How To Remove Nail Polish From Your Carpet

Freshly painted fingernails might look fantastic for a girls' night out, but it's not so great if some of that lovely sparkly polish ends up on your new bedroom carpet.  Don't panic!  You can remove spilt nail polish relatively easily.  Here's how.

How to remove fresh nail polish stains

The key to successfully removing any stain is to act quickly before the substance has chance to soak deep into the carpet fibres and dry. 

1. Grab a clean dish cloth or paper towel, and blot up as much of the spilt polish as you can.  Don't scrub or rub the stain as this will just encourage the polish to set faster and could cause the colour to spread further down into the carpet pile.  Use plenty of fresh paper towels, or continually change the part of the dish cloth you're using so that you don't spread the stain even further.  
2. Take a non-acetone nail polish remover, and carefully apply a small amount to the stain using a clean, colourfast cloth.  The stain should gradually begin to lift from the carpet.  
3. Blot the stain using clean paper towel until no more nail polish comes up.  Repeat the process if necessary until all the polish has gone.  
4. Rinse the carpet using a clean cloth and cold water.  Blot to remove excess liquid and allow the area to air-dry. 

How to get rid of old nail polish stains

Old nail polish stains can be tricky to remove.  However, the following method usually works well.

1. Wet the stain thoroughly using cold water.  
2. Spray the stain with hair spray – 15 to 20 squirts is enough.  
3. Add five small splashes of rubbing alcohol.  
4. Use a small nail brush to scrub the stain for one minute.  Throughout the process, add more clean water.  This should be enough to dislodge any residual nail polish that's trapped in the carpet fibres, and lift away any colour.  
5. Using clean paper towel, blot the stained area.  This will remove excess water from the carpet and should lift any remaining old nail polish with it.  
6. Once you've blotted away any excess water, allow the carpet to air-dry.  The stain should have vanished.

In conclusion

You can quickly and easily remove most nail varnish stains from your carpet using products you'd normally find in your kitchen or bathroom cupboards.  Before applying any cleaning substance to your carpet, always test it on a small, inconspicuous area first to ensure that the carpet colour doesn't fade.

If a stain proves particularly stubborn, contact a reputable firm of professional carpet cleaners like Stain Busters Carpet Cleaning for advice.