How To Remove A Carpet

Posted on: 4 December 2015

Carpets are a great way to warm up a room and make it more comfortable, but they can be severely damaged by water in the case of a flood, and a prime breeding ground for mold spores. If your carpet has experienced water damage, it's a good idea to rip out the old carpet and install a new one after the water damage has been repaired. While this may seem like a daunting task, with the right tools and knowledge you can have your subfloor exposed in no time.

Before You Begin

You'll need a utility knife, a crowbar, a pair of pair of pliers, garbage bags, a floor scraper, and packing tape. Wearing work gloves and a dust mask is also highly recommended to keep yourself safe while you work.

Removing a Carpet

Start in the corner of the room, and use the crowbar to rip the edge of the carpet up off of the floor. If you can't get the crowbar between the carpet and the subfloor, you can try to use the pliers instead.

Pull the carpet back by hand away from the walls. You'll want to use the utility knife to cut the carpet into smaller strips, cutting from the back.

Take the smaller strips of carpet and roll them up, securing them with the packing tape. Then, place the taped up carpet in the garbage bags for later disposal.

Repeat until you have removed all of the carpet from the floor.

There will be a carpet pad underneath that is either glued or stapled to the floor. If it is stapled, you'll have to go over with the pair of pliers and pull them all out. If it's glued in place, use a floor scraper to rip it off.

Once the floor is free of the pad and staples, you are now ready to install a new carpet or flooring material.

Removing Carpets on Stairs

Remove the metal covering at the top of the stairs. If there is no covering, you can simply use your crowbar and pliers to rip up the edge of the carpet, and pull it by hand.

Pull the carpet down the stairs, using the utility knife to cut off sections every few feet or so and taping up those sections for disposal.

Once you have removed the carpeting from the entirety of the stairs and taped up all of the cut sections, go back over the stairs with the pliers and remove any staples or nails that are still in place. This has to be done before you can redo the surface of your stairs, and represents a safety hazard as long as they are in place. If you need advice about how to remove or replace your carpeting, talk with a flooring specialist, such as Spotless Carpet Cleaners & Janitorial Services Inc. 

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