Restoration of carpet pile, elimination of creases and folds, replacement of flooring, technology for painting the flooring at home. Carpet repair is an operation to restore damaged areas of the coating. Correctly performed work completely masks the defect. We suggest that you familiarize yourself with the methods of eliminating typical damage to the material, which will bring the flooring back to life.
Features of replacing carpet
Like all other floor coverings, carpet wears out and decays over time. Large areas with defects appear on the surface, which cannot be masked or restored. In this case, the product is changed. First, the plinths are dismantled, fixing the canvas along the walls of the room. Further work depends on the option of fastening the carpet to the floor.
If the canvas was attached to grippers, it is necessary to inspect it and decide whether to dismantle the fixtures or not. Devices securely attached, in good condition, are left in place. If the slats are held on nails, they are removed with a nail puller. In the case of fastening the slats on the mastic, you will need a building hair dryer. The device heats the mastic, which melts and releases the rail.
The glued carpet does not come off well, so cut it into strips before removing the carpet from the floor. Dismantle individual parts of the curtain using clamps or scrapers. Do the work carefully so as not to damage the base.
Remove any dried adhesive from the floor, which may require solvent. The product is toxic, so work with respirators with open windows. The liquid is applied to the floor with a spray gun. After waiting for a while, as specified by the solvent manufacturer, you can scrape off the adhesive with a spatula. Re-spray if necessary. Repeat the procedure until the glue is completely removed.
Hot water can be used instead of solvent. The liquid is poured onto the floor with the fossilized adhesive. After 4-5 minutes, the glue will soften and be scraped off.
A heat gun can be used to remove glue residues. Direct the socket to the problem area, after 30 seconds remove the solution with a scraper. After processing one area, the adjacent one warms up, and the work continues until the entire floor is cleaned. Vacuum and clean the floor before laying new carpet.
Rules for restoring carpet pile
Damage to the pile in small areas of carpet is very common. The cause of the trouble can be an unextinguished cigarette, heavy furniture, or stains that cannot be removed. There are a number of techniques that allow you to return the material to its original appearance or qualitatively mask a defect.
Bonding carpet pile
For work, you will need a transparent gel glue, for example, the Moment brand. You can take the product you used to fix the floor covering if it is left over from the installation.
To glue the pile, follow these steps:
- Pull out the remaining fibers from the base of the carpet in the damaged area. Sometimes the filaments are difficult to pull out of a latex base or thick adhesive. To facilitate the procedure, moisten the problem area with gasoline, which will soften the latex. It is not recommended to use acetone and other solvents to dissolve the glue, which can spoil the synthetic threads.
- In an inconspicuous place on the cover, pull out fibers that can replace damaged threads. There should be enough of them to cover the bald patch.
- Apply glue to the base of the carpet in bald spots.
- Fill in the area with new fibers.
- Place a thick book on top for a few days until the glue hardens completely.
- Brush the restored area with a hard-bristled brush, for example for clothes or shoes. Dishwashing foam is not suitable for fluffing up the lint. After the procedure, new and old fibers will mix and the place of repair will not be visible.
Sewing on carpet pile
Sewing on the pile, restore plain coverings or carpets with a small pattern. On panels with large clear images, the sewn pile can stand out strongly, so work should be done very carefully.
The pile is usually sewn on carpets with a natural base, from where you can pull out threads of a suitable size. You can also use non-native threads that have a similar color and thickness. For work, you need a long curved needle with a large eye, for example, a surgical needle. The needle can be bent by yourself. To do this, heat it over a fire until it turns red and bend it.
Sew on the pile as follows:
- Remove the fluff from the damaged area as described above.
- Lock the thread at the warp and sew the stitch. The needle should be injected close to the initial attachment point. If it does not come out well from the base, use tweezers.
- Gently pull the thread through the puncture, pressing it against the base.
- Sew another stitch to form a buttonhole. Pull the thread until it reaches the same height as the carpet pile. To make the loop the same size as the carpet loops, pass a match through it and pull it tightly to squeeze the match.
- Repeat the operation until the area is covered with lint. The more often the stitches are made, the better the new pile will be.
- Secure the last thread by sewing a few stitches around it.
- If the pile on the floor has no loops, cut them with scissors.
- Make sure that the height of the sewn pile does not stand out above the level of the entire cover. Trim the fibers with scissors if necessary.
Raising the pile on the carpet
There are two reasons for applying the pile - chemical and mechanical action. The first option is found in heavily soiled carpets or in coatings that were cleaned with low-quality detergents. In such webs, the fibers are glued to each other. In this case, it is enough to thoroughly clean or wash the carpet with a quality detergent. Mechanical crushing occurs from walking, from the impact of furniture legs, etc.
In order to restore the carpet, use cold or heat:
- Pour ice cubes over the affected area and leave them overnight. The ice will first freeze the crumpled pile, then melt, and the fibers are pulled together soft. You cannot put ice in the bag, it must melt right on the material. More than one serving of ice may be needed during the night. Lift the softened fibers with a fork to the level of the main pile. After surgery, brush the area with a hard-bristled brush or a strong-toothed comb. Do not put a lot of ice, 2-4 pieces are enough for each area. Otherwise, there will be problems with the drying of the coating.
- For the second case, you will need a steam iron. Fill a container in the iron with water, and then direct a jet of steam exactly at the place of the crumpled pile and hold for 3-4 seconds. The steam will soften the threads so that they can be lifted. Make sure that the hot surface of the iron does not touch the lint. You can use a hairdryer instead. Moisten the crumpled area with water and then heat with a hair dryer while lifting the nap.
