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What to do about carpet wrinkles

7/10/2017

7 Comments

 
A carpet that starts to get "wrinkles" isn't necessarily aging. It's an indication that there's too much carpet in an area. The wrinkles don't get smaller or go away. They grow until the problem has been rectified.
Carpet wrinkles can show up in a new or old carpet. Sometimes they show up after a carpet cleaning. According to industry experts there are three main causes of carpet wrinkles. Carpet cleaning is not one of them. If you're wondering why they may show up after a cleaning, think of this comparison. Imagine you bought a new shirt. It looked great the first time you wore it but after it was washed it was very wrinkled  This isn't true of all your shirts. Some are prepared to be wrinkle resistant, while others are disasters. Carpeting needs to be prepared to resist wrinkles too. The ones that aren't can develop wrinkles just like your shirt. The main cause of carpet wrinkles is lack of preparation, called power stretching. Properly preparing and maintaining a carpet avoids creating wrinkles. Adding water to a carpet can trigger a pre-existing problem.

THREE MAIN CAUSES OF CARPET WRINKLES
1. Improper initial installation
2. Improper moving of furniture
3. Natural or Normal wear and tear

Improper Installation: When a carpet wrinkles within the first 2-3 years it's likely to be from improper installation. The most probable cause being that the carpet was never "power stretched". New carpet is stiff and should be power stretched. If it isn't then over time the carpet starts to loosen and relax, causing wrinkles.

Improper moving of furniture: Moving furniture frequently by pushing & sliding, without picking it up, or emptying out the drawers to lessen the load, causes stetching. The carpet gets pushed & pulled in ways it wasn't meant to be. 

Normal or Natural Wear and Tear: Natural wear and tear means just treating your carpet as it was meant to be. You vacuum it when it's dirty, properly move furniture over it & clean it periodically (yearly for most people). This is the natural way most people care for their carpet. Some people don't realize they need to treat their carpet in this manner.

When you buy a carpet and your salesman tells you that your carpet is guaranteed for life, they usually don't tell you that the life of carpet is said to be 8-10 years ( Based on manufacture warranties). Carpet can last a lot longer than that. So even when you care for it normally, over time naturally the latex on the backing starts to break down. The latex is what keeps the carpet nice and tight. When this happens the carpet loosens and again you get to the point of simply having too much carpet in the room causing wrinkles. 

If you have wrinkles in your carpet then it is time to stretch your carpet.  When you first notice wrinkles in your carpet you should get your carpet stretched.

THREE REASONS TO STRETCH YOUR CARPET RIGHT AWAY
  1. Delaying the carpet stretching job can lead to permanent damage. It may never lay flat again.
  2. Over time as people step on the carpet and it wrinkles it will start to crack and then rip.
  3. It's easy for people to loose their balance and fall over the wrinkled area.

A carpet repair man can do this by removing the carpet tacks on the ends of the carpet and stretching it out again. Often times it must be cut at the edges to remove the wrinkles. This process can be just as intensive as first installing the carpet depending on whether furniture has to be moved.
7 Comments
Eileen Benson link
12/3/2019 08:32:11 am

It was interesting when you said that sliding furniture frequently can cause the carpet to be pulled and eventually stretch. My living room has developed a wrinkle in the carpet near the fireplace, and I couldn't figure out why before reading your article. I'll have to find a good carpet repair service to come to fix the issue soon!

Reply
Daniel G
7/21/2020 09:53:34 pm

The carpet installed in our new construction home is wrinkling in several areas, including stairs, after just over two years. I suspect the problem is because the installer didn’t use a power stretcher to install it. Is there a way to determine if a power stretcher was or wasn’t used to install it? Thanks.

Reply
Curtis Butler link
2/25/2021 11:06:25 am

I didn't know that your carpet may become stretched over time if you regularly move furniture around without picking it up. My wife and I typically rearrange the chairs in our living room whenever we host house parties on weekends, but we have started to notice that the corners of our carpet have started to form large wrinkles. Maybe we should think about finding an expert that can repair the damages.

Reply
Jim Donaldson link
3/15/2021 03:43:00 am

It is good to know that you have pointed three reasons to stretch. I have read your article & that was the best part. Even I don't know why I need to stretch. This is really helps me a lot. Thanks for sharing this article.

Reply
John Carston link
3/10/2022 04:40:03 pm

It's awesome that this article talked about the importance of taking action if you notice problems on your carpet. My wife told me that we need a carpet service that can remove the loose on our carpet, and she asked if I have any idea what is the best option to do. Thanks to this informative article, I'll be sure to consult a trusted carpet stretching service as they can provide the solution for our carpet problem.

Reply
zidane link
8/15/2022 03:09:33 am

very clear and good article easy to understand. Thank you

Reply
Carpet cleaning service Boston link
11/18/2022 02:50:11 pm

You are sharing a piece of nice information here. The information you have provided is genuinely instructive and significant for us. Thanks for sharing an article like this.

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