How to Get Nail Polish Out of Pink Sweatpants

Don't rub the fabric to remove nail polish stains, as this will only spread it farther.
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The thought of nail polish on clothing is enough to make you want to cry, especially if it's purple polish on your favorite pink sweatpants. But even though it seems as if you’ll never get your cozy sweats back to looking good, it is possible to get the polish out. With a little patience and a few techniques, you can salvage them.

Scoop up any puddled nail polish from the pants with a spoon. Do this carefully so the polish doesn’t spread to other parts of the fabric.

Lay the pants with the nail polish stain face down on a white rag.

Moisten a clean rag with acetone nail polish remover. Tamp the backside of the nail polish stain with the rag. Use a clean section of the rag with each blot to avoid reapplying the nail polish to the sweatpants. Blot the nail polish remover onto the fabric until no more polish is transferring to the rag.

Flush the backside of the nail polish stain with cool tap water. Repeat the process of blotting with nail polish remover, then rinsing until no more nail polish is lifting from the sweatpants.

Saturate the front side of the nail polish stain with a laundry stain removal product. Wash the sweatpants as usual. Let the sweatpants air-dry after washing to check for any remaining nail polish.

Lay the sweatpants face down on a clean, white rag and blot with dry cleaning solvent if the stain is still there. Continue blotting until no more polish is lifting from the fabric. Rinse well, treat with a laundry stain removal product and wash the sweatpants as usual.

  • Some fabrics can be damaged by acetone. Test the acetone nail polish remover on an inconspicuous spot of the pants before applying it elsewhere.
  • You may use hydrogen peroxide to remove nail polish from clothing, but this may discolor the fabric. Test the peroxide on an inconspicuous spot first to check for color changes.

Kimbry Parker has been writing since 1998 and has published content on various websites. Parker has experience writing on a variety of topics such as health, parenting, home improvement and decorating. She is a graduate of Purdue University with a Bachelor of Arts in organizational communication.

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