How to Fix a Burnt Carpet

Carpets are a staple in lots of homes! They provide warmth, are aesthetically pleasing, and are great for dipping your toes into on winter nights.

But they also burn really quickly when you leave a hot object on them! Of course, you could argue that you shouldn’t leave a hot tool on a carpet.

But we’re all, myself included, guilty of forgetting to put a heat-resistant mat down once in a while.

So, whether you’ve left the curling iron on the floor, a piece of coal decided to throw itself out of the fire, or a cigarette dropped onto the carpet by accident, you need to figure out how to fix the eyesore of a burn that’s on your carpet!

Follow the step-by-step guide below to remove the burn mark from your carpet.

Before you remove a burn mark from a carpet, assess what type of blemish you have. Have you got a little scorch or a huge burn mark on your floor?

Once you know what kind of burn you’ve got to deal with, you can treat it accordingly.

 

How to Remove Scorch Marks from a Carpet

Minor scorch marks on a carpet usually don’t require drastic action. They can generally be removed in a few minutes using household products.

Check out the options below and treat your carpet:

Option 1: Trim and blot the singed carpet clean

Steps to follow:

1. Act fast and remove whatever is scorching the carpet. Place the hot object in a safe space.
2. Allow the area to cool before you touch it. This shouldn’t take too long for a scorch mark.
3. Grab a very sharp scissors. Choose small scissors as they will be easier to handle.
4. Carefully cut off the charred bits of carpet with the scissors. Don’t get too snippy and overcut your carpet. Just focus on the charred bits!
5. If need be, grab the burnt threads with tweezers and then cut them off.
6. Rub the surface gently with sandpaper to remove leftover charred parts.
7. Hoover the carpet.
8. To clean the carpet, blot it with a little mild carpet detergent and water.
9. Rinse the area with a second damp cloth (neutral-coloured) and allow the carpet to dry before walking over it.

Note: If you haven’t got scissors, you can use a new razor instead. Gently shave the surface instead to remove the roasted bits.

 

Option 2: Blot the scorched carpet with a chemical cleaner (for light carpets)

Use the steps above (under Option 1) to remove the scorch marks from your carpet. But when you get to Step 8, stop and clean your carpet with a hydrogen peroxide mixture instead (use a 3% version).

The hydrogen peroxide will have a bleaching effect on the carpet and will remove the burnt colour from the surface.

To create the mixture, follow these steps:

1. In a bowl, mix one part hydrogen peroxide to 10 parts water.
2. Dip a neutral-coloured cloth into the liquid, wring it out, and blot the stain.
3. When you’re done blotting, rinse the carpet with a damp, clean cloth and allow it to air dry.

Tip: Always do a patch test when using chemicals.

 

How to Remove Minor Burn Marks from a Carpet

Like scorch marks, small burn blemishes can usually be treated and removed from a carpeted surface with little fuss.

The main difference is that you may take a few minutes longer to treat the burnt patch. Try out the options below:

Option 1: Sand the burnt carpet

Steps to follow:

1. Remove the hot object from the carpeted surface and put it to one side. The object should be placed on a heat-resistant surface.
2. Allow the area to cool so you can treat it. This may take a few minutes.
3. Grab some sandpaper and sand the area.
4. Grab your hoover and vacuum up the debris.
5. Repeat the steps above until you remove as much of the burn mark as possible.
6. Grab a small, sharp scissors and cut away clumpier burnt fibres. Don’t chop off too much.
7. Hoover your carpet.
8. If you’ve removed too many fibres from the carpet, pluck some fibres from a hidden patch of carpet (under the stairs/furniture) and stick them into the section of carpet you’ve just treated.
9. Use a latex adhesive and tweezers to drop and secure the new fibres in place.
10. Allow the area to dry naturally.
11. When the carpet is completely dry, comb it to make it fluffy and textured.
12. Carefully cut away fibres that are too long and don’t fit with the rest of the carpet.

 

Option 2: Bleach your carpet to remove the burn marks (for light carpets)

If you’re having trouble removing the stain left behind on a light-coloured carpet, you can carry out the steps above, but in the end, you can dab a little diluted bleach onto the burn blemish to discolour it.

Follow these steps:

1. Put gloves on.
2. Dilute bleach in water. See the cap for the exact dose.
3. Dip a neutral-coloured cloth into the liquid and wring it out.
4. Dab the solution into the burn marks to discolour them.
5. Rinse the carpet clean by blotting it with a second, damp neutral-coloured cloth.
6. Allow the area to dry naturally.

Note: Don’t try this method on dark-coloured carpets because you’ll likely discolour them.

