GumBuster™ | The Milwaukee version
Today’s Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports on the purchase of GumBuster equipment by local businesses, and the transformation that’s come with that $9,000 investment (that’s Clean Sweep ambassador Mike Mitchell gum busting above).
Part of the article, “Sidewalk steamer renders gum gone,” (and it’s nice, it should be noted, to see alliteration instead of the usual gum pun) talks about the wonders (and biodegradable cleaning ingredients) of the process:
Powered by a portable generator, the GumBuster mixes steam and biodegradable detergent to erase these bottlecap-size blotches that long ago lost their flavor and were expectorated onto the sidewalk. It may be a myth that swallowed gum lasts seven years in your stomach, but it’s mighty resilient on concrete.
Like Bazooka Joe, Mitchell wields a 3-foot-long wand with a brush on the business end to zap each spot. It’s like they disappear, he said, sometimes emitting one last whiff of mint or cinnamon as their last gasp.
You’d swear most of these gum blobs are actually tar because they’re so dirty black. But hit ’em with a blast of 260 degrees and they return to their original color before bubbling into nothingness.