How to Get Fingernail Polish Off of a Rug

Blot up a fresh stain with a clean, dry cloth to remove as much nail polish as possible. Remove as much dry polish as you can by chipping it off with a spoon or dull knife. Do not tear or pull out any rug or carpet fibers by trying to remove too much dry polish at once.

Moisten a clean, dry cleaning cloth with non-acetone nail polish remover. Dab it onto an inconspicuous spot on your rug, such as a part hidden by furniture or located in a corner. Check the cloth to make sure that it has not absorbed dye.

Contact a professional carpet cleaning service if there is dye on the cloth, as you will not be able to remove the stain yourself. Continue with the following steps if your cloth shows no dye or only a faint trace of dye.

Saturate a clean, dry cloth with non-acetone polish remover and blot the stain. Repeat this process with new cloths, or with clean sections of the same cloth, until you have removed as much of the stain as possible.

Mix carpet shampoo or mild liquid detergent, such as fine-washables detergent, with water according to the product's directions for general cleaning or cleaning a carpet by hand.

Saturate a clean cloth with the detergent or carpet shampoo solution and blot up any remaining traces of the stain and residue from the nail polish remover. Blot the area with a dry cloth.

Allow the rug to dry then vacuum it, if desired.