How to Get Dents Out of a Carpet

If you have done some redecorating lately or decided to Feng Shui your living room, you’ll most probably notice dents in your carpets. Heavy furniture and chairs that take a person’s weight will almost always leave imprints on your carpet. Carpet dents can be unsightly, and the longer your furniture has been sitting in one place, the deeper the dent will be. If you are wondering, are carpet dents permanent? Not to worry; the answer is no. However, with that being said, it might take some work to coax your carpet’s fibers to spring back into place.

What’s the Best Way to Get Dents Out of a Carpet?

Luckily, a few simple methods will help revive any carpet flattened by feet or heavier objects. In this post, we’ll take a look at a few of the best ways to get dents out of your carpets. We promise these simple household hacks will eliminate dents and bring your carpet back to life! And you won’t need any special equipment or tools for most of these methods.

How Can You Make Your Carpet Fluffy Again?

Fortunately, there are many useful tactics to fluff up your carpet to make it look and feel like new. The method you choose will depend on the type of carpet you have and the materials at your disposal. Synthetic fiber carpets react well to the ice cube method, whereas dents in natural-fiber carpets are best removed with steam.

How Do You Get Furniture Indentations Out of a Carpet?

Always test the method you choose by first trying it on a hidden area. If there are no adverse effects, you can move on to removing the dents from the rest of the carpet. Below, we share a few helpful ways to rid your carpets of any dents:

How to Get Dents Out of a Carpet with Ice Cubes

1. Protect the floor underneath the carpet by placing a towel or other absorbent material underneath it while you work.
2. Place an ice cube in the dent, or as many as you need to fill it.
3. As the ice melts, the carpet’s fibers will absorb the water and become full and almost swollen, thereby reducing the dent.
4. Leave the dent wet overnight or for at least four hours; this will allow the carpet fibers to regain their shape fully.
5. Blot the area dry using a clean towel.
6. Once this is done, you can remove the towel that was placed underneath the carpet as a protective barrier.
7. Now it’s time to fluff the fibers back into shape. If you don’t have a carpet brush or rake, you can use a credit card or a spoon to brush and fluff the carpet in many different directions. This will help the fibers to stand up straight like the rest of the carpet.
8. The reason for using ice and not just pouring water over the dent is that you need the carpet fibers to soak up the water slowly.

How to Get Dents Out of a Carpet With an Iron

1. For a small dent, you can easily use your iron on its steam setting. Hold it about 4-6 inches and apply the steam above the mark until the carpet is moist and hot.
2. Dry the carpet by using a clean towel to absorb the water.
3. Use a coin or credit card to fluff the carpet fibers until they are standing up tall like the rest of the carpet.

How to Get Deep Dents Out of a Carpet 

1. You will need more direct heat for deeper dents. Lay a damp tea towel or bath towel over the dented area.
2. Switch your iron onto the wool or cotton setting and apply pressure to the area, moving the iron around slowly for about a minute.
3. Leave the towel in place until it is completely dry. The heat and the moisture together help to lift the dented fibers.
4. To return the fibers to their natural shape, fluff them with a coin or credit card.

Does Steam Cleaning Remove Carpet Dents?

Steam cleaning your carpets will be able to remove dents. If you don’t have your own steam cleaner, find out where you can rent one. Follow the directions of the steam cleaner you have, working the cleaner over the dents and the surrounding area. This will help fluff the carpet back into shape.

Sometimes the steam from DIY methods can damage the floor underneath the carpet, so make sure to protect it by placing a towel or something else absorbent between the carpet and floor.

A professional steam cleaning from a company like Carpet Tech can safely and effectively steam dents out of most types of carpets. IICRC floor care technicians use special truck mounted equipment, which applies the right amount of moisture and heat to remove dents without shrinking the carpet.

How to Get Furniture Dents Out of Berber Carpet

A Berber carpet is a low pile carpet. This means it is dense and made with tightly woven fibers. These carpets are great for high-volume foot traffic, but they can also develop furniture dents, some being permanent. Luckily, you can remove the majority of dents that occur on a Berber carpet. If your first attempt is unsuccessful, try again before giving up or getting rid of your carpet.

1. Firstly, remove the heavy objects and massage the carpet pile back into place with your fingers.
2. Let the carpet sit without anything on for up to 48 hours.
3. If the dent isn’t relieved, try and chill it by placing a zipped bag with crushed ice on top of the carpet’s dented area.
4. Allow the ice to melt, and then remove the bag from the carpet.
5. Next, use a stiff brush or a vacuum cleaner to fluff up the carpet to its original shape.
6. If this still hasn’t worked, use the back of a spoon to restretch the fibers.
7. You can then dampen the area with a spray bottle of water. Don’t make it too wet though.
8. Once this is done, heat the damp area with a hairdryer while at the same time working with the spoon to fluff up the fibers. This should help them become more pliable and move with the spoon. Make sure you don’t overheat.
9. If this still doesn’t work, use a steam iron on high and gently iron over the dented area for about two minutes.
10. Let the carpet then rest for 24 hours. This should allow the carpet fibers to return to normal.
11. Make sure you work carefully with heat. You don’t want to risk developing burn spots or melting the fibers.

How Do You Fix Ripples in a Carpet?

Ripples in your carpet need more serious treatment than dents. If you are a DIY wizard or are quite handy around the house, you can attempt to stretch the carpet yourself.

There are a few tools you will need to manage this process, so make sure you can rent them.

1. First off, take all the furniture out the room and use a pry bar to remove all the tack strips.
2. With a rubber mallet, install the new strips about an inch from the wall.
3. Place the power stretcher in the center of the room, making sure the teeth connect with the carpet.
4. By pushing the device’s lever, stretch the carpet, and as you go, cut the additional carpet strip with a cutter. Repeat if necessary.
5. After you are finished, use a knee knicker to focus on the corners by smoothing out any remaining ripples.
6. Finally, fasten the carpet to the underlay with a staple gun and move the furniture back.

Carpet bubbles or ripples form over time, usually due to inadequate stretching over time.  Professional carpet care technicians are trained and have the proper equipment to eliminate bubbles and help prolong the life of your carpets.

Do Carpet Dents Go Away?

As you can see, carpet dents are not permanent, and even the most severe craters can be persuaded back to life and plumped up to join the rest of the carpet fibers. It should be good to know that you no longer have to dread moving your furniture around or making a living room change because carpet dents are reversible. We hope that these hints, tips, and tricks help you entirely correct any unsightly carpet dents in your home.

Professional Carpet Repairs

While DIY methods may save you a few pennies, consulting with a professional carpet cleaning and repair company like Carpet Tech will ensure a job well done without the risk of damaging your carpets. For those tough-to-repair carpets, contact Carpet Tech today.