Why do you get ripples or "speed bumps" in carpet?

Sometimes when you move into an older home, or you have had your home for a while, you may start to see the carpet have some issues. Apart from needing cleaning you may start to have bumps in your carpet. When you think back, they were not there before. They may have shown up after the carpet was steam cleaned. Sometimes they appear over a general space of time, and then one day you notice them. Whatever happened, what do you do now?

To fix this problem, you will need to call a professional. If you are skilled at DIY projects and you have a place to rent all the tools, you may watch a YouTube video and learn how to fix it. In some cases, this may be fine. It won't be every situation though. Some places may require you to cut the carpet apart and then put it back together. Others may not be 100% fixable. You may be able to get it a lot better, but not completely gone.

Carpet is made of yarns glued to a flexible backing. Because of its flexibility, carpet needs to be stretched out in a room when it is installed. When carpet is stretched out, it is then cut into place and stuffed between a trim molding on the wall and a tack strip that is placed along the wall on the floor. The tack strip is a piece of wood with nails sticking out of it on the top and the strips are nailed to the floor. The nails sticking up help hold the carpet in place once it is stretched out and pushed against the molding and tack strip.

When carpet is being installed, it is important to make sure that the carpet is warm or acclimated to the temperature of the home it is going in. If it is cold outside and the carpet is installed immediately, you will have problems over time. Once the carpet warms up and you walk on it over time, you may see ripples start to show up. The yards have gotten stretched out from being walked on in certain areas and you will have to go back and stretch the carpet out to get the ripples gone.

Sometimes the excessive use of one area can cause ripples or in hallways I call them speed bumps. As the carpet gets older, the backing begins to break down and the yarn gets overly stretched out. You may see this more in hallways and rooms that have a lot of furniture with little walking areas. In some cases you may be able to stretch out the carpet, but too much may start to pull the carpet away from other places such as doorways or angled walls. You may be able to get the heavier or taller ripples out, but not completely without pulling the carpet away from the wall.

If you are getting new carpet put in, make sure that it is acclimated or warmed up enough before it is put in. If you do have to have someone come in to stretch your carpet, you will normally need to call a carpet cleaner or a flooring store to find an installer to come by and take care of it for you. Sometimes the furniture may not have to be moved much, but it will vary on the situation. If the ripples come after you get the carpet steam cleaned, wait a couple of days to see if they go down. Sometimes the hot water will cause the yarn to relax more and when it dries, it tightens back up. If it doesn't, call the cleaner back and have them either come and fix it or have someone do it for him.

BPS Southeast provides professional flooring installation and other flooring services in the Western North Carolina area. Contact us today to see how we can help you.