preparing your house for professional cleaners

Making your carpet look like new again after you've accidentally burned it can be a very intimidating job. Fortunately, as long as you have the right tools and know how to use them, you certainly won't make the problem worse. In order to ensure that you don't make any unnecessary mistakes while you're cutting burnt fibers out of your carpet, consider these three possible pitfalls.

Taking Out More of the Fibers Than You Have To

The whole point of cutting burnt fibers out of your carpet is so you can sew a new patch of healthy threads directly over the burnt area. No matter what you do, you'll leave visible perimeter marks when you attach a new piece of carpet to the damage.

Therefore, it's important to not misidentify slightly discolored threads that can be cleaned as completely charred ones. Otherwise, the scar on your carpet will be larger than it has to be.

Not Thoroughly Washing the Affected Area with Soap and Water Beforehand

Whenever something relatively soft and malleable like a carpet burns, lots of stray ash and debris is created. While it's not absolutely necessary to clean your carpet right before you cut burnt fibers out, doing so will ensure that you don't miss anything that's hidden under the rubble.

Even the strongest household vacuum isn't strong enough to dislodge debris from a burn that's partially fused to your carpet. Instead, just wipe down the affected area with a towel, water, and a little soap.

Using a Pair of Scissors When You Need a Knife or Box Cutter

Different sized carpet burns need different tools for a more effective and less wasteful job. If you try to use a pair of scissor to cut burnt threads when the total burnt area is very large, you'll have a very tedious time. Additionally, a larger carpet burn often has threads that are too charred and thoroughly fused to the ground to cut out at all with scissors.

Of course, it also isn't a good idea to use a knife or box cutter on a smaller burn. You'll have a high chance of accidentally cutting and mauling healthy threads around the effective area. Instead, only use these tools when they're necessary to cut out a particularly tough and burnt clump of threads.

Don't fall into the trap of thinking that any carpet repair job has to be a huge and expensive endeavor. Often, a few precision cuts from a good carpet repair job can take the place of completely replacing a whole section of your carpet.