Removing Nail Polish Stains on Carpet

You can remove nail polish stains on carpet. They don't always come out easily - they don't even always come out (some carpets with natural fibers can be especially tough to remove them from). But most of the time you'll get them if you follow the simple procedure laid out below.

Apply a nail polish remover to a corner of a clean white cotton cloth and dab the stain with this. Work at it gently so you don't spread it or damage the carpet fibers. Never pour nail polish remover on a spot, and don't let any soak down to the backing of the carpet, or it can cause delamination. Just apply it directly to the stained fibers using the cloth.

Keep applying the remover using a clean part of the cloth until you see no more stain transferring to the cloth. At that point you have probably removed as much as you can (all of it we hope). Then you need to remove the nail polish remover from the carpet. For this you'll use a mild detergent solution.

Put a cup of warm water into a spray bottle and add a few drops of mild dish washing detergent, like classic Dawn or Joy. Shake it up a bit and spray the area repeatedly with the solution, blotting it up each time with white paper towels or a clean white cotton rag. Put your nose to the floor to smell for any remaining polish remover.

After removing nail polish stains from the carpet in this way, you'll also need to remove the detergent, which otherwise can attract dirt to the spot. Rinse with water, again blotting it up after each application.

Finally, dry the area with a weighted stack of paper towels (avoid the dyed ones), replacing them as they are saturated. Put a fan near the spot and let it blow for a few hours to complete the drying process.