Quick Fixes: Nail Polish to the Rescue

A few coats of nail lacquer can polish off your personal style, but aside from adorning your fingers, nail polish can actually come in really handy around the house. You probably already know that a little dab of clear polish can stop a run in a pair of stockings, but did you know it can fix broken tile and keep screws from coming loose?

There are tons of ways you can use nail polish that don’t involve a new manicure (you can find a bunch of other clever uses, like color-coding keys and preventing jewelry from tarnishing, at Good Housekeeping) but here are six things in your home that you can fix with your new favorite beauty-item-turned-secret-weapon.

A hole in your window screen can only mean one thing: bugs will get in, and that’s the last thing you need. The good news is, you don’t have to rush out to find a replacement screen immediately—just rush to your makeup bag instead. A thick coat of clear nail polish over the hole on both sides of the tear will keep your screen together, according to HouseLogic.

You might already know this trick if you wear glasses, but it also works on screws in general. According to Real Simple, you can seal off screws by painting over them with a little bit of clear nail polish. For screws that are extra loose, you can try painting a little nail polish on the threads of the screw before screwing it back in, for extra hold.

Major breaks and damage to tiles require a professional fix, of course, but if you have ceramic or porcelain tile with minor chips or cracks and need to fix ’em for cheap, you can use nail polish as a quick fix. HomeAdvisor suggests cleaning tiles with soap and water, then painting a thin layer of nail polish (make sure you match the color to the tile) over top, adding more layers as needed until the damage isn’t visible. For chips, fill in spots with an epoxy before painting over with a matching nail polish.

Few things are more frustrating than finding circles of rust in your bathroom or on your kitchen counters from metal canisters (think shaving cream and cooking spray) but you can actually use nail polish to prevent it from happening. Just paint the bottoms of any cans that might cause an issue with some clear nail polish, and your tub and counters will stay rust-free, according to LifeHacker.

Whether you’re a crafter or you’ve just got ribbon, rope, string or other fabrics prone to fraying around the house, clear nail polish can keep them from getting stringy and weird. To keep ribbons and other materials from fraying, WikiHow suggests painting a thin layer of clear nail polish over the edges—and if you’re dealing with something that’s already frayed, trim it with sharp scissors, then add the nail polish.

If you find yourself facing a broken window, nail polish obviously won’t help you fix it permanently—you’ll have to get a new windowpane eventually. But, in the meantime, if the damage is minor, clear nail polish can help you get by. SFGate suggests using clear packing tape on both sides of the glass to stop cracks from getting worse, and filling in small holes and gaps with nail polish—just paint it on in thin layers, and add more as needed.