How to Remove Furniture Dents From Carpet
LAST UPDATED: MARCH 1, 2023
In this post, I’ll show you how to SIMPLY remove furniture dents, marks, or divots from carpet.
This method is commonly used by professional carpet cleaners to remove carpet dents caused by heavy furniture like book shelves, or beds.
Here is the secret:
The most effective way to reset the shape of carpet fibers is with heat and steam from a clothing iron.
The furniture weight puts a huge amount of deformation stress on the carpet fibers.
This high compression stress can cause the carpet fibers to undergo plastic deformation that can often only be undone by reseting the fiber shape with steam.
Check out the Step-By-Step photo Instructions below for a simple guide.
Or...
Check the Video Instructions below.
1) Spray the iron footprint (red dashed line) with water to protect the carpet fibers from the heat of the iron. The Iron temperature setting should be set to synthetic material.
2) Cover the carpet dent with a damp white cotton cloth. Do not use a colored cloth, as the dyes may transfer from the cloth to the carpet.
3) Place the preheated iron on top of the carpet dent for 30 seconds. The iron steam function should be turned on. Do not use a higher heat setting than "synthetic material". The highest temperature setpoint on an iron could damage the carpet!
4) After 30 seconds, the carpet fibers will start to reset to their original shape, and the dent will come out of the carpet.
5) Using a light bristled brush, like a toothbrush, agitate the carpet fibers to further reset the carpet dent. If the dent does not fully come out of the carpet, repeat steps 1 to 5 one more time. Do not repeat more than twice as it will not be effective.
6) When the carpet dries, the carpet should look new again!
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Remove Furniture Dents From Carpet Video Instructions
How to Protect a Carpet From Heavy Furniture
Heavy furniture like book shelves, beds, tables, and chairs can sometimes permanently damage your carpet.
Why not use Spiked Carpet Protector Coasters to protect your carpet from the excessive compression stress caused by heavy furniture items?
Spiked Coasters can be placed directly under furniture legs or wheels to prevent carpet dents, divots, or carpet furniture marks.
The spiked design allows the carpet fibers to rest between the spikes, which totally prevents carpet furniture dents from becoming a problem!
Notes
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Do not use this method on rugs if they are placed on top of hardwood floor, engineered floor, or other types of finished floor. The steam could penetrate the carpet and damage the flooring.
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Adjust your iron heat setting "synthetic material" type before you begin. Most carpets are made from synthetic materials like nylon and polyester. These materials are a type of plastic and the highest iron temperature setpoint could melt carpet.
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This method may need to be repeated more than once depending on the type of material your carpet is made from. Nylon bounces back to its original shape fairly easily. Dents in polyester carpets may take a second repetition.
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Test this method on a piece of scrap carpet, or in the corner of a closet before using it in an openly visible area. A test run (using an imaginary dent) is always a good idea to ensure this method does not cause any damage to that particular type of carpet.
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Do not use this method on multi-colored carpet, as the steam could cause the dyes could migrate.
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Do not use this method on fine fibers like silk, wool, cotton, or other natural fibers. Expensive fine fibers should always be cleaned by a reputable professional carpet cleaner.
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Use this method at your own risk.