Do you have a rug that's gotten a little flattened and matted over time? Don’t worry; you don’t have to throw it away. You can re-fluff it! It’s a sad fact of life that a shaggy carpet won’t always look perfect. Walking on the rug, letting pets lie on it, and even placing furniture on it can all help press the fibers down and force them flat. That’s precisely what you don’t want with a carpet, so here’s how to make a shaggy rug fluffy again.
Start by Vacuuming
Before anything else, you should do a quick run-over with the vacuum cleaner. You may have noticed that the suction helps pull the carpet fibers up a bit and give them some lift. Of course, it’s not enough to completely rejuvenate the carpet, but it will offer you a head start. The more vigorously you vacuum, the more likely the fibers are to stand up; this will pave the way for the following methods on how to fluff carpet.
how to make a shaggy rug fluffy again
how to make a carpet fluffy again
Use Steam
Maybe all you need is to get that flat line out where people keep walking to the sofa. The best way to do this is to take a towel out of the washing machine when it’s still damp. Lay it over the flattened area and then gently run a warm (not hot) iron over it. Repeat until the carpet fibers pop back up again. The heat and damp will help reset the fibers, and you’ll end up with a nice fluffy carpet again.
This method works best for area rugs and smaller areas of large carpets. It can be very tedious to do an entire room this way, though it will work if you have the patience for it. Alternatively, you can steam clean your carpet, which will have the same effect without breaking your back. It simply requires that you have a steam cleaner at your disposal.
how to fluff carpet
Rake It Fluffy
You can rake your carpet with a simple brush or carpet comb/rake to give it that extra loft you’ve been missing. However, if you don’t have the right tools, you'll find that a fork will work in a pinch. Of course, this is not ideal for a full room carpet because it will take hours, but it will do fine for smaller area rugs. You can even look into getting a carpet rake for the bigger sections.
Removing Furniture Footprints
When you move your furniture around, you may see flattened carpet where the legs stood. These areas may respond well to the methods above, but sometimes, they’re extra stubborn. If this is the case, just spritz the indentation with water and then fluff it up with a fork. In moments, your carpet will look normal again. This is a great way to ensure you get every last bit of the flattened areas, since the furniture marks can be particularly difficult.
You don’t have to live with a flattened rug, and if you've been considering throwing away your carpet because of matting, don’t! Now you know how to make carpet fluffy again, which means you can get your soft rug back to its fluffy self in no time. It just takes a little bit of work and elbow grease.
