In an all-out effort to keep your house looking super clean and neat, you are likely to notice wrinkles even in the most unlikely places. One such culprit could be your plush and cozy area rug.
And to be honest, wrinkling, buckling, lumping and bending are the last thing you want on such an eye-catching piece of décor. This creates the need for learning how to get wrinkles out of rug and bring vibrant life back to it.
How to Get Winkles out of Rug in 8 ways
An area rug with bumps, kinks, wrinkles or curled edges is not the kind of décor you desire and there is nothing wrong with you. After all, you did not part with your hard-earned cash to bring more trouble into your house. So, here are 8 ways you can use to flatten the rug and make it look as good as new.
In summary, you can get wrinkles out of rug by giving it a few days to settle, placing heavy objects on it, walking on it, using a steamer, ironing it, hanging it in the sun, using water or hanging it in the shower. Further, if your rug has curled corners and folded edges, go for a carpet tape or an anti-curl underlay as your first option.
#1. Give it a Few Days to Settle
If you just bought a new rug, it probably came rolled up. That being so, it is unlikely that it will be all flat and crisp when you roll it out and lay it on the floor or any other surface. Don’t get me wrong! This can happen with some rugs, but it is always good to hope for the best but expect the worst.
Once you lay out your new rug and frown on the wrinkles, do not act impulsively. Hold your horses for a few days and observe whether the kinks and creases disappear on their own.
If you have an eight to five routine for five or six straight days, you most likely won’t notice this happening. Unroll the carpet on a Sunday and kick off your busy week. Inspect the rug again on the next Saturday or Sunday when you have ample time.
#2. Walk on the Rug for a Week
Giving the rug a few days to settle is a good effortless remedy. However, you might not belong to the school of thought if you desire speedy results. In that case, gather your family members and remind them how important it is to spend sometime walking on the new rug on several occasions every day.
You might even decide to play the music and hold a brief dance session there. Whichever approach you choose, walking on the rug regularly will ultimately flatten the wrinkles.
#3. Roll the Rug in a Cylindrical Manner
If shag rugs are your thing, you probably own several. And since you cannot use all of them at the same time, you sometimes have to wash each rug after use, and tuck it away for some time.
One common mistake you might do is to fold it. Folding leads to formation of creases that can be extremely hard to eliminate. Simply roll your rug in a cylindrical manner every time you take it out of sight.
Further, ensure that you keep it in a way that prevents curling and folding along the edges and corners. Those are the most difficult sections to flatten.
#4. Unroll and Roll Back in the Opposite Direction
You’ve just ordered your new rug and it gets delivered rolled up in a certain way. You excitedly unroll it, only to be disappointed because it has some creases and does not lay flat as you desire. Or you had rolled up your old rug after washing and the same thing happens.
Simple roll it up again in the opposite direction and give it a few hours or up to a day before unrolling.
#5. Use a steam Iron
A steam iron truly does the wonders when it comes to getting wrinkles out of clothes, curtains, rugs and some other household items. In the case of rugs, most come with a care tag that tells you whether you can iron them or not.
If your rug discourages ironing, one of the things you should be concerned about is melting or scorching it. This is the most likely reason the manufacturer encourages keeping an iron box at bay. If your rug does not have a care tag but it is made of iron unfriendly material, you are likely to experience the same problem.
Even for iron-friendly rugs, it is important to be careful because you can damage them completely by following the wrong ironing procedure.
Begin by filling up the water tank of your steam iron then plug in the iron. Set the iron on low or according to the ironing instructions on your rug. Take a minute or less to allow your iron’s soleplate to heat up. If it is a modern model, it will mostly likely turn on a red light to indicate that the soleplate is hot enough.
Place a white towel on your rug and begin to smooth out the wrinkles out. The towel protects your rug from scorching or more serious burning. The reason for selecting a white towel is to prevent dye transfer.
Work with one section at a time and use the steam function to smooth out the wrinkles that are harder to eliminate.
If you do not have a steam iron, spray your rug with water first, cover the section you intend to iron with a towel and press the wrinkles until they disappear completely.
Finish up by vacuuming your rug lightly to fluff it up again.
