How to Unfry A Carpet

[TromboneAl]

DD dropped the iron on the carpet, frying two iron shaped patches. Prominent location. The carpet is 10 years old so it couldn't be matched.

Any ideas on how to fix it for less than $2,000?

 

[Leonidas]

Move the sofa a few feet to the left?

 

[REWahoo]

Make DD fry iron shaped patches all over the room and tell anyone who comes over you were the victim of a tragic episode of "Trading Spaces".

 

[Cut-Throat]

We have wall to wall carpeting in our lower level, but also have some real nice oriental rugs on top of it for accents. It can help turn the big room into smaller spaces. 5x7 rug with a Wingback chair and ottoman.

Maybe if the spot is a place that could accomodate a small area rug?

 

[LovesLife]

Is there a closet that you could take a patch from and replace the burned area?

 

[Arif]

A trick I've used with success in my rentals is to "shave" off carpet from say the closet and sprinkle the shavings over the burnt area and apply adhesive. Not perfect but way cheaper than replacing the entire carpet.

 

[sgeeeee]

. . . Any ideas on how to fix it for less than $2,000?

Throw rugs. 

DW and I have collected small decorative rugs from Egypt, Peru, etc. . . and these have often been used to cover up carpet or floor ugliness. Of course you have to have the right covering to match the room decor. Or you can be like us and have such eclectic colections of stuff that anything fits as well as anything else.

 

[TromboneAl]

Make DD fry iron shaped patches all over the room and tell anyone who comes over you were the victim of a tragic episode of "Trading Spaces".

LOL.

Thanks for the ideas. 

I found that I can carefully cut the melted parts of the carpet fibers, and it improves the appearance a lot.  Maybe I can combine that with your trick, Arif, and also feather in the edges. 

I'll put DD on it tomorrow; should take about two hours.

I'm glad I'm not a perfectionist, since to really fix it right I'd have to replace all the upstairs carpeting and the carpeting on the stairs!

 

[Jane_Doe]

May be covered by homeowners insurance - depends on deductable, but there may be a new carpet in your future. Seriously - this is worth checking with your agent - you wouldn't believe what they will cover sometimes!

Good luck!

Jane

 

[Arif]

May be covered by homeowners insurance - depends on deductable, but there may be a new carpet in your future. Seriously - this is worth checking with your agent - you wouldn't believe what they will cover sometimes!

Just be careful your premiums don't go up accordingly. You could end up paying for that new carpet for 10 years.

 

[brewer12345]

LOL.

Thanks for the ideas. 

I found that I can carefully cut the melted parts of the carpet fibers, and it improves the appearance a lot.  Maybe I can combine that with your trick, Arif, and also feather in the edges. 

I'll put DD on it tomorrow; should take about two hours.

I'm glad I'm not a perfectionist, since to really fix it right I'd have to replace all the upstairs carpeting and the carpeting on the stairs!

Another idea: cut a patch from under a sofa. Cut the exact same shape/size with the burns in it. Swap the patches.

 

[maddythebeagle]

May be covered by homeowners insurance - depends on deductable, but there may be a new carpet in your future

.

but wouldnt you have to burn the house down first and replace the entire house around the carpet.....

 

[justin]

DD dropped the iron on the carpet, frying two iron shaped patches.

Wait, she dropped the iron two times? Something doesn't add up.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Is there a closet that you could take a patch from and replace the burned area?

Thats what I did the one time I had a small damaged carpet area. Worked great. I didnt even tape it, just cut out the damaged area, then cut the replacement piece about 2" larger in diameter, cut the carpet fibers from the overage to just lave the backing, and slipped the replacement piece into the hole, spreading out the backing under the original carpet. Stayed just fine and unless you got on your hands and knees and inspected it, nobody would notice.

 

[Scrooge]

Wait, she dropped the iron two times?  Something doesn't add up.

Do irons bounce?

 

[justin]

Do irons bounce?

I smell a science experiment!!! Or is that the smell of singed carpet?

 

[TromboneAl]

All better. Another couple of thousand saved.

 

[brewer12345]

OK, but what method did you use?

 

[TromboneAl]

Cutting off the parts of the carpet that had melted.  Each bundle of fibers comes up and then loops back down (Berber?).  The top part of each loop was melted, and darker than the non-melted parts. It actually looked worse than shown by the photo.  I had DD carefully snip away just the melted parts of each bundle.

I thought it would look different because it was no longer a loop, but that wasn't the case.