Carpets often need to be repaired.

Some defects in carpets occur due to poor-quality carpet laying, others are caused by mechanical damage. The carpet can be accidentally burned with a cigarette, cut with a fallen sharp instrument, poured with liquid, the stains of which are difficult to remove even with special shampoos.

The formation of any defect, however, does not mean that the carpet needs to be replaced. If you have the desire, carpet scraps and some experience, it is possible to reliably and discreetly repair the carpet. Let’s take a look at a few ways you can repair your carpet yourself.

Installing the patch

Carpet repair with the replacement of defective areas is quite rare. 

The fact is that the technology of repair work is rather complicated, and people who are not versed in finishing work prefer to replace the carpet with a new one, rather than apply a patch to the old one.

Carpeting is patched if extensive damage or indelible stains appear on its surface. It is not always recommended to repair a carpet that has been in use for a long time in this way. The fact is that over time, even with careful care, the carpet changes its original colour and acquires a greyish coating. Therefore, a patch of new material will stand out on the old coating as a bright spot. It is noticed: the lighter the carpet, the more the patch appears.

However, the designers proposed an original solution to this problem. When repairing a carpet that is in continuous use, they recommend taking a carpet of a different colour or texture for a patch. By sampling, you need to choose a patch to match the carpet. If this is not possible, you can use a carpet of a contrasting shade with a higher pile or a pile that has a relief pattern, and make the patch irregular, curly in shape.

If the defective place is located near the sofa or the front door, the patch can be given the appearance of a decorative rug. In this case, the patch will not only not confuse, but it will also seem that this decor element was provided from the very beginning. If the damage is located in the central part of the room, then you may need to put a few decorative patches that will enliven the carpet and make the flooring more beautiful and original.

Foam-backed carpet repair and textile backed carpet repair are different. On carpets with a textile backing, patches are sewn on from the wrong side so as not to damage the pile, while a pile carpet with a foam backing is repaired from the front side.

Pile carpet

To patch a bulky pile carpet, you need to consider how the carpet was laid. 

If the carpet is tightened with clamps, then strips of carpet scraps should be laid around the damaged area at a distance of 200 mm from the edge and attached to the base with 75 mm furniture nails. In this way, the tension of the carpet in the patched area can be reduced. If the carpet rests freely on the base or is attached to it with adhesive tape, then these actions are not particularly necessary.

The next step is to cut out the damaged area. To do this, you first need to make a stencil from cardboard or thick paper according to the size of the intended patch. The stencil must be placed on the carpet exactly in the place where there is damage. Don’t be in a hurry to cut the carpet. First, the pile of the carpet must be divided with the blunt side of the linoleum knife, and then pushed apart with your fingers so that the base is visible. According to the stencil, the base of the carpet must be cut, while you cannot press hard on the knife so that the gasket remains intact. The cut section must be removed by lifting it over the edge and carefully separating it from the padding and the rest of the carpet.

Using a stencil, you should cut out a patch from the scraps of the carpet, observing the direction of the pile and maintaining the integrity of the pattern. You need to act with a knife for cutting the carpet.

The patch is attached to the carpet with tapes made of durable fabric and latex mastic. If the patch is square or rectangular, cut four strips of fabric. The length of these strips should be about 30 mm longer than the sides of the hole. With a curly patch, you will need to cut a facing from the fabric in the same shape as the patch. The width of the tape should be approximately 50 – 60 mm.

A thin layer of latex mastic must be applied to the tape, then the tape is placed under the edges of the hole from the wrong side. It is necessary to ensure that the lines of the junction of the carpet and the patch fall in the middle of the tape. You can ensure better adhesion if you additionally apply glue to the edge of the patch. When working, you need to ensure that the glue does not get on the pile, otherwise, the carpet will be damaged.

Carpet with a fabric backing The

patch for a carpet with a fabric backing is installed differently. 

First, you need to loosen the tension of the carpet, first of all – in the corner of the room, located near the damaged area. You can free the carpet from the hooks with an all. After releasing the carpet from the grips in the corner, you need to remove the carpet from the grips along two walls.