#6 Hang to Sun Dry
The sun is a source of natural heat that can be useful for getting wrinkles out of your rug. Unfortunately, you cannot rely on it all year round.
Wait for a sunny day and spread your rug on a sun-heated concrete wall outdoors. Let the rug sit there for several hours before unhanging it. Alternatively, hang it on a clothesline for about ten hours and repeat the same the next day if the creases and wrinkles do not stretch out completely.
#7. Place Heavy Objects on the Corners
Some rugs tend to curl and fold along the edges and corners after washing. In this case, one of best ways to remedy the problem is by placing heavy objects on the curled parts. You can use books, clean rocks, or drag your couch so that the feet can sit on the corners of your rug.
Let the heavy object sit in place for at least a day or two before checking whether the edges have straightened up. If you find that the edges are still curled, let the objects sit in place for much longer.
#8. Use Water
This method works because water gets absorbed into the rug fibers and the rug releases wrinkles as it dries. Fill a spray bottle with water and hold the bottle several inches away from the rug.
Spray the wrinkled areas generously and hang your rug in the sun to dry. You can also air-dry the rug or use an iron box to speed up the drying process.
Remember to place a white towel or rag in between the rug and the iron box to protect the rug fibers from scorching or melting.
#9. Hang the Rug in the Shower
The shower method for eliminating wrinkles relies on steam released by running shower water. Begin by hanging the rug or any other item that you intend to unwrinkle in the shower. Choose a strategic point such as the shower door or on one wall of the shower.
Ideally, your rug or garment should be positioned in such a way that it will trap hot steam but not get wet from running shower water.
Turn on the shower with the hottest water setting on. Let the water run for at least 15 minutes and turn the shower off.
#10. Use a Steamer
A steamer serves an almost similar purpose with a steam iron but it is much gentler. And in reality, a gentle wrinkle release method is all you need with most rugs. Gentle methods can be slow, but they help preserve the quality of your rug.
Turn on your steamer and point the nozzle on the section of your rug that you intend to unwrinkle. Move the steamer back and forth in the direction the wrinkles.
Repeat this step with all the sections of your rug that are wrinkled. Do not over-concentrate on individual sections because passing excess hot moisture into some rugs can cause color bleeding.
#11. Use an Anti-curl Underlay for Curling Corners
Some rugs develop ugly curls on all four corners after washing. The curls seem impossible to eliminate and continue to become more pronounced as time goes by.
In such a case, all you need is a rug anti-curl gripper to hold the corners of your rug in place. This helps especially if the problem persists even after you have tried all other possible remedy measures.
#12. Use a Double Sided Velcro
A double-sided Velcro can serve as an excellent alternative for an anti-curl underlay. With a good quality product such as VELCRO Brand One Wrap Roll, your rug holds firmly onto the floor, and the edges and corners become fully resistant to curling.
An added advantage of using Velcro is that you might not need it permanently. Some rugs snap back into shape after sometime. This means that you only need to secure your rug’s corners and edges the first few days after laying it on the floor.
#13. Dampen the Corners and Edges
Depending on your rug’s fabric and how it is made, dampening the corners with water can stop them from curling.
If you decide to try this method, enhance its effectiveness by placing heavy objects on the dampened edges. That being said, avoid keeping a rug with damp edges indoors for a long time because of potential mold growth.
#14. Wash the Rug Again
The wrinkling problem you see on your rug after washing it might be resulting from leftover detergent. If you do not rinse the rug with enough water when laundering it, traces of detergent left in the fibers can lead to wrinkling and dulling.
This leaves you trying different wrinkle elimination methods unsuccessfully. Address the problem by simply rewashing the rug in a tub full of water. Alternatively, run your rug through a rinse cycle in the washing machine if it is machine washable.
How to Get Creases Out Of Polypropylene Rug
A polypropylene rug is made of synthetic material. As such, you can unwrinkle it by allowing it to settle, unrolling and rolling it in a different direction, walking on it, placing heavy objects on it, using a double-sided Velcro or an anti-curl underlay to prevent the corners from curling and hanging it in the sun or shower. However, you cannot apply direct heat on it to avoid melting the fibers.
