CIWM - Goodbye to Gum

"The work was completed in November [2007] and the results speak for themselves. Chewing gum continues to rain down onto the pavement, but now it can be managed through fairly low-level, routine operations. Coventry Street was a recovery operation but, in future, treatment of new installations prior to their opening will protect the City Council’s investment at minimal expense."

"Pieces that did catch on the slabs could mostly be scuffed off or, if left for a few days,started to break up and disintegrate. Significantly in all cases there was no tell-tale oily footprint left behind(proof that the treated surface was resistant to oil, preventing the gum from sticking)."

This is a case study and the reported effectiveness of products mentioned within it
are taken from the reports of Westminster City Council with no independent testing by CIWM.

Magic Cote Solves a Sticky Problem

Magic Cote and Magic Cote Cleaning have managed to solve a sticky problem for Westminster Abbey. The Abbey was unfortunately being plagued by the unsightly mess of chewing gum, creating little black spots all over the 1100 year old ancient stone flooring.

With little success they had tried to remove the gum, but couldn't find a method could remove the chewing gum without damaging the surface beneath - part of the cathedrals appeal is the ancient and original look of the ancient stones. Magic Cote was approached by Westminster City Council because of the large amount of work we have done helping restore and protect street surfaces from chewing gum and staining.

Magic Cote and Magic Cote Cleaning used a very sensitive process of ice cleaning or ice blasting. The frozen Carbon Dioxide hits the chewing gum at high speed, freezing and striking the chewing gum until it has broken down completely. Magic Cote and Magic Cote Cleaning were so successful because it the process is able to work so finely to the millimeter, that you could strip one layer of paint without damaging another layer of paint beneath.

With no disruptive waste product being created Magic Cote and Magic Cote Cleaning could move through the abbey with little disruption, leaving the abbey capable of keeping it open to the public.

Article: Yorkshire Post

Councils using Magic Cote.

One million pound boost for Roman:

"Last month 7780 metres square of york stone paving was cleaned and covered in a protective solution - Magic Cote. The solution, which repels gum and other stains from the streets, has already been applied to Brick Lane's pavements, making a noticeable difference and helping to reduce the cost of removing troublesome chewing gum."

Tooley Street cleaning blitz:

"Team London Bridge have contracted Community Clean to deep clean the pavement and street furniture on the south side of Duke Hill and Tooley Street from Borough High Street to Weston Street.

This intensive cleaning regime will also implement a pavement protection coating called Magic Cote that will deter staining and chewing gum."

Improvements for Praed Street:

"This new paving will be treated with Magic Cote, a proven product that enables grease and chewing gum to be more easily removed."

Goodbye to Gum:

"Other ways Redbridge is tackling the issues of dropped gum are by using specialist methods to coat pavements by applying a surface protection. Pavements coated with the product called 'Magic Cote' makes gum easier to remove.

'Magic Cote' is keeping Gants Hill and Wanstead High Street pavements free from gum. These areas were chosen to trial the surface protection product and it's hoped further shopping areas in the borough will be treated in the near future."