Chewing Gum Removal Cardiff

Why steam and not pressure

Gum is an adhesive that softens with heat. Low pressure steam with a gum specific detergent softens it enough to be lifted off in seconds, and because the pressure is low the surface underneath is untouched. High pressure does eventually remove gum, but it removes a little of the paving with it, so a walkway treated that way ends up covered in pale circles where each piece used to be. On a shopfront that reads almost as badly as the gum did.

Old gum and fresh gum

Fresh gum is soft, black and obvious. Old gum has flattened, dried and gone grey, and it is usually mistaken for a stain in the stone. It still comes off, it just takes longer per piece, and on a busy frontage the count matters more than the age: a hundred pieces is a couple of hours whatever state they are in.

Where we do this work

• Shop and restaurant frontages, and the paving immediately outside them.
• Retail parks, precincts and walkways.
• School, college and public building entrances.
• Transport interchanges, shelters and stair treads.

Doing it before you open

Gum removal is slow, methodical, piece by piece work, and it is much easier when nobody is walking through it. Early morning is the norm. On a precinct we will often work with your cleaning team so the gum goes at the same time as the general clean rather than as a second disruption.

Before the shutters go up

Gum removal is slow, piece by piece work and it is far easier when nobody is walking through it. Early morning is the norm on a frontage or a precinct. On a shopping centre we will often work alongside your own cleaning team so the gum goes during the general clean rather than as a second disruption.

Very little water, and where the residue goes

This is the one job on this list that barely uses water. Steam and a gum specific detergent lift the gum and the residue is collected rather than flushed, so there is no run-off to manage across a public walkway and no wet area left for your customers to walk through. The area is safe to use as soon as it is dry.

Public areas and access

Frontages, precincts and school entrances mean working next to the public, so the area gets signed and segregated as we move along it. RAMS and insurance details come before we arrive, and for school and public building work we can supply what your site requires.