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How to Unflatten Carpet

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Have your once beautiful and fluffy carpets flattened? Maybe it frustrating to see it in this state and you are looking for ways to raise a flattened carpet. A little amount of effort is required to raise the flattened carpet. The methods used are inexpensive and can be used as home remedies. Before you consider unflattening your carpet, there are a few steps you must perform to make your floor ready.

Related: If you’re interested, take a look at our article regarding laying carpet on concrete floors like garages, to help turn your garage into additional room for your family.

Preparation

Vacuum the Carpet

Vacuum the carpet to take care of all the loose debris that might be hiding underneath the carpet’s fluff. Such debris includes dust and pet dander. In fact, initially vacuuming the carpet ensures that is raised back a bit and helps you to easily identify dented areas. Therefore, you can take note of these areas and effectively give them much more attention.

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Stiff wooden handled brushRaking/Brushing the Floor

Rake the carpet in case it looks rugged and unkempt. You might have to consider between a rake and a brush depending on the type of carpet you have. Short napped floor covering might call for a brush while an old-school shag carpet will require a rake. Raking or brushing the carpet will help loosen stuck debris on the inside of the carpet fluff. Remember that you should repeat this process immediately after you have vacuumed the carpet.

Revitalize to Remove Odors

Revitalizing the carpet will help remove irritating carpet odors. The fibers of the carpet might keep an inherent odor if left for a long period of time without revitalizing. To revitalize the carpet, use a carpet spritzer liquid made from a mix of water and vinegar. A vinegar solution would also help dampen the floor and prevent its damage during the unflattening process. You can now use a brush or scrub to groom the carpet fibers back to life.

The above three steps are essential towards effective unflattening of your carpet. Sometimes an unkempt carpet might hide debris, dirt, and dust beneath its innocent look. The above steps are therefore critical in removing the harbored debris, giving the carpet an enhanced fragrance, and fluffing it up with moisture. The following are the methods of how to unflatten a carpet.

Restoring Your Carpet – 3 Tricks

The Ice Trick

Take ice cubes and place them on the part of your carpet that has been flattened. A single large ice cube is enough or several smaller ice cubes. Place the ice cube on top of the carpet dent. Ensure that nothing else comes between the carpet and ice that would reduce direct contact. Now take some time and wait for the placed ice to melt. A blow dryer can be used to speed up the process, but it is often best if the ice melts naturally.

Once the ice has melted completely, use a sponge to absorb the excess damp water on the carpet. Now use a new toothbrush to raise the carpet fibers. Additionally, you might find the help of a stiff brush quite useful in scrubbing the carpet pile into place.

Once you have fluffed up your carpet with the brush, gently rub against the carpet with a soft cloth. Rubbing ensures that the carpet looks as uniform as a newly bought carpet. The carpet will now appear uniform at the parts that had dents and fit in better with the rest of the carpet.

The Iron Trick

Hand holding an iron straightThe first thing to do while using an iron to raise a flattened carpet is to spread out a damp cloth on the carpet. The damp cloth should be thick like a towel. Remember that the thickness matters. The towel should be moderately damp. A soaking and wringing out of the towel should suffice. Now spread out the towel over the carpet.

Make sure you have turned your iron to medium heat. High heat settings might damage both the carpet and towel and cool settings might not be effective at removing your carpet’s dent. Move the iron around the towel for at least one minute. Avoid letting the iron touch the carpet as it should only come in direct contact with the towel. The iron could easily cause damage to the carpet, such as burn marks, if it slips off the damp cloth.

After one minute of moving the iron around the damp towel and carpet, remove the towel and turn off the iron. You will notice that the carpet dent has disappeared and in its place is a uniformly spread out carpet. Finally, fluff the carpet with your hands gently, to make it more uniform with the rest of the fabric.

The Blow Dryer Trick

You can also unflatten your carpet using a blow dryer. Take a spray bottle and fill it with water. Make sure the water is neither very cold nor very warm. Now saturate the entire dented area of your carpet with water.

Once you have completely sprayed your carpet with water, turn the blow dryer onto its high settings. Blow-dry the flattened and damp area to raise it. An extension cord may be necessary depending on the length of the blow dryer’s cord. Make sure that you blow-dry the carpet until the water-saturated part is no longer wet or damp. While blowing drying the carpet, you could also use your fingers to unflatten the carpet and fluff it up to better match the other parts.

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Conclusion

Heavy furniture and household objects might cause the flattening of your carpet. The appearance of the carpet dents often occurs gradually and easily escape our notice. The sight of carpet dents might be frustrating to deal with and clash with the overall look of your house. However, the problem is easily solved by following the above tricks. As these are economical home remedies, anyone can try them to fix your flattened carpet.