Chewing Gum Removal

The old and wasteful method of chewing gum removal was high pressure washing, which uses around 40 litres of water per minute. The negative side of using this method are:

• Massive volumes of water are wasted
• Considerable power is required meaning large generators are needed
• A large number of vehicles and operatives are required
• Operating restrictions are imposed due to noise (making night time works impossible in populated areas)
• A very real risk of damage to paving and stonework
• Secondary cleaning of shop windows etc needed due to the blasting of debris and water

Steam Machines are the more environmentally friendly method of gum removal introduced over the last ten years. The detergent is injected into the steam and fed through a lance to a small brush attachment which is used to agitate the gum for around 6 to 8 seconds until the gum is destroyed. This method uses approximately 2 litres of water and 2 litres of chemical per hour as the low pressure combined with high heat allows easier removal.

The negative side of using steam machines is that a large generator is required to provide the 3000 watts needed to ensure constant steam. This causes problems in busy pedestrian areas as there are trailing electrical leads on the ground from large generators or vehicles, meaning closures to public places to address this risk.

However, the biggest downside of steam machines is that it doesn't matter which machine is used, they all have the same inherent problem - steam and electricity do not mix well.

Prolonged usage of steam machines inevitably leads to unreliability - loss of pressure at best or failure of circuit boards at worst.

The Gumpak overcomes these issues because it is small and self contained. Steam doesn't need to be pumped over a long distance and never goes near the electrical components. Find out how the Gumpak works.