Accurately painted fingernails and toenails are a real eye-catcher. However, clothing and textiles are particularly at risk of getting some of the nail polish on them, both during application and afterwards during drying. If a nail polish stain has gotten on a piece of clothing, cleaners containing acetone are particularly helpful. We tell you how to proceed step by step and for which materials acetone must not be used. This home remedy is guaranteed to work.
Nail polish in clothing
Anyone who has ever painted fingernails knows it: After painting your fingernails, you should stay still for a few minutes and ideally not touch anything. As long as the nail polish is still fresh and moist, it can easily print onto the skin or clothing. Let the varnish dry sufficiently to avoid unsightly stains on textiles and dents in the varnish. It also happens during the varnishing itself that nail varnish gets on the clothes by something dripping off the brush or even the bottle falling over.
This is why nail polish is so difficult to remove
If it does happen and the nail polish is now on your clothes instead of your nails, you need to act quickly. The faster you fight the stain, the higher the chance of removing it completely. Because with every minute that passes, the varnish is absorbed even further into the textiles. Once the stain is deeply absorbed into the fabric, it is very difficult to remove. The paint becomes solid and is then almost impossible to remove.
Instructions: These means and methods are effective
Fresh, still liquid nail polish, on the other hand, can be removed from textiles quite easily. With these step-by-step instructions, cleaning succeeds in most cases. By the way: You usually won’t get far with water alone; you need a suitable cleaning agent. Pure acetone, colorless nail polish remover containing acetone, rubbing alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, hair spray or petroleum ether are best suited for removing the stain. Even a wash cycle in the washing machine alone usually does not help. Pre-treat the stain as described below.
- First, place the garment on an absorbent pad made of kitchen paper or a clean towel.
- Apply the detergent to the stain with a cotton pad or cotton swab, depending on the size of the stain. Soak the pad or swab sufficiently with the detergent so that the paint can be completely removed.
- Dab the detergent vigorously so that it can penetrate the fibers. The towel or kitchen towels will soak up the excess solvent.
- Repeat soaking and dabbing until the stain is loosened.
- If you want to use hairspray, simply spray some on a clean toothbrush and use it to brush the stain out of the fabric.
- No matter which option you have chosen: You can then rinse the entire garment under cold clean water.
- Last but not least, the garment can be washed in the washing machine as usual.
This is the best home remedy for nail polish stains
The best home remedy to remove nail polish from clothes is nail polish remover containing acetone. It can be found in almost every bathroom. It is not only effective in cleaning nails, but also works perfectly on clothes. If you don’t have nail polish remover at home, you can get it inexpensively for as little as one euro in any drugstore or supermarket.
Freeze nail polish stain
A wide possibility to remove nail polish from textiles is to freeze the stain. This can be done quite easily with an ice bag or an ice spray. Put the bag or spray on the affected area to freeze the stain. Now take a pair of tweezers and with their help carefully peel off the paint. Try to remove as few fibers as possible.
Removing dried nail polish stains
If the stain is a bit older, you do not have to throw away the garment directly. With a few good tips, you can still save the garment. With these methods you remove the stain specifically:
- Nail polish remover: What helps on the nails, is also not wrong for textiles. Put some nail polish remover on a cotton ball and dab the stain with it. Avoid strong rubbing. The most important thing is that the nail polish remover contains acetone. Acetone effectively dissolves the polish from the fabric. Make sure that the nail polish remover containing acetone is neutral in color, otherwise you may make the stain worse.
- White spirit: white spirit can also help with dried nail polish stains. It can be used just like nail polish remover.
Fabrics such as silk, cotton or jeans can be cleaned with acetone without any problems. The solvent does not harm the fabrics. If you want to be absolutely sure, you can test the cleaning agent on an inconspicuous spot.
