How to Remove Nail Polish From Fabric, Clothing, Carpet Etc

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By babelsgp
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Everyone knows the feeling, dollop of nail polish falls on the carpet. We all run out to get nail polish remover and rub the stain into a big smeary mess. I will explain a way that removes the nail polish without making the mess worse. This method will not dissolve nail polish like most other methods, it removes it. Had a hard time adding photos to eHow, so there is a link pictures at the bottom to my photobucket of them.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Bug Spray with DEET
Dog Comb, fork, spoon, anything to agitate without destroying fibers
Rubber gloves (chemical resistant)
Blotting material, ie paper towels (white)

Step 1

Spray bug spray on the spot, gently comb the area in several different directions (ie diagonal, horizontal, vertical). Combing in a single direction constantly is not good for the carpet, refrain from scratching frantically back and forth, as you will cause the tops of the loops to fray. If you do not have a handy little carpet tool, use a spoon or fork.
Step 2

The goal is to loosen the nail polish, and blot. The nail polish will transfer to the paper towel and leave the carpet.
Step 3

For clothing, rub the clothing together blotting frequently with the paper towel.
Step 4

Repeat as necessary. This may take you an hour to fully remove a spot, do not expect it to be a quick fix, which is why I rated it moderate. It is actually extremely easy to execute, but time consuming.

Tips & Warnings

Water didn't seem to aid in the process, nor hinder
Blotting frequently removes the color from the fabric, continue to a fresh spot on the paper towel each time.
You will notice the stain diminish and finally disappear.
(Please note, this particular incident also required me to remove a LOT of nail polish from a favorite night-dress with glitter, glitter will be removed from the fabric and I avoided them once I realized this)
I used this method on a polyester dress, obviously test fabric first (I probably wouldn't try silk, unless I was going to have to throw it away)

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