How Can I Get Nail Polish and Crayon Marks Off My Walls?

If your mini-Picassos have turned your house into a museum, don’t despair, says our interior design guru and HGTV star Taniya Nayak. With a little bit of elbow grease a few simple tools, your walls will be back to normal soon.

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“I’m asking for a ‘friend’ who has budding young artists in her home. They love to use the walls as their canvases. How do you get nail polish and crayons off the wall?” asks Hana from Illinois.

If you have crayon on a wall, Taniya says, magic eraser cleaning sponges can remove those colorful marks. (They’re great for scuff marks, too.)

Nail polish is a bit trickier, but not impossible. The natural inclination for polish is nail polish remover, but beware, says Taniya. “It will take everything off!”

Painting on top of nail polish won’t work either because the polish will eventually creep through and be visible beneath the new coat of paint.

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So, here’s what you can do: First, try warm, soapy water to remove what you can. After that, Nayak recommends used a rubbing alcohol pad to gently rub the affected area until the polish is removed.

“It may take some paint off,” she explains, “but the key is to get the majority of it off and then you can retouch the paint as needed.”