 

How to Remove Large Burn Marks from a Carpet

More significant burn marks on a carpet require more attention and a different treatment.  It’s not impossible to remove a large burn mark from a carpet, but it can be tricky work to carry out! See the options below:

Option 1: Replace the burnt section of carpet

When dealing with big burn marks (like those made by a hot iron), it’s often easier to cut out the burnt part of carpet and replace it with a replacement piece. Find out how this is done below.

Tip: If you plan on cutting out the burnt patch of carpet and replacing it with another patch of carpet, make sure you cut a square shape out. You need straight lines. Don’t cut a round shape out of your carpet because you’ll be able to see the damaged edges, it’ll be hard work, and it won’t look great!

Steps to follow:

1. Hoover the carpet and burn mark. Remove as much debris as possible.
2. Grab a metal ruler and use it to make a square-shaped impression around the burn mark on the carpet.
3. Rub the ruler back and forth to create an obvious square impression around your burn.
4. Grab a sharp knife and use it to cut along the impressions.
5. Don’t press down too hard because you’ll damage the underlay, and you don’t want to damage it! 
6. Remove the square of carpet that you’ve just cut.
7. Find a discreet patch of carpet that you can cut a replacement piece from. This should be somewhere that’s hidden and should match the pattern you’ve cut out!
8. Repeat Steps 2 to 6 to cut out a replacement piece of carpet to plug the gap you’ve created.
9. When cutting a replacement square of carpet, use the burnt patch you just cut out as a template, but make the replacement piece ever so slightly bigger (add about 2mm width on every side) so you end up with a better-fitting carpet that’s not too short.
10. Pop your replacement piece in the gap. Make sure you match the new section of carpet up to the carpet that’s still on the floor (weave and patterns)!
11. Hoover the area before you stick the carpet down. Remove any loose threads and debris.
12. Add some latex carpet adhesive to the replacement carpet and stick it down in the gap.
13. Lay something heavy on the new patch of carpet overnight. A large, hardback book will work.
14. Trim any obvious fibres off the carpet the next day to ensure it doesn’t look out of place.
15. Use a wide-toothed comb to comb the carpet to make the fibres match.

Tip: If you haven’t got a spare patch of carpet to cut from, pop down to your local carpet supplier and ask them if they’ve got any scraps you could have. It may not be an exact match, but it’ll be much cheaper than buying a new carpet.

 

Option 2: Call a professional to cure your carpet

If Option 1 isn’t tickling your fancy, you could call a carpet repair expert to help solve your burning issue!

A professional can be found online. Pick a reputable person/company, read lots of reviews, and get a quote for the work before it’s done.

 

How Do You Prevent Carpet Burns?

Dealing with a carpet burn is annoying, to say the least. But if you don’t want to fall victim to a burnt carpet again, stop (or at least minimise the likelihood) the problem from occurring in the first place.

Check out these preventive measures:

• Use heat mats wherever you can. Straighteners, curlers, and hairdryers can all be placed on them.
• Use coasters wherever you can.
• Use ashtrays to hold cigarettes.
• Put fire guards around fireplaces.
• Put candles in holders/on saucers so they don’t fall and drip onto carpets.
• Try not to use an iron near a carpet. Use an ironing board instead/cover the carpet.
• Don’t leave tools unattended. Keep an eye on your iron, hairdryer, and straightener when it is in use.

 

Can You Repair a Burnt Carpet?

Yes, in most cases, you can repair a burnt carpet. However, how you repair the carpet depends on how bad the burn is.

Some carpets that have only suffered mild scorching or a tiny burn can be repaired with a spot treatment and a little elbow grease (straighteners and cigarette burns). After the repair, there’ll be no or minimal evidence of a burn mark on the carpet.

However, this isn’t the case with all carpets. Carpets that have large burn marks on them are often trickier to treat. (Imagine a colossal iron imprint on your carpet!).

In such cases, you can’t spot-treat the huge blemish. Instead, you have to do a patch repair (cut out the burnt patch and replace it with a new piece to get rid of the burn mark).

In extreme cases, you may have to replace an entire carpet rather than repair it. But this would be a drastic action, and something significant would’ve happened beforehand to warrant it.

 

How Much Does It Cost to Fix an Iron Burn on a Carpet?

The cost to repair an iron burn on a carpet depends on several factors, including but not limited to:

• The size of the burn.
• How deep the iron burn is.
• How much work is involved with treating the iron burn (including what must be done)?
• Prices vary from one location to another.
• Prices range from company to company.

To find a specialist to eradicate the iron burn on your carpet, hop onto Checkatrade’s website to find a pro near you.

Remember to get a written quote for the work, ask plenty of questions, and make sure you read lots of reviews!