Carpet Repair Tools and Techniques

Carpet repairs can make it last a long time. Replacing carpets is expensive, making it important to maintain the ones you have. Using the following carpet repairs tools and techniques will help to keep your carpets in good condition.

Seam Sealer and Carpet Tape

Use seam sealers and liquid adhesives to repair tears and to get rid of frays. In addition to carpet repair, it's good to use as a preventative measure against excessive wear and tear. Another option that you can use for seams and tears is single or double-sided carpet tape. However, the tape is very sticky and it can be tough to work with. For this reason, you might prefer to work with a latex seam sealer instead.

Carpet Cutter

It's like a cookie cutter for carpets, made of a blade and pivot pin. Using a cutter is an easy technique for carpet repair, especially when you're dealing with burns and tears. The way it works is you place the cutter over the area of the carpet you want to remove. These measure around 3 inches in diameter. Cut another piece from a remnant carpet or another piece of carpet that no one will be able to see. For example, if you have wall to wall carpet, cut out a piece of carpet in one of your closets. Swap the good piece of carpet for the bad piece you removed. The cutter should include sticky discs to hold the pieces in place.

Blending Replacement Pieces

When you swap out pieces for carpet repair, you want the area to look smooth, as if you never touched it in the first place. To keep this original look, take the time to trim around the "cut and paste" area with scissors. Lay the scissors flat and trim away until the piece you inserted blends in with the rest of the carpet. You'll know what happened, but no one else should be able to spot the difference.

Seaming Iron

There are a couple of ways to hold seams in place when repairing carpets. Iron it with a carpet seam iron, or put heavy furniture on top of the repair for a short period. Your budget dictates which option you choose, although a carpet seaming iron is more effective and you can rent one. The iron activates the glue in the tape, and contrary to what you might think, you iron the tape and not the carpet. That's why cleaning the iron after you finish the carpet repair is the hardest part about using one. Follow the manufacturer's directions for temperature settings and use, and the iron is straightforward to work with.

Shaving

An inexpensive method for carpet repair is to use a razor blade. Shave off any material on the surface of the carpet that came from burns or stains. Carefully remove unwanted carpet a little at a time, so that you don't shave too deeply into the carpet, which everyone will notice. Shabby carpets work best for this method of carpet repair.

Carpet repair kits are available, containing some of the tools described above and more. It may be worth buying one to save both time and money.