In our last article we tackled “how to get tea stains out of your carpet“. In this article, we will tackle another common household item that often stains carpets – nail polish.
It is easy to imagine a relaxing day in an ideal world at a nail salon for a mani and pedicure. But when it comes to the real world, finding time to get your nails done professionally can often be challenging. In an effort to save time and money, painting your own nails at home sounds pretty good. You set up your nail polish station in a living room and begin painting your nail without any distractions. All of a sudden, you knock down the nail polish bottle, and it leaves a lovely nail polish stain on the carpet. What to do? If you’re not the hands on type give our carpet cleaning company a call. But if you fancy tackling the stain yourself, read on!
To help! What to do first?
The first thing you need to do is to stay relaxed and don’t panic. Just get a paper towel and wipe off the nail polish stain while being extra cautious not to smudge the existing stain by rubbing it hard or spreading the polish over a larger area. If the polish becomes dry, you need to get some soft tool or a butter knife to peel off the dried polish away. You have tried your best, and still, the stain is there? Now, it’s time to try some cleaning solutions.
How can baking soda or vinegar help in removing nail polish stain?
Reliable and good pantry essentials such as baking soda and vinegar are known to help in such situations. If you use vinegar, soak the stained area with plain vinegar completely. Next, place a vinegar-soaked towel on it and leave it for about 10 minutes. Then, rub the stained area with a vinegar-soaked towel and scrub it until the stain is completely removed. If you choose to use the baking soda method, take a good amount of soda and thoroughly sprinkle it over the stained area. Then take a ginger ale, pour it on the stained area and let it sit for about 10 minutes. Next, rub the stained area gently until it is gone and then rinse the area thoroughly with a wet cloth or water.
What about nail polish remover?
A small amount of nail polish remover works well, especially on a light-colored carpet. Make sure to select a nail polish remover that is labeled as both acetone-free and dye-free. All you need to do is soak a paper towel or a cleaning cloth with a remover and then gently rub the stain. Keep repeating the same process until the stain is removed.
Can I use hairspray to remove the nail polish stain?
The answer is yes! But this solution works best when the stain is already dried. First, you need to wet the stained area with cold water and then spray 10-15 pumps of hair spray over the stain. Next, add a small amount of cleaning alcohol (three drops or over, depending on the size of the stain). Clean the area by rubbing it with a brush or cleaning tool while adding more drops of cold water as you rub.
And what if everything fails?
It’s where you need the help of experts. You can take advantage of your local carpet cleaning service and let them know beforehand about a nail polish stain, so they come prepared to make your favorite carpet or rug look all new once again.
In our next article, we’ll be talking about “how to remove shoe polish stains from your carpet“. Check it out if you have some unsightly shoe polish stains that you want to remove.