How to Repair Carpet

Carpet is a valuable investment in your home, but sometimes, things may happen that damage the carpet. Before rushing out to replace the entire floor, relax. There are ways to repair the carpet without having to completely replace it. Repairing carpet takes careful precision, especially if you’re cutting out certain pieces of the carpet and replacing them with others.

How to Re-Stretch Carpet

Remove all furniture from the room. Loosen tack strips. You can reattach these later, but since you’re stretching the carpet to add length, prepare to trim it to fit. Check padding underneath to ensure it is in place and has not bunched up in certain areas. In most cases, the carpet will reposition around doorways and vents, but spare scraps can be used to seam it together if it does not. Use a seam sealer on the edges of older carpets to prevent the edges from unraveling. Re-stretching your carpet will cut down on wear and tear and prolong its life, but only needs to be done if it is loose or bubbling up in some spots.

How to Repair Carpet Snags

In loop pile, snags are created when the loop comes undone. To fix them, look at the pulled strand and count the curls, making a single cut in the middle so there are an equal number of loops on each side of the cut. Use masking tape to outline the run. On the inside of the run, apply adhesive. Then, use a screwdriver or nail set to push the fibers back into place to create the right size loops.

For Berber carpet, you will need to take a close look to figure out where the yarn is in the material and where it forms the next loop.

Use a long, thin, tool such as a knitting needle or screwdriver to pull up the next loop so you will not pull it all the way through the backing.

With another thin tool, pull the next loop up, to pull the snag back down, leaving the snagged loop a bit bigger than the other surrounding loops so the loop you pulled out is smaller than the snag. Repeat this process as many times as it takes to pull the original snag back down into place, each time making the loop you pull out smaller.

How to Repair Carpet Burns

If the burn is small and minor, it is possible to carefully trim the burned fibers off the carpet. If you opt to trim the fibers, it is important to make shallow cuts, because going too deep can make the carpet appear uneven.

For more serious burns, cutting out the damaged area of the carpet and replacing it with a remnant is the better option. If a remnant is not available, cut a small piece of carpet from the back of the closet, or another out of the way area where the missing piece will not be noticed.

It is a good idea to use a can as a template before making any cuts to choose your remnant or make your repair. Press the can down into the carpet so you can clearly see a line to follow with your utility knife. Do not cut deep enough to damage the padding underneath, as this will need to remain in place to keep the carpet at an even height. Make a note of which direction the pile is going in so you can make the new piece match it.

After removing the piece to replace the damaged spot, carefully remove the damaged carpet. Position a section of single sided – backing removed – carpet tape into the repair area. The carpet tape should be a few inches wider than the damaged area’s diameter to make sure it does not work its way through the opening. Once the carpet tape is in place, position the repair piece in the hole with the pile direction matching. Press the piece into place, applying pressure to the edges to secure them. Place weight on top of the replacement piece for a couple of days to allow it to merge with the existing carpet.

This tactic also works with stains and patching holes.

If you do not want to attempt these repairs on your own, professionals may be available to better assist you.