Why Does Carpet Buckle and What Can You Do About It

Have buckles recently appeared on your carpets? This can be incredibly frustrating. Not only are wrinkles and ripples unsightly, but they are hazardous too. But why do they appear and what can you do about it?

Wet Carpet

Oftentimes buckles will pop up after you have them steam cleaned. This is greatly annoying. You were just trying to care and maintain your carpets but now you are met with another problem. The reason that this is such a common occurrence is because of excess moisture. When you steam clean your carpets, moisture gets inside the material and expands. This, in turn, causes wrinkles to appear. The good news is that once that moisture dries up, the carpet will shrink back, and ripples will disappear. Usually when wrinkles are a result of steam cleaning, no action needs to be taken on your part and you can simply wait for them to disappear.

Humid Environments

For the same reason that steam cleaning can cause wrinkles to appear, carpets that are located in high humidity areas are also prone to developing them. They can also shrink back if the humidity is removed fast enough. The problem is that homes usually experience humid seasons that last for months. If your carpeting is left buckled for extended periods of time, it may stretch and not return to its original state. To combat this, you can place a dehumidifier in carpeted rooms during humid seasons.

Moving Heavy Items

Another common reason that buckles occur is due to dragging heavy items across the surface. If you have a piece of heavy furniture that needs to be moved, get a pair of helping hands to assist you in lifting it instead. Or use a dolly. This will prevent the development of buckles as well as tears.

Subpar Installation

Another reason that buckling is cropping up could be because you were not set up for success from the start. Carpet installers need to stretch the carpet as tightly as possible when securing to the tackstrips, but some opt to use knee kickers instead of a power stretcher to get the job done faster. Knee kickers rely on the strength of the installer whereas a power stretcher relies on the force of the machine. Power stretchers produce superior and longer lasting results. So, if your installer did not use one, this could be why your carpet is buckling.

If you have buckles in your carpet that are not going away within a few days of cleaning or after employing a dehumidifier, having your carpets stretched is the solution. At Carpet Stretch & Rescue, we only specialize in carpet repair. Let us help put your carpet back where it should be!

By Carpet Stretch and Rescue 2-4-2022