When spring is in the air, there’s no better time to rip up old wall-to-wall carpeting and bring freshness with a new range, or even put down tiles or a laminate floor. Whatever a homeowner and DIY hobbyist’s choice, taking up an old worn carpet is the best way to give your home a décor …
It’s difficult to hide a damaged, burnt, or stained carpet that won’t get clean, no matter the effort. When a piece of carpet is damaged beyond repair, you don’t have to replace the whole thing. You can quickly, cheaply, and easily patch your carpet with a cut-and-paste DIY method. When you need to patch a …
Replacing the flooring in your home is a great way to give the interior of your house a facelift. Carpets tend to show wear and tear before anything else, and carpeting on stairs often becomes shabbier sooner than in other rooms. However, replacing carpets is expensive, so any DIY part of the project homeowners undertake …
Quicklist: Carpet Fiber and Pile Options Berber Loop Pile Level Loop Pile Multi-level Loop Pile Saxony Cut Pile Textured Cut Pile Frieze Cut Pile Pattern (Cut and Looped) Pile Shag Pile Lush Pile Nylon Olefin Polyester Acrylic Wool Triexta Are you in the market for a new carpet, but aren’t sure which one best suits …
Carpet installