Nail polish is beautiful, when it’s on your fingernails where it belongs, but when it spills on counters or floors, that’s another story altogether!
Here are several simple tips for removing nail polish from various surfaces.
On hair: You wouldn’t think that someone would need to remove nail polish from hair, but if you’ve ever had a toddler in the house, you’ll know why this tip is necessary! While the polish is still wet, you can try and clean it out with nail polish remover by pouring a bit on a paper towel and then rubbing it through the affected area. If the polish has already dried, you can gently work conditioner through the hair, causing pieces of the polish to flake flake out, then comb it out.
On wood:Carefully scrap away the dried polish using a plastic putty knife. It helps to lightly spritz the area with aerosol hairspray and then let it sit for 20 seconds, or with rubbing alcohol. Then carefully Wipe away the stain. Repeat as needed.
On cloth: To remove nail polish from clothing, you’ll need to first spot test the clothing with nail polish remover. Once you’re sure that the fabric is colorfast, apply it directly to the stain, rinse with cold water, repeat as needed.
On Light-Colored Carpet: Shaving cream (plain old fashioned, in a can) has been recommended numerous times over the years for cleaning nail polish spills successfully from carpeting. Apply it, rub it in, wait a couple minutes, scrub it out and rinse the area.
Depending on the material of the carpet you MAY be able to Use nail polish remover to scrub it out, again, its imperative that you test an inconspicuous area first for colorfastness and SOME carpeting materials will actually dissolve creating a tiny hole! As always, the nail polish remover must be RINSED from the carpeting, you can use the apply, blot and dry method if you don’t have a rug washer.
On Darker Carpets: Apply hairspray or alcohol using a clean cloth. It’s not recommended to use nail polish remover on darker carpets, as discoloration will occur.
© Can Stock Photo Inc. / Nikmerkulov
the shaving cream on the carpet does work and as with everything there is a certain amount of elbow grease and patients that goes with this kind of spill.
will t his work on hard plastic surfaces with out destroying it? my granddaughter spilled her polish in my car…on the hard plastic at the bottom of the door. i have been trying to figure out how to get it cleaned off…