How we remove chewing gum and tar:
We freeze the gum and scrape the residue from the fiber with a blunt scraper. Then we apply a dab of a good Citrus Gel to remove the remaining gum residue from the fiber (I recommend Prochem or Bridgepoint Citrus Gel, both have worked well for us). The Citrus Gel can be wiped from the fiber with a towel. Then we proceed to clean with encapsulation like normal.
Now if there are excessive gum stains or old crusty ones I would bring it to the attention of the building manager and try to negotiate a charge for this additional service. You would need to evaluate how much time will be required and charge accordingly. I've seen jobs where it's just not feasible to remove every piece of gum for what they're paying. So we remove the ones that are larger and more obvious. Of course we'd prefer to see them all removed - but if they're not willing to pay extra - we're sometimes forced to "cut the cloth to fit the garment".
HAVE A BLAST IN GREECE! You and Monika have worked hard for it.
Rick Gelinas