How to make a carpet patch
The method allows you to restore the pile in a sufficiently large area, up to 5 cm in diameter, with a damaged base.
To repair carpet in an apartment, you will need a tape that will fix the patch in the right place. This is a mesh strip impregnated on both sides with an adhesive with a protective coating. But if after the initial installation you have no extra pieces of tape left, you can use wide construction double-sided tape or even thick stationery tape. Perform the work in the following sequence:
- Find a suitable patch material. The ideal option is a piece of carpet that was left over from the first flooring. You can also cut a blank from the panel in an inconspicuous place.
- Find a template for cutting the patch. For this purpose, a tin can, the size of which is slightly larger than the damaged area, is suitable.
- Place the can on the workpiece, press it firmly to the floor so that a mark remains on the surface. If the damage has a complex shape, make a template from a sheet of paper that copies the problem area.
- Cut out the patch with a sharp knife.
- Place the jar (or template) over the damaged area and cut it out as described above.
- Choose the size of the carpet tape that will hold the patch to the floor. It is desirable that the dimensions of the tape be 2-3 cm larger than the diameter. If the canvas is glued to the floor and it is impossible to slide the tape under it, cut a piece to fit the opening.
- Remove the protective layer from the adhesive tape and install it through the hole under the carpet so that it sticks to the bottom of the floor.
- Smooth out the tape, it should cover the hole at the bottom without wrinkles. If there is no wide tape, you can sequentially seal the hole with two tapes.
- Remove the top protective layer from the tape.
- Place the carpet on the duct tape and smooth it down.
- Insert the cut patch into the hole, check the direction of the pile with the main blade and press it in until it stops.
- Make sure the heights of the fibers on the patch and the fabric are the same. If necessary, lay the scissors flat on the carpet and trim off any protruding fibers.
- Place a flat, heavy object on the repaired area and leave it on for a couple of days.
- After the glue hardens, comb the joints with a brush.
Eliminating kinks in carpet
After transportation or long-term storage when folded, irregularities, creases, bends may appear on the carpet.
To return the coating to its original condition, follow these tips:
- Unroll the cover and roll it inside out. Leave in this position for several days.
- Soak the folds on the synthetic surface from the base side with warm water and fold to the other side. The defect will disappear in half an hour. Do not wet the glued base, it may deteriorate.
- Unfold the cover and press down on problem areas with flat, heavy objects.
- In hot sunny weather, take the product outside. Under the influence of external factors, stress in the material will disappear. The creases will disappear on their own even without a load.
- You can also treat deformed areas with steam, which speeds up the smoothing of the material. In this way, the carpets are leveled even after washing. During the procedure, make sure that the high temperature does not damage the pile.
DIY carpet painting technology
One of the main disadvantages of carpet is the impossibility of restoring its original appearance in the presence of indelible stains. In this case, users often change the coverage to a new one. But there is another way out of this situation - painting. The procedure is an alternative to replacing the carpet and allows you to extend the life of the carpet.
The choice of paint for carpet
It is recommended to dye woolen or nylon garments at home. Acrylic and polyester carpets do not absorb paint well, and for these purposes expensive equipment is needed, which only companies specializing in this work have.
Spray paint, which is used by motorists to renovate car flooring, is the most convenient coloring agent. But it is expensive, and it is economically unprofitable to use it for large panels.
Textile paint, which is sold in powder and diluted in water before use, will be much cheaper. Its color should be slightly darker than the color of the carpet or the stain on it, in this case the result will be better.
To prepare the coloring composition, you will need: water - 0.945 l, dye - 10-20 g (the amount of envy on the desired shade), 25% ammonia - 25 ml, chromic peak - 50% of the dye to fix the paint (at the request of the consumer). The product fixes the paint to the fibers.
Preparation of paint from dry powder is carried out as follows:
- Boil water.
- Add ammonia, dye and boil for 5-10 minutes.
- Let the water cool for 45 minutes.
- Pour a small amount of water into a small container. Pour the chrompeak into it and mix everything.
- Pour the chrompeak solution into the paint solution. Mix the liquid thoroughly.
- Filter the paint through several layers of cheesecloth.
How to apply pigment to carpet
Carpet paint is applied with a brush or spray, so take care of a working tool in advance.
The sequence of work is as follows:
- Thoroughly remove dirt from the carpet. Clean the coating first with a dry method and then with steam.
- Treat the material with antibacterial agents to kill microorganisms.
- Dry the coating.
- Apply paint to the material in an inconspicuous place and look at it after drying. If you are satisfied with the result, you can process the entire surface.
- If you decide to use a brush, apply the paint in a crisscross pattern so that it goes deeper. If using a sprayer, after the procedure, rub the pigment over the surface with a stiff brush.
- Start painting from the far corner towards the doors.
- Let the coating dry.
- Check the quality of the staining - after drying, spots with spots may stand out. In this case, re-paint these areas.
- Once completely dry, wash the carpet with a cleaning vacuum cleaner using a solution of water and vinegar. The vinegar will help neutralize the smell of the paint.
The coating is painted not only to mask a dirty surface, there are other motives, for example:
- To create an extraordinary room design, in which the color of the carpet must be in harmony with the walls, and there are no products on sale with the desired shade.
- To bring to life a design idea for a floor covering, for example by painting it in different colors.
- For the temporary use of an old cloth in order to accumulate funds for the purchase of a new carpet.
Watch a video about carpet - look at the video:
It is not difficult to restore the appearance of carpet, but this requires knowledge of the techniques of working with the coating and a serious attitude to business. Competent carpet repair will restore its lost beauty and extend its service life.
