When installing a wall-to-wall carpet, installers ensure the carpet is firmly held using track strips. But carpets are made from fabrics, and at some point, they start to weaken.
With time, your carpet stops being as smooth as it was when you installed it. When a carpet gets wrinkles, the worst you can do is not stretch it and remove the wrinkles on time.
When the wrinkles are ignored, the carpet weakens at that point and eventually gets torn at these weak points.
Apart from that, a wrinkle is a distraction when walking, and due to this, you may find yourself tripping.
Now you may not always have access to a stretcher to help get out the wrinkles. So, if there is no stretcher, does that mean there is no way to deal with the wrinkles? This article is here to help you with how to deal with wrinkles without a stretcher.
Read through the article, and by the end, wrinkles on the carpet will no longer be an issue for you.
What Causes a Carpet to Have Wrinkles
Incorrect Installation
We must agree some companies are incompetent in proper carpet installation. All they want is to get paid and walk away.
For this reason, you should be keen when selecting someone to install the carpet for you. When a carpet is not properly installed, it gets loose and develops wrinkles and ripples.
To ensure the installation is done the right way, the right tools should be used. Using a power stretcher or a pole stretcher helps the carpet to remain smooth for a long time.
Bad Quality or Wrong Padding
At times, the issue is the carpet. When the quality is not right, then wrinkles are likely to happen. Ensure you get a quality carpet with the right padding. It will cost you more, but the quality is worth it and will serve you for a long period. Remember, cheap is expensive.
A good example is when you use a cut pile carpet, you will need padding of seven to sixteen inches on the thickness, and the density should be six pounds. Ensure you check specific aspects of the manufacturer before purchasing.
Wetness Between the Floor and the Carpet
First, you need to ensure the floor is completely dry when installing the carpet. The floor will sweat with time, but that is not an issue. When you clean the carpet in the wrong way, making it wetter than the required one will affect your carpet’s lifespan and cause wrinkling on the carpet.
Heavy Furniture
Having heavy furniture on the carpet can stretch the carpet and cause wrinkles or ripples on the carpet. A solution to this is moving around the furniture to help loosen the carpet.
If possible, you can get furniture with wheels to make the whole moving process easy for you.
You can purchase a plastic carpet protector, which you place under the heavy furniture like the chairs to help protect the carpet from the heavy furniture.
Delamination
Another cause is delamination, which is when a carpet separates from its bark. This can happen when the carpet was not manufactured correctly, or there is too much moisture on the carpet. If it’s an issue with the manufacturing, use the warranty to claim another carpet.
To avoid delamination, ensure you are using the right cleaning technique to avoid leaving too much moisture on the carpet.
Excess moisture can cause mold and bad odor from the carpet if not addressed on time.
Old Carpet
Your carpet is getting old, and that’s why it is getting wrinkled. In this case, you can stretch it to get rid of the wrinkles but at the same time start budgeting on a new carpet as it is a sign your carpet is old and needs a replacement.
How to Remove Carpet Wrinkles Without Stretchers
Everyone wants all those positive comments about their house, “the carpet is outstanding, where did you get it?” Just before you answer that question, they notice some wrinkles.
They forget how good it looks. “is it that it was not installed properly or what’s up with the wrinkles?” it hurts. To save you the disappointment, let’s fix those wrinkles, where you start by getting the right tools and necessary equipment.
Step #1
The first thing is a tack strip because you will have to remove the old one. The new one will help make the carpet firm after the installation process.
The other thing you need is a knee kicker, as it is what you will use to stretch the carpet. Remove the furniture from the carpet to give you adequate working space. You will also be able to stretch the carpet. You can move them to the next room or the corridor because the installation process won’t take long.
Step #2
The next step is removing the tack strip from the carpet. You can start from the corners moving on to the other parts but don’t interfere with the center yet. You can use a pair of pliers to remove the strip.
Ensure there are no loose strips and nail them using a hammer and nails if need be. When peeling the carpet, be careful not to destroy it or the carpet pad. As seen before, carpets are made from fabric.
For this reason, they are delicate and should be handled with care if you don’t want to go back to zero where you need to install another carpet or another carpet pad. Install new tack strips.
This is done if the old ones have their functionality compromised. For example, if the nails are not standing at the right angle.
You will need leather hard and heavy work gloves to protect you from getting cut by the strip during this process. After use, dispose of them in a thick bag.
After you have installed the strip, now you can stretch the carpet using knee kickers at the edge of the carpet toward your wall. Do this all around to ensure all the carpet is stretched.
Step #3
You can fold the excess carpet that you get after stretching during the stretching process. After you are done, trim the excess carpet. Ensure the carpet is firm on the edges by using the track strip.
Knee kickers work the same as the stretcher, but for them, you need to be on your knees. Now use your knee to put force on the knee kicker to make sure the carpet stretches.
In addition, knee kickers are best used in a small room as you have to use your strength in stretching, and if you are not strong enough, you can’t stretch a large carpet.
Conclusion
Wrinkles are enemies of a beautiful carpet and should be dealt with immediately to avoid more damage. Not having a stretcher should not hold you back from removing wrinkles from your carpet.
Use the methods discussed above, and the wrinkles will be no more. Also, ensure you maintain the carpet by following the manufacturers’ guidelines to ensure it serves you for a long period.
