How to Fix Matted Carpet in High Traffic Areas

This is a common question homeowners frequently ask. An unmatted carpet often looks very messy and dirty. Of course, with so much walking on it, the unpadded area of the carpet will trap more dirt, dust, and debris.

How to Fix Matted Carpet in High Traffic Areas. To avoid flattened fibers, the carpet needs a lot of moisture to dilate the fibers and allow for airflow. That opportunity is missed when there is a lot of foot traffic or in high-density office space. A matted area is typically harder than a regular carpet should be.

With the best and most effective ways for you to get rid of heavily matted carpets in high-trafficked areas, I know how frustrating that could be. Let me help relieve some of your stress by providing easy methods to fix any mats or spills.

How to Fix Matted Carpet in High Traffic Areas

You have 4 ways to fix matted carpet in high traffic.

  • Vacuum the Matted Carpet Thoroughly
  • Use a Carpet Rake to Fluff-up your Carpet
  • Apply Some Moisture onto the Matted Carpet
  • Use Clothes Iron to Refresh the Matted Carpet

1. Vacuum the Matted Carpet Thoroughly

One of the best ways to make a matted carpet look fluffy is by getting it cleaned on a regular basis. Vacuuming the dirty carpet will only help loosen up the matted mat just a little bit, but it will surely help remove any dirt, debris, and dust that may be holding together the fibers.

Although it can take years, a mat is easily formed after dirt sticks to the carpet in high-traffic areas. So, in reality the matted areas sometimes appear slightly darker than the rest of the material.

I recommend the BISSELL TurboClean Powerbrush Pet Upright Carpet Cleaner and Shampooer to anyone who doesn’t have a quality carpet cleaning machine.

This upright carpet cleaner machine from Bissell is a powerful device that makes it easy to remove tough stains and even pet messes. The four-row power brush on the cleaner cleans deep into the carpet and sucks up embedded dirt, along with its four-gallon tank capacity.

The Bissell Oxy Formula will not only clean your carpet but will leave it fresh and smelling beautiful. With the Bissell TurboClean powder brush, you won’t need any extra bags for this job, which is especially functional in homes with many pets that shed more frequently than other animals.

The first step to getting your carpets cleaned is to vacuum and mop the low-traffic areas. On a matted carpet, you can use a rake to fluff up the fibers and remove unwanted surface debris.

2. Use a Carpet Rake to Fluff-up your Carpet

After removing all the debris and tangled carpet, you should now use a carpet rake to untangle the threads.

A carpet rake is a tool that helps revitalize your stale and tattered carpet. It loosens up the fibers, making them more flexible and able to stand up straight.

A carpet rake can also be used to agitate heavily soiled high-traffic areas on your carpets, allow embedded dirt to be loosened, and make them fluffy again. Basically, this tool grinds deep below the surface of debris and dirt to make it easier for you to clean.

A good alternative to manually removing stains from a long-haired carpet is the LandHope Carpet Rake Long Handle.

This brush is more efficient at removing dirt, hair and dust than a regular one. It even picks up tiny debris that your regular vacuum may not be able to pick up.

The LandHope Carpet Rake has a really long handle so you won’t need to worry about back pain due to bending too low. Using this carpet rake is quite easy. All you have to do is push the rake in and out on the matted area of the carpet until the fibers are standing upright.

3. Apply Some Moisture onto the Matted Carpet

For an easy and effective way to revive dried out carpet fibers, wait for the fibers to become slightly moist with water and use a brush to straighten up the lengths.

To deep clean larger areas, spray area with lukewarm water and avoid pouring water directly on carpet, which may damage the floor underneath or cause old carpet and carpet pad to start rotting.

If the area rug is visibly dirty, take a close look at the carpet and notice where the fibers are trying to bend away from the main bundle. If you see these strands sticking up (on both sides of the bundle), try running your stainless steel vacuum cleaner over it in a counter-clockwise circular motion.

When pressure is applied on the carpet fibers, a deep indentation may appear on them. Pressure from couches, beds, dressers and recliners can distort the fibers and make an imprint in the carpet.

To re-style these indentations, you can place an ice cube on the small indentation to avoid a matte look.When the ice cube melts and is covered in soap, it can be brushed out with a nylon brush.

You can avoid high-traffic areas from experiencing carpet matting by placing furniture in different positions and periodically flipping it over.

It is possible to avoid any matting on your furniture by placing felt furniture pads underneath each bit of furniture to stop any accidents.

A good example of felt furniture pads that I would totally recommend since I also use them on my furniture feet are the X-Protector Felt Furniture Pads.

These furniture pads create a barrier between your flooring and heavy items placed on the floor, helping to avoid cracking or indentation that may occur. They also prevent matting.

These furniture pads can prevent furniture from slipping or sliding by protecting the carpet from wear and tear, which is also beneficial for your floors.

4. Use Clothes Iron to Refresh the Matted Carpet

One of the most effective ways to fix a matted carpet is by using an iron on it. This has been around for centuries; the way people use it exactly has changed, but the result is still the same.

The easiest way to refresh your textured carpet.

This is how you use an iron to refresh your unkempt carpet. You want to avoid wringing the cloth out, it damages the carpet. So use a dry cloth instead.Next, spread a wet cloth on top of the matted carpet.

Ironing furniture- the heat from the iron plus moisture from the steam coming off of nearby items or fabric will help soften and loosen up the carpet fibers, eliminating any matted appearance. Keep your carpet against this traffic jam accident-free.

If some carpet fibers are still matted, you can use a nylon brush to straighten them out.

Final Verdict:

Maneuvering a carpet under high traffic areas is not as difficult as it seems. Using carpet rakes is one of the easiest yet most effective ways to do this. To prevent the carpet from getting dirty, it’s important to clean up messes and debris on a daily basis. With the above steps, you can restore your matted carpet back to its original look.

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