Repairing carpet burn marks

REPAIRING BURN MARKS IN YOUR CARPET
Tools needed depending on type of repair:

Scissors
Double sided tape
Carpet cutting utility knife and sharp blade
Waterproof clear drying glue

BACKGROUND

After years of smoking and having smokong friends over, I became proficient at handling carpet burns. I finally quit smoking.


REPAIRING BURN MARKS IN YOUR CARPET

Tools needed depending on type of repair:
Scissors
Double sided tape
Carpet cutting utility knife and sharp blade
Waterproof clear drying glue

1. For small surface burns, where the tips of the carpet are the only thing that's burned, you may be able to get rid of the scorch by using a good pair of sharp scissors. You hold the scissors flat against the carpet and snip off the burned carpet fiber ends with the end tip of the scissors.

2. When the burn is too deep to use the scissors method, try carefully cutting out the fibers that are damaged. You may be left with a bald spot or a hole that you will fill. Get some carpet tufts from an area that is not conspicuous, such as from carpet under wall to floor molding in a closet.
Roll the carpet tuft fibers into a small bundle between your fingers or the palm of your hand, or both. Then gently coat the bottom of the fiber bundle with waterproof glue that dries clear. If you use non-waterproof glue and use a steam cleaner or carpet shampooer, then the carpet repair patch will come right off with the dirt and carpet dust. Push the home made carpet plug into the hole where you cut out the damage, and let it dry overnight. Once it is dry and set, then use scissors placed flatly on the floor and trim any excess fibers that stick up.

3. If it is a large burn, like the one my son left in the carpet when he started the Honda Spree motor scooter that was under the Christmas tree, and tried to drive it around the family room, surgery is required.

It was too big a burn for any small improvised fix. I didn't have a scrap piece of carpet, and we were going to eventually replace the whole carpet. But, replacement wasn't in the budget yet.

So, I marked and cut diamond shaped piece that was larger than the burn mark from the same carpet that was under a sofa sleeper in the same room. I used a carpet utility knife with a new blade. That sofa wasn't going to be moved anywhere until the whole carpet was replaced anyway

I then put the diamond replacement carpet piece on top of the burn mark and used the utility knife to cut the damaged carpet exactly around the diamond. When you do this, try to make the cut on each side in one pass. Avoid multiple "sawing cuts" along the same line.

I then took out the resulting diamond shaped damaged area, and held down the new carpet diamond and carpet pad with strips of heavy double sided tape. I then put the diamond with the burn in the hole left under the sofa sleeper. No one ever knew the difference.