How Can I Make My Old Carpet Look Better?

One of the best ways to improve the appearance of your home without spending a lot of money is by improving and cleaning what you already have. Perhaps, you have an old carpet that looks worn out and dirty but could use some TLC. This begs the question, how can I make my old carpet look better?

Recently, I spent some time trying to make my old carpet look better (the one in my lounge) and I found a few solutions that proved to be the most effective.

I also took the liberty of trying some of the other solutions on an unused carpet to gauge the efficacy and I learned some interesting things.

With that being said, let’s get straight into this article on how to make your old carpet look better. 

Related post: Should you have the same carpet throughout your house?

Vacuum regularly

One of the safest and best ways to make your old carpet look better or like new is to vacuum regularly.

Ideally, you can vacuum carpets 2 – 3 times per week as long as you use the right type of vacuum and at the correct speed.

What I’ve learned is that you shouldn’t use a vacuum at the highest speed because it may not capture all the grime or dirt you’d like.

Additionally, you shouldn’t use a vacuum on the lowest setting because it has the potential to pull on the material fibers and cause fraying or damage.

For this reason, it’s a good idea to use it at the recommended speed and setting to suck up all forms of dirt, dust or grime.

If you’re trying to prevent water damage to carpets, it’s a good idea to consider using a wet vacuum that’s designed to pull liquids from carpets and other material items. 

Related post: Does vacuuming damage carpets?

Spot clean

Let’s say that you’re dealing with an old carpet that has been damaged or messed up in one specific area that is hard to clean with a vacuum. 

Perhaps you can’t afford to fork out money for a vacuum or a professional cleaning service but want to remove stains from your carpets.

As it turns out, shaving cream can be an effective way to spot clean carpets.

Apply a squirt of shaving cream onto the stained or dirty area, dab it in and allow it to sit for a few minutes. Preferably, allow the shaving cream to sit for 15 minutes.

Use a damp cloth that has been rung out to rub over the shaving cream area until you are satisfied that the stain is removed. 

Thereafter, dry your carpet down with a hairdryer on medium heat or use a damp cloth to lightly dab it dry. 

Steam clean

As much as steam cleaners are good for some clothes and other surfaces, it absolutely needs to be a powerful one. 

If you can purchase a steam cleaner, it’s a good tool to have at home. Not only will it clean but it will also disinfect your carpets to some extent. However, investing in a cheap steam cleaner will not suffice. 

You could opt to rent a steam cleaner but rented steam cleaners are not powerful enough to get all the moisture and cleaning product out of the carpet.

This can cause discoloration and bleaching issues as well as fraying of the material.

It would make a lot more sense to hire a professional steam cleaning service to clean your carpet.

Fix carpet dents

Over time, you’re bound to find that an old carpet has indentations caused by excessive foot traffic or the weight of objects that have sat in one spot for a substantial amount of time.

To restore a uniform appearance, you can lift and brush out the fibers to your old carpet by using a fork followed by a brush. 

If you can do this regularly, you’ll prevent dents from forming for a longer period of time and this will restore your carpet to look much better. 

Remove odors

Even though we’re focusing on how to make your old carpet look better, an odor that isn’t pleasant can completely overpower any visible improvements you make to its appearance. 

Steam cleaning and vacuuming can help to remove stubborn odors but if you have neither of these tools at your disposal, you can opt for a more affordable DIY solution. 

1. Baking Soda

Something that can be found in every home is baking soda. It’s extremely cheap and easily available at your nearest supermarket. 

Simply sprinkle baking soda onto your carpet, let it sit for at least a few hours and then vacuum or sweep it off.

2. Peppermint Essential Oil 

Another solution for adding a fresh and attractive scent to carpets is by mixing a few drops of peppermint essential oil in water and spraying it lightly over your carpets on all corners.

Peppermint is known to overpower nasty odors but is also a natural repellant for certain bugs and insects.

For this reason, I tend to use this simple formulation on some carpets and around my home. 

Cut and replace damaged spots

Unfortunately, since carpets are made from material that can perish, there’s a chance that your old carpet may suffer from permanent damage caused by water, stains or dirt. 

If none of the methods mentioned above work, then you can always cut, replace and stitch together a matching piece to make your old carpet look better.

To do this, you would need to create a square or rectangle shape around the damaged spot or area.

Cut the piece out, match it against another piece of the carpet that’s undamaged and insert the new replacement.

You can choose to use carpet tape underneath to secure the carpet in place or you may stitch it together from below. 

This may turn out to be a more cost-effective solution in cases when it isn’t affordable to replace the entire carpet. 

Related post: How to repair water damage to carpets

Hire a professional cleaning service

At the end of the day, we can take the initiative to restore our old carpets to look better using DIY methods but it would be foolish of me not to mention the merit behind employing the services of a professional cleaning service.

Not only will you be paying for the use of high-powered and high-quality machinery and equipment to clean and restore your old carpets but you’re also getting people who have ample experience in restoring carpets.

Some of that knowledge that they offer can save your old carpets altogether while eliminating the need for you to even lift a finger in the process. 

If you can afford it, definitely look at hiring a professional carpet cleaning service for those complicated carpet issues that require an expert opinion. 

Conclusion

I really hope that at this point, you have all the information you need to know on how to make your old carpet look better.

As they say, prevention is better than cure. So, if you can implement the tips and advice mentioned in this article on a regular basis, you could avoid any permanent damage to your carpet and you could preserve its appearance for many more years. 

With that being said, I hope you enjoyed this article on how can I make my old carpet look better. Please leave your questions or thoughts in the comment section below.