When you bought and installed your carpet in your home, you most likely loved how fluffy and soft it was. With consistent traffic and regular wear and tear though, the carpet fibers may start to look flat or matted. Before long, instead of bringing you feelings of joy and comfort, your matted carpet has turned into an eyesore.
A carpet becomes matter when the carpet strands and fibers fold over or get crushed and compressed by the consistent foot traffic. The flattened appearance can make your flooring look dated and old.
That said, the unpleasant appearance of a matted carpet is the least of your problems. Compressed carpet strands and fibers tend to trap and accumulate more dust and debris in between, making it look dirtier. But don’t throw away your matted carpet just yet. Below are some tips to revive it.
1. Hire A Carpet Cleaning Service
Whether you don’t have the time or patience to re-fluff your carpet or your efforts didn’t breathe new life to it, calling a carpet cleaning service like this provider is the ideal option.
In fact, asking for professional help with a yearly cleaning ensures that your carpet looks its best for longer. Regular professional carpet cleaning can help extend the life of your carpet and prevent major matting or damage to the fibers.
2. Vacuum Thoroughly
One of the easiest ways to fluff up your matted carpet is by vacuuming it regularly. Experts recommend that you vacuum high-traffic areas at least once a week to prevent severe matting. It loosens up the mat and carpet fibers and removes any ingrained dirt, debris, mud, and dust that may be trapped in the fibers.
When vacuuming your carpet, make sure to do this slowly, taking the time to really suck out dirt and dust. Also, you should use the right vacuum head attachments when cleaning your carpet. In particular, use attachments with a brush to help fluff up the fibers as you move them across the surface. Don’t forget to empty or replace the vacuum filter and bag since dirty filters may actually contribute to more dirt and dust instead of eliminating it.
3. Get A Carpet Rake
After removing the ingrained dirt and debris from the carpet using a vacuum cleaner, you should use a carpet rake to fluff and detangle compressed carpet strands and fibers.
Think of carpet rakes as traditional yard rakes, only these are designed for carpet use. A carpet rake can help revive matted carpet by loosening up the carpet fibers, making them more flexible to stand up straight.
A carpet rake also helps in loosening ingrained dirt, dust, pet hair, and other debris that weren’t sucked out by the vacuum cleaner. Once you raked your carpet, you can vacuum it again to remove excess debris.
4. Apply Moisture
Another way to revive a matted carpet is to apply enough moisture to the surface and use a brush to loosen and straighten up the fibers and strands.
If you have a larger matted area, experts recommend that you spray enough lukewarm water to make the area wet. Don’t pour water directly onto the carpet since it can seep through the fibers and onto the floor. This can cause water damage to the floor or cause the carpet padding to rot.
When the area has enough moisture, you can run a nylon brush through the carpet fibers and strands until they’re all straight.
5. Use Heat
Heat is another powerful element to fix and revive carpet matting. You can blow hot air onto matted spots of your carpet with your hair dryer. While using the hair dryer, you can run a comb, fork, or the area with any other little tool to fluff the strands and fibers.
A more effective method is to combine moisture with heat. You can use a steam cleaner to easily fix a matted carpet. If you don’t have one, you can use your clothes iron. Simply cover the carpet with a moist cloth and run the iron in a low heat setting over the towel.
The combination of heat and moisture can help loosen up and soften the carpet fibers, eliminating the matted and compressed appearance of fibers.
Takeaway
Carpets will inevitably become matted over time, leaving them looking unattractive and worn. It’s not like you can prevent anyone from stepping on them so that they look as good as when you bought it. Nevertheless, fixing a matted carpet isn’t as difficult as it seems. By following the above-mentioned tips, you can restore your carpets to their brand-new look condition, eliminating the need for costly replacement or repair.
