Carpet Removal Tricks to Make Your Life Easier

Carpet removal can be a very easy task. It depends on the type of carpet you are dealing with. How the carpet was installed is also very important in this case. One can actually remove the carpet by themselves as it only requires an afternoon or just a few hours of your day. Carpet removal also gives you the chance to inspect your floor in case of damages, before you can install a new one. You can click here for more information on carpet removal.

There are many reasons why you are removing a carpet from your house or office. It could be due to allergic reasons, or maybe it’s just time to get a new one. The following are tricks we have created for you to follow when you want to remove that old carpet from your house.

Tools Used During Carpet Removal

Use the following tools for carpet removal:

• Protective gloves
• Knee pads
• Dust masks
• Pliers
• Utility knife
• Floor scraper

Clear The Room and Wear Protective Gears

Clear the room before the carpet removal process. This will give you enough space to carry out the procedure. You can do this by removing all the furniture from the room. After clearing the room, now you are ready to get your toolbox and wear your protective gear. A dust mask is usually important, especially when you’re allergic. You will also need safety gloves to protect your hands, knee pads for your knees because as we know, the carpet removal process entails a lot of kneeling. You can also dust the carpet before you begin the removal process.  This is important if you are sensitive to dust.

Pull Up Carpet

The carpet is held in place by tack strips. You will need pliers to grip the fibers of the carpet. Once you do this, the carpet will come out easily. If it doesn’t, then you will need another way to remove it. Remember, using the pliers will help in removing the staples holding them down. pull it about two feet from the starting point. Using a kitchen knife, cut it into strips.

Cut Carpet

Now start removing the carpet. You will realize underneath the carpet there is normally a carpet pad. During carpet removal, there are usually two things involved. First, you could be removing the old carpet to check if the pad is still in good condition. This allows the installation of a new carpet.

Secondly, pulling up the carpet may involve removing both the carpet and the carpet pad. Cut the carpet into manageable strips. This simply means that the piece you are cutting out should be easy to roll, lift and move. It must also fit in the vehicle you are going to use to transport the carpet away after removal.

Removal of Carpet Pad

You will realize during carpet removal that there’s padding underneath it. The same steps that you use to remove the carpet will apply to the padding. The padding is glued down to the floor. You can remove it using a scrapper. This is because it’s a much lighter material. That is if the floor is made of concrete.

If the floor is made of plywood or particleboard, then the pad will be held by staples. The tool you’ll use in this case is still a scrapper. When the floor is hardwood and you would like to preserve it, then you can use various tools to extract the staples without marring the wood. Removing the staples from the floor takes up much time because you should dismantle them one after the other. The best way to remove it is by pinching the top and pulling straight up with the pliers.

Remove Tack Strips

These are pieces of wood that carpet installers attach to the subfloor to hold the carpet in place. All you need is a hammer for removal. During carpet removal, if you find a damaged place, slide the crowbar under the tack strip and pull it upwards. This will carefully remove them. You can divide tack strips into sections. It will be easier to dispose of. It is best to remove the tack strips from the room if you are going to replace the old carpet with a different kind of flooring.

Prepping the Floor

Prepping is very important, especially if you will be installing a new carpet. The old floor will need a lot of work before an installation occurs. It’s like a transition period. Ensure the floor is smooth and all the padding off. Staples also off the floor and the edge brushed up carefully.

Final Thoughts

These are simple and easy tricks. They’ll save you money when it’s time to remove that old carpet from your living room or just any part of the house. All carpets are not disposable. If your old carpet is heavy, take it to a store for recycling into other household items like doormats and rags after carpet removal.