gum up

verb3

1. •
   To become gooey or gummy.

   • Some types of lubricating grease gum up as they age.
2. •
   To cause to be gooey or gummy, especially with the effect of obstructing the operation of some mechanism or process.

   • Aging grease had gummed up the record changer.
3. •
   To make non-functional; to interfere with or put into a state of disorder; to ruin.

   • Erhard presumably felt it was no time to give his enemies grounds for charging him with gumming up relations with France. — 1966