How to Get Dents Out of a Carpet

So you’ve decided that it’s time to do a bit of rearranging in your living room. You move your sofa and what do you find underneath it?

A furniture mark!

When you leave a piece of heavy furniture on your carpet for a longer period of time, the weight of the item deforms the fibres of the rug. The more time your sofa, for example, spends sitting on top of your carpeting, the deeper and more pronounced the marks get. Rest assured, the dents aren’t irreversible.

There is a way to remove these marks from your textile floor covering.

So, if you:

Then read on! This article will answer your questions.

Remove carpet dents with ice cubes

Follow these steps to remove deep imprints from a synthetic rug. Common synthetic carpet fibres include polyester, nylon and olefin.

Speaking of ice cubes, you can use an ice pack to remove bubble gum from your carpet. See how it’s done in our blog post on how to get chewing gum out of carpets.

Get dents out of the carpet with an iron

The most effective and safe way to remove indentations from cotton, sisal or wool rugs is with the help of steam. Again, don’t forget to double-check the carpet’s label, so you can determine the material type you are dealing with.

Here is how to get rid of furniture marks on carpets made out of natural fibres:

1. Move all furniture that is located on the dented area of the rug. Put some towels under the rug, if possible, to protect your floor from the moisture.
2. Get out your steam iron and fill it up with water. Next, place it on the highest heat setting and wait for the appliance to reach the right temperature. After the iron is ready, apply steam to the area. Make sure to hold the appliance at a reasonable distance (around 10 to 15cm). Continue to steam the dented parts until the fibres get wet and hot. Don’t stick the iron directly on the carpet.
3. Let it dry. After you’ve moistened the area, let it dry overnight and ruffle the fibres in the morning to restore their initial shape.

Remove carpet dents with a hair dryer

If you don’t own a steam iron, don’t worry. Here is what to do:

1.  Spray the indentations on the carpet with some water. After you’ve moistened the dents, get a hair dryer, put it on high and blast the wet area. Make sure to hold the hair dryer at a good distance, away from the rug, somewhere between 10 to 15cm. Continue to apply heat until the carpet’s surface gets warm.
2. Apply more heat if you are dealing with a really stubborn dent on your carpeting. Get yourself a tea towel, soak it in some warm water, squeeze out the excess liquid and cover the mark with it. Pull out the iron again and set it on medium. After you’ve given it some time to heat up, run the appliance over the towel and apply slight pressure. Once you are done, remove the iron and let the treated area dry overnight.
3. Fluff the fibres. To restore the fibres to their original shape and position, use your fingers, a spoon, a brush or a carpet rake.

Using a hair dryer is another great way to remove dents from natural fibres. If you want to learn more about maintaining your rug made of natural fibres, check out our handy blog post on how to clean a shaggy rug.

Getting dents out of silk rugs

This is the safest, and unfortunately, the slowest method: First, move the furniture that created the mark away from the carpet. Then, continue using the rug as you would normally do, the fibres should gradually decompress with time. If the rug doesn’t return to its original shape, steam cleaning can be your trump card.

However, leave this to a professional because there is a high chance of damaging the colour of the rug if you are inexperienced in steam cleaning.

If you are looking for more carpet maintenance and cleaning tips, read our dedicated post on the topic. It’ll show you some carpet maintenance and cleaning tips and walk you through all the important steps to keep your item looking fresh.

Get rid of the dents by using a professional carpet cleaning service

If you don’t find the idea of preparing towels, playing with irons, hair dryers and all that other jazz appealing, just get a professional carpet cleaner to remove the dents for you. We, at Fantastic Services, offer an effective carpet cleaning service that will not only get rid of any furniture marks but will also leave your rug looking and feeling like brand new.

We are talking about the most efficient and long-lasting cleaning method right now – hot water extraction. This treatment can restore the original condition of any heavily soiled carpet while removing all sorts of existing furniture marks and dents. Here is how the whole process goes:

Protecting carpet from furniture dents

As you can see for yourself, dealing with carpet indentations isn’t a fun way to spend your time, that’s why prevention is key. Below, we have listed a few tricks that you can try out, in order to prevent rug dents:

Invest in carpet pads

Carpet pads have two major benefits – they make your rug even more comfortable and soft to walk on and they serve as a prevention method against dents. The pads help create an extra layer under the carpet that absorbs the pressure from the furniture, thus, eliminating the chances of marks, appearing in the first place.

Make sure to choose the type of pad, depending on the sort of rug you own. For example, a regular pad should have a thickness of between 6.3 and 11 mm and a density around 2.7 kg per cubic foot.

Use protective cups

This product is self-explanatory – carpet cups are small plate-like objects that you put under the legs of your furniture to protect your carpet. They distribute the weight of the furniture evenly across the rug pile, so it doesn’t get indented. The protectors don’t need any sort of installation, you just have to place them in between the furniture’s legs and the carpeting.

You can find this product, made from plastic or wood, so you can choose one that’ll complement the piece of furniture.

Make sure to move your furniture regularly

As we mentioned earlier, carpeting marks form from the weight of the furniture, located on top of the rug. The easiest way to prevent indentations in your carpeting is by moving the furniture on a regular basis. Move the items about 2.5 cm every other month to eliminate the chances of dents forming.

The only downside to this method is that it’s not that convenient if you have heavy and bulky furniture pieces.

Buy a rug with a shorter pile

If you don’t feel like rearranging your room every month, you can always get yourself a carpet with a short pile. These types of rugs are overall low maintenance and don’t suffer from furniture marks that easily.

***

We hope you found this article on how to get dents out of carpets informative and most importantly – helpful. Feel free to share your thoughts and opinions on the matter in the comment section below.