When you first lie down a roll of carpet or place a series of luxury carpet tiles, it looks and feels
soft, buoyant and full of life, but time and boot heels wear down the carpet until the result looks lifeless and limp.
Flat and matted carpets can happen sometimes as the pile of the carpet is constantly stomped down by the feet of people travelling across it. In high-traffic areas, it can sometimes not take long at all for the carpet to go limp or even reveal signs of damage.
However, whilst replacing your individual carpet tiles is an option if you have opted for a tiled solution, and new carpets will always make an impact on the room they are laid in, you may not need to opt for such a drastic solution.
Here are some top tips and tricks you can try if you are not ready to give up on your carpet yet.
Why Does Matting And Flattening Happen?
Matting, where the different parts of the pile clump together and look indistinct from each other and outright flat piles are typically the result of the same root causes.
The biggest cause for high-traffic areas is simple wear. Whilst a well-kept carpet will keep for years if enough people drag their feet through an area.
This is compound if those soles have dirt, mud or grime on them from outside, which can cling to the fibres and make them more likely to get matted. The extra weight also stops them from springing back up. This is also true if you do not clean your carpet regularly
As well as this, heavy furniture will create characteristic lines of flat carpet as well, and most of the time when people want it fixed it is because they are moving furniture but its previous resting place is very noticeable.
The Ice Cube Trick
If carpet fibres have been stuck together for a while, then a common domestic trick is to place an ice cube where the carpet has become particularly matted and let it slowly melt on top. After this, brush the fibres gently with a spoon.
Hoovering Up The Problem
Whilst hoovering can help fix the root cause, it can also help if you are just noticing the fibres start to cling together.
Vacuuming the carpet not only sucks away dirt, dust and debris that gets stomped into the carpet pile, but it also stimulates the fibres and refreshes them.
Try to use a carpet brush attachment and move it in several different directions rather than rolling the vacuum over it a few times.
A Makeshift Steam Clean
A steam cleaner is one of the greatest tools available for cleaning carpets, but if you do not happen to have one to hand, there is an alternative option.
Get a damp towel and lay it over the affected part of the carpet. After this, run an iron on its lowest setting over the tower. This will create a lot of steam that will help to lift the fibres.