Now the location of the patch should be marked on the front side of the carpet with pins. The pins are inserted into the carpet and lining. From cardboard, you need to cut out a patch stencil, the shape of which should correspond to the shape of the marked area.

The carpet must be turned to the wrong side. The stencil should be positioned so that its edges are parallel to the warp threads. Place a piece of plywood or fiberboard under the carpet, and then cut out the damaged area using a stencil. When working with a knife, you need to be careful and make sure that the blade cuts through only the base.

Now you need to cut a patch from the pieces of carpet. It is cut out both on a stencil and a cut section of the carpet. In this case, it is necessary to observe the direction of the fibres and combine the pattern, otherwise the patch will look like an alien stain on the carpet. The location of the cutout section of the carpet must be marked on the trim of the carpet with pins. The cut piece is removed, the piece of carpet is turned over to the wrong side, and then the patch is cut out along the pins, using a stencil and a knife for cutting the carpet.

For the edges of the carpet and the patches not to crumble, they need to be smeared with a thin layer of glue, while making sure not to stain the front side of the carpet with glue. Lay the patch in place, aligning the direction of the fibres with the pattern of the carpet. The patch must be pressed into place, starting at one corner towards the diagonal corner. To make the patch as inconspicuous as possible, the blunt end of the needle needs to remove all the fibres to the front side of the carpet. Now the patch needs to be fixed from the wrong side. To do this, the edges of the patch need to align with the edges of the hole. From the wrong side, lift the two joints so that it is more convenient to work, and sew them with a thick thread. It is necessary to sew alternately with long and short stitches. When sewing, make sure that the fibres of the carpet do not get into the seam.

Having firmly sewn the patch, you need to straighten the carpet and pull it back on the grips using the tensioner. Even if you do the work very carefully, immediately after the repair, the patch will stand out against the general background of the carpet. This drawback can be eliminated by loading the patch for several hours through a sheet of plywood or fiberboard. After this time, the fibres will finally straighten out.

Repair of tears and tears

Very spoil the carpet all sorts of tears and tears, resulting from improper use of the carpet. 

Surface tears, in which the carpet layer is torn off the base, are repaired from the front or backside. Carpet tears can be repaired by gluing or sewing up the area of ​​the tear.

If the base of the carpet is not damaged, then the section of the carpet torn off from the base should be slightly lifted, the wrong side should be cleaned of the pile and a thin layer of adhesive should be applied to the base. It is best to use latex mastic. In this case, you need to ensure that the glue does not get on the pile.

After laying the torn area in place, lightly press it with your hand, and then, holding it with your fingers, try to roll the damaged area to the base with some smooth object. A roller for rolling linoleum or just a glass milk bottle is suitable. While firmly pressing the carpet, move the roller or bottle in different directions to evenly distribute the adhesive between the fibres. Be careful not to squeeze the glue onto the surface of the carpet. If the adhesive still appears at the joints, immediately remove it with a clean cloth, and then with water or carpet shampoo.

Let the glue dry completely, and then sew on the loose fibres. How to do this is described in the section on carpet pile repair.

Ruptures, in which the base of the carpet is also affected, are repaired from the wrong side. Carpets with foam backing are repaired with adhesive tape. First, you need to wrap the carpet, tearing off the double-sided adhesive tape from the floor. On the wrong side, the edges of the gap must be aligned, and then a one-sided adhesive tape 50–60 mm wide is pressed against them so that the edges of the gap fall approximately in its middle. It is not necessary to lay the carpet in place immediately after the repair, you should wait a few hours for a stronger fastening, especially if the carpet is attached to the grips.

To repair a carpet with a fabric base, a needle and a strong thread are used. Using a tensioner, the carpet with a fabric backing must be removed from the grips in one corner. The edges of the carpet must be folded back. Align the edges of the gap and, holding them with one hand, sew them together.

From the fabric, you need to cut a tape 50 – 60 mm wide, spread it with latex mastic and glue it from the wrong side to the repaired place. The seam should be exactly in the middle of the tape. The final operation will be re-tensioning the carpet on the grips using a tensioner.