s pores.
One or two bubble gum stains on concrete usually isn’t such a big deal, but the more stains you get, the uglier the walkway will look. For this, power washing is a great removal option. It takes significantly less time than scraping and scrubbing and is much more effective. However, water pressure alone will not remove bubble gum. In fact, using just pressure will more likely damage the concrete, a side effect that no one wants. Instead, hot water should be used as well as proper power washing technique to coax the gum out of the pores of the concrete so it can be dissolved away.
If you have begun to collect an unpleasant amount of black bubble gums stains on your concrete and don’t want to put the time into ineffectually scraping it off, contact us today. At 214 Pressure Washing, making your business look good is our business.
