Chewing Gum Ghost Challenge

H2Ocean

New Member
OK here it is...I got to talking with the Supermarket Manager in town and casually asked him when he was going to let me get rid of all the chewing gum from the sidewalk....he says to me " I wont pay for it again, there was acompany that came out with a huge machine with hot water and spent ALL NIGHT, the gum was gone but there was still spots". So this obviously was the infamous ghost left behing. Apparently...and I love this type of cempetition.. Company X did everything with a wand and no surface cleaner, so I know I can do the whole job quicker with my Surface cleaner but my ultimate question is...how can i do a sure fire demo that removes the gum ghost so i can get this contract? There has to be something out there..I searched and pulled up ZEP oven brite...is this the only chem that works?? I want to prove this manager wrong even if as a marketing gig I give the job away!!!
 

grasshawg

New Member
I'd like to learn the answer to that as well. I'll be doing a lot of work for the High School this summer---lots of gum---.
Maybe a concrete brightner? Or will that just brighten the ghost marks with the concrete?
Randy
 

north coast

New Member
Your surface cleaner is not going to speed up gum removal. You may be able to clean the concrete with it first but you will still need to come back with a wand and get the gum and the areas missed by the surface cleaner. The ghost can be removed with concrete acid but I would not recommend that to be done on a regular basis.
 

Mike Gwas

New Member
No can do..... North Coast is correct.... Remove gum with a wand (turbo) then use the surface cleaner. The concrete cleaned will look great....
 

MR ALAN

New Member
If people did not neglect their concrete, the shadows would not be there. Regular maintenance cleaning setup at an interval that matches the traffic of the location is the ideal way to eliminate shadows and have a sharp looking customer.
I disagree with Mike on chasing gum with a turbo and then surface cleaning. You can chase gum all night, then have to surface clean and still have to wand again for the rinse.
Prespray the area if needed for the other soils, surface clean which also softens up the gum and then come back with the wand to rinse and pop gum.
Have a lower psi nozzle or a dual lance so that you do not rip up the concrete. The yellow 15° tip is the most common for gum, and with a slight angle, you can use the wand as a heated putty knife to remove the gum. Whatever happens, do not use a Red 0°.

You are using hot water right?
 

Aplus

New Member
I agree with Alan 100%.

That is exactly how I clean concrete and 'pop' gum. And I've done more than my fair share.

From everything I've researched, and all the boards I've perused, there does not seem to be a silver bullet to remove the ghost stains. They do fade out over time, though, and if the concrete is regularly maintained, with gum removed, the problem somewhat diminishes.
 

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