How to Get Taffy and Other Candy Out of Clothes

Happy Halloween! This is the one downside to trick-or-treating – plenty of sticky candy laundry. You didn’t say what type of sticky candy, but I’m guessing it is chewing gum. For that, you can use ice cubes to freeze the gum and then gently scrape away the hardened chunks. Just put the ice directly onto the gum—the ice will melt as you hold it on the gum so plan on using multiple ice cubes—enough to harden the gum. If you can’t scrape all of it away, then pretreat what is left with a little DeSolvIt or Goo Gone, which you can find at hardware stores. You should first test these solvents for colorfastness (apply a drop to a hidden part of the garment, rinse, and blot dry) to be sure the products are safe for the fabric. If there is no color change, spray or rub a little onto the gum and then wash with detergent in the hottest water allowed (check the care label). Allow to air dry and then check for success.  You can also use ice to jumpstart removal of other sticky candies such as tootsie rolls, lollipops, and salt water taffy.  Any remaining stain can be pretreated with Clorox 2^® For Colors Stain Remover and Laundry Additive before washing in the hottest water recommended on the care label using detergent and more Clorox 2^®.  Hopefully this is helpful—please let me know if you have any other questions, and thank you for writing!