How To Get Nail Polish Out Of Carpet
Photo of rainbow colored carpet by Q K from Pixabay
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Even if you are the most careful human that ever was and ever will be, even when you lay down a towel and aim to paint your nails only over your curated space - interruptions happen and accidents occur.
Getting nail polish on carpet is a fairly common incident to encounter, especially if you are painting your nails in a room with a rug, even among long-term hobbyists of the trade.
When getting nail polish out of carpet, the first thing to keep in mind is that time is of the essence and you do want to move somewhat quickly.
With this in mind, this article will be short and to the point.
To begin, breathe - you can treat a stain to be invisible to near-invisible, meaning no one knows it ever happened - only you.
You may even forget nail polish got on the carpet years down the road, and this article, in fact, aims for this.
So below are a few tips to get nail polish out of carpet, broken out by carpet coloring:
Photo of cream colored carpet with yellow cushion by Ran Berkovich on Unsplash
Light colored carpets
If your carpet is in the whites, creams and beiges color family, to start, dab up as much excess polish as possible with a cotton pad, paper towel, or damp rag.
When using a damp rag, squeeze it out, assure it isn’t dripping and that it’s just lightly dampened.
If nail polish still remains after this step, saturate a new rag in warm soapy water and wet the area affected.
Be as localized as possible in wetting the affected area. You do not want to spread out the polish remaining to other fibers.
Then, mix a teaspoon of baking soda with up to a teaspoon of water, adding slowly until you get a paste consistency.
Blot this baking soda paste mixture over the nail polish stain and wait five minutes.
Using a wet-soapy rag and bowl of wet-soapy water, clean up the baking soda mixture after your 5 minutes are up. Reapply up to three times if you see lifting occurring.
If your stain is lifted here, stop.
Dab up the dye and respray every five minutes, redabbing the dye with a clean rag or towel, until all polish is lifted.
Photo of steel blue long fiber surface by DWilliam from Pixabay
Dark colored carpets
If your carpet is in the rich, deep and royal color family, meaning the dye count is high, you want to be a bit more careful on using color-removing solutions.
To begin removing nail polish from a dark carpet, start by dabbing up as much excess polish as possible with a cotton pad, paper towel or clean rag you don’t mind getting dirty.
Then, saturate a rag in warm soapy water and get a bottle of liquid dish soap.
Using the same rag, apply the dish soap, and try massaging the affected area using liquid dish soap, which can break down the chemical bonds in dyes.
If nail polish remains, spray Nature’s Miracle or any pet clean-up solution you have on hand, in a concentrated spot on the affected area.
Dab up the dye with a clean damp rag, paper towel or cotton ball and respray every five minutes, until polish is lifted to your satisfaction.
Pet mess clean-up solutions are designed to break down organic bonds.
Many nail polishes are no more than fancy mineral sediments mixed with alcohols and glues, some of which are organic, so using a pet mess solution, like Nature’s Miracle can work.
They can disperse the dye particles, and can be blotted up with a wet rag, paper towel or cotton ball, while keeping the carpet’s coloring intact.
These steps should get nail polish out of most carpets.
Photo of rainbow colored carpet by Q K from Pixabay with text overlay How To Get Nail Polish Out Of Carpet
As a reminder, try to avoid using baking soda or nail polish remover on darker carpets, though you can experiment with them, if you feel comfortable, or as a last resort.
If your carpet is closer to the whites, beiges and creams family, you can be more liberal in the solutions you use, which is why nail polish remover and baking soda is recommended for lighter carpets.
Both of these *may* lift carpet dyes, depending on the age of the carpet, the material, the dye type used, and the strength of either solution, so try to use them only on light colored carpets.
If your carpet is a darker tone, try a dish soap or pet clean-up solution first.
Over the years of testing and trials, these solutions work, but you do have to be careful and gentle as you do the steps above, because you are working with liquid dye and fabric that’s dyed, both of which are soft materials that mesh well together.
For best results, try to keep the polish drop in a localized spot as you work.
Begin with the most gentle option.
This is how the steps are listed above, simply work your way down and stop at the step where the nail polish has lifted.
Not all polishes and carpets lift the same, so using more than one option may work best for your carpet and situation.
To avoid getting nail polish on the carpet in the future, consider using a dish or hand towel over your lap or around the floor space where you tend to enjoy painting your nails.
You could even get designated work towels just for your nail kit that match your set-up, and then keep them with your nail kit.
This way it’s always easier to just put down carpet protection when the mood to manicure strikes again.
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