The Nail Polish Hack That Will Protect Your Fraying Clothing From Full-On Falling Apart

If you have a few favorite items of clothing in your wardrobe that you like to wear as often as possible, then you are likely also aware of how frustrating it can be when those clothes start to fray. While this can obviously be the result of the fabric starting to become thinner, weakening, and breaking down or otherwise being torn and damaged, there are actually a few other potential causes of this unfortunate situation.

For instance, you might notice your clothes are fraying if the fabric they're made with is particularly firm and stiff, according to Recovo. It can also happen if the item has edges that haven't been properly hemmed or sealed off. On top of that, by putting your clothes through an unnecessarily harsh wash cycle while doing laundry or opting for the wrong temperature of water, you can also find yourself facing frayed shirts, pants, or dresses.

Although this can sometimes be the beginning of the end for the clothing — which is almost too sad to admit — you can also put a certain hack into action to try to preserve the fabric for as long as possible. All you need is a certain kind of nail polish and a little bit of know-how.

When a piece of clothing begins to fray, the individual strands that make up the material start to loosen and separate. They might also being to break away. To do your best to stop this process from continuing, all you need to do is grab a bottle of nail polish.

First, you'll want to choose a nail polish that's either perfectly clear or the same shade as the frayed fabric, according to Linen Beauty. Now, get a small amount of polish onto the applicator brush and dab it onto the fabric where it's fraying. Be sure to stick to the edges of the fabric where it has become loose and resist the urge to add more in the hopes of getting ahead of the problem before it starts in other spots. When you've covered the area with a light amount of polish, you can put the clothing aside and give it time to fully dry.

If you do go overboard with the nail polish, accidentally spill or drip it on the material in a place where it shouldn't be, or it starts to soak beyond where you've placed it, then it might actually stain your clothes. Fortunately, you can reverse what you've done. That is, if you go into action mode as quickly as possible.

Don't panic. That's the first thing that you want to do if you have a nail polish-related mishap while trying to fix your frayed clothing. Granted, Bailey Carson, the head of cleaning at Handy, an online marketplace for cleaning and home services, did tell Byrdie, "Nail polish stains can be some of the toughest to remove from clothing."

However, that doesn't mean that all hope is lost. Just move quickly, and you may be able to save the day. Run and grab a bit of ice and place it on the nail polish that you want to remove. This should dry the polish by freezing it and will prevent it from spreading. If you don't have ice, then simply help the polish dry like you normally would as fast as possible. Next, take tweezers and gently pull off any pieces of polish that will easily come away.

If the clothing is made from silk or wool, you may have to stop there. On the other hand, if the item is something like cotton or another natural fabric, then you can use a bit of nail polish remover. Carson pointed out, "To be on the safe side, use a non-acetone remover so it won't cause damage to the fabric. ...Once you've removed the excess polish, machine wash the clothing in cold water." You might also want to cross your fingers just to be safe.