Get Nail Polish out of Fabric

You may think spilling nail polish on your couch or your favorite shirt means you have to live with a permanent colorful stain, but nail polish is actually one of the easier stains to remove from fabric. This article will show you how to remove nail polish from clothing and upholstery.

10 Second Summary

1. Place the stained fabric facedown on a few paper towels.
2. Blot the stained area with acetone.
3. Rinse the stain with water.
4. Repeat until the stain is gone.
5. Launder the clothing item.

Steps

Removing Nail Polish from Clothing

  1. Place the stained fabric facedown on a few paper towels. The part of the fabric that is stained should be against the paper towels. Use this method whether the nail polish is wet or dry.
    • This method works effectively on cotton, linen, silk, denim, and most other fabrics.
    • Proceed with caution if the item in question contains acetate or triacetate since the nail polish remover melts fabrics containing these chemicals.
  2. Blot the stained area with acetone. Use a cotton ball or paper towel saturated with acetone (available in drugstores in the nail polish remover section) to blot the backside of the fabric. This action transfers the stain to the paper towel.
  3. Rinse and repeat. Take the clothing item to the sink and rinse out the stained area, then place it face down on a clean set of paper towels. Repeat the blotting action to finish transferring the stain to the paper towels.
    • Continue rinsing the fabric and applying more acetone until the paper towels no longer turn the color of the nail polish after blotting; this indicates the stain has been removed.
    • Check the stained area one final time for traces of nail polish. If you see a little color left, dip a cotton ball in acetone and gently remove it.
  4. Launder the clothing item. Use a stain remover product on the previously stained area, and then launder the item according to the washing instructions on the tag. The stain should be completely gone and the item ready to wear once it is dry.

Removing Nail Polish from Upholstery

  1. Wipe off wet polish immediately. If you can catch wet nail polish before it dries on upholstery, you'll have a much easier time removing it. Use a paper towel or cloth to wipe off as much of the wet polish as you can.
    • Don't smear the polish so it covers, even more, surface area on the upholstery; rather, use the paper towel to wipe it off with short swipes that don't spread the polish around.
    • Use the most absorbent cloth or paper towels you can, so you're leaving as little polish as possible to soak into the upholstery.
  2. Dab the area with acetone. Use a cotton swap or another tool that allows the precise application to put a few drops of acetone on the stained area. Be sure to apply it only on the stained area.
    • You may want to do a test dab on a part of the upholstery that's usually hidden. Acetone reacts with some types of fabric, including those containing acetate or triacetate, and could make the stained area look worse if you aren't careful.
    • Do not pour the acetone onto the stained fabric since it's harder to control where it flows if you don't use an applicator like a cotton swab or the corner of a paper towel.
  3. Use a clean cloth to blot the polish. Blot it over the stained area carefully, and then use a clean section of the towel to blot it again. Apply more acetone and continue blotting until the stain has been removed.
  4. Rinse the area with warm water. Use a sponge to wash the area to remove traces of acetone or hydrogen peroxide. Let the upholstery dry completely before using.

Using Alternative Nail Polish Removal Methods

  1. Use hydrogen peroxide. Some fabrics that don't react well with acetone may perform better if you use the same strategy with hydrogen peroxide.
    • Dab the area with peroxide, blot it with a clean towel and repeat until the stain is gone.
    • Hydrogen peroxide can act as a bleaching agent, so test it on an unnoticeable area of the upholstery before using it on the stained area.
  2. Try hairspray. Spray it on the bristles of an old toothbrush, and then use a circular motion to remove the stain from the fabric.
  3. Use bug spray. Some say that bug repellent, the type you spray on your body and clothes to keep mosquitoes and other bugs away, works like a charm to remove nail polish stains. Spray it on an old toothbrush, then apply the brush in a circular motion to gently scrub away the stain.
  4. Rinse and wash. No matter what method you use, be sure to rinse the previously stained area well to get rid of the traces of the substance you used to remove the nail polish.

Tips

  • For a treasured or expensive item you may want to rush to the cleaners before doing anything else.
  • Spray hairspray on a Q-tip and rub rather hard on the stain multiple times. The hairspray will remove the nail polish as the rub peels off the molecules.
  • Always perform a spot test on an inconspicuous area of the fabric before proceeding to the stained area.
  • Use a nail file or emery board to file off as much of the nail polish as you can. Be careful not to file the fabric itself. Doing this can reduce the size of the stain and make it easier to remove.
  • If one method doesn't work, try different ones until the stain is gone. It is likely that at least one cleaning method will do the trick. If the stain doesn't come out, take the garment to a professional cleaner.
  • Act immediately. A fresh stain is easier to remove than an old one.

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Sources and Citations

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