Floor Care - Carpet

Repairing Carpet

It has happened to just about everyone. After a spilled glass of red wine, an ember popping from a fireplace, or a new puppy’s "accident," your perfectly beautiful carpet doesn’t look so perfect anymore. Your despair should be only momentary though because repairing carpet is easy. Of course if the damage is a stain, your first efforts should be to remove the stain using your carpet manufacturer’s instructions. But occasionally spills go unnoticed, and time may set a permanent stain that spot removal remedies simply can’t correct. And with burns or tears, repairing the carpet is the only way to restore it to its original beauty.

First, be patient. A hurried repair job may be more damaging than no repair at all. Examine the damage carefully, decide how much of the area needs to be replaced, and carefully chalk a line around that part of the carpet that needs to be removed.

Usually, you will have scraps of the carpet left over from installation. You can use these to create the matching inset that will repair the carpet. If you do not have a scrap, you can obtain a piece from some unseen spot in your home, such as from the back of a closet or under a large piece of furniture. When you have located the replacement piece, you are ready to make the repair.

With a household utility knife, carefully cut the damaged area, using the chalk marking as your guide. Where possible, separate the fibers, so you are cutting the base of the carpet only, not the pile. Remove the damaged piece of carpet, and vacuum the hole you have created.

Using the removed piece as a pattern cut a duplicate piece from your carpet scrap. Remember that all carpets have a pattern in their pile; make sure you are cutting in a way that the pile of the replacement piece matches the rest of the flooring.

Secure the replacement piece using hot glue or carpenter’s glue. Press the piece firmly until the glue is set, and let it dry completely. The patch should lie neatly in the space, and not be visible from a standing position. If, however, the seam is visible, you can fill in by gluing a few additional fibers along the seam line.

And it’s done. By following these simple steps, you can reverse the damage of an unfortunate accident on your carpet, and return it to its original beauty.