If you pride yourself on the perfect, pristine appearance of your home carpet, chances are you’re not thrilled when you see pesky carpet dents pop up just in time for company. If your carpet has just come back from Chem-Dry of Omaha looking fresh and clean, the last thing you want to have to deal with is deep furniture dents on your new-looking rug. Don’t worry: If you’re paranoid about getting rug dents from heavy furniture, there’s an easy way to make sure that you don’t have to spend forever trying to shift your bulky home pieces around to give your carpet some room to breathe. If you want to eliminate dents fast, there are a few ways you can tackle the project. All you need are a few easy-to-use tools and a bit of spare time, and your carpet dents will be dust.
1. Use Cool Pressure
When it comes to restoring dented areas to their former glory, raising and lowering the temperature can make all the difference to your rug’s depressed surface. If you’re dealing with a dent or two, the first thing to do is treat it with ice. If your freezer is stocked, take a few cubes and place them directly on the dent, allowing them to melt overnight. Once the cubes are melted, you should be looking at a freshly-revived carpet surface that just needs a bit of fluffing to look good as new. The cold from the melted ice will have been absorbed by the depressed fibers, causing them to perk up gradually. However, the important thing to remember here is that too much water on a carpet is never a good thing. Don’t take any chances by dumping a whole tray of ice cubes on one dent, especially if you’re planning on leaving them to melt overnight. If you really want to be safe, keep the cubes in a plastic bag and let them sit on the affected area overnight. It may take longer for your rug’s depressed fibers to perk up, but they’ll still be invigorated from the cold.
2. Use Heated Application
If you’ve got a blow dryer handy, you’re in luck. Even the deepest dents don’t stand a chance against hot air and steam heat. All you have to do is spray the area with a small amount of water before using your blow dryer to erase your rug dent. Drying the area shouldn’t take too long, and afterward, you’ll be left with a smooth surface with no sign of a dent in sight. However, if you don’t have a handheld tool like a blow dryer, there are other ways to use steam to take the dents out of your rug’s surface. Using a small damp towel and a steam iron, place the towel over the area you’re looking to smooth out. Using slow, even pressure, and being very careful to keep the iron away from the rug surface, iron back and forth for about a minute. After this time, you should be able to remove the towel and see your rug’s fibers straightening. Fluff them up on your own, or use a fork to help keep everything straight and untangled. If your strands are a bit longer and wilder, you might need to repeat the process a few times, whereas short pile rugs and denser surfaces will be able to dry out in no time. If you remove your towel and the surface still feels damp, try wiping off the rug with a cloth towel or using a blow dryer to keep everything moisture-free.
3. Protect Your Carpet with Padding
Getting rid of carpet dents isn’t too hard, but it can be easily enough avoided as well. In addition to rotating your carpet and moving the furniture around often, a great way to prevent dents from occurring is to install a layer of carpet padding under the base, which will help to absorb the pressure from heavier objects such as chairs, sofas, and coffee tables. When you keep a layer of padding underneath your household rug, you’re effectively installing a buffer that will help counteract problems like wear and tear, poor insulation, and even furniture indentation. While padding might not be able to prevent more serious denting over time, it will do a good job of keeping your rug staying buoyant and fresh for longer and without a ton of maintenance. This won’t just help your rug stay healthy, it will protect your furniture and your feet over time without marking your carpet with any unsightly dents or depressions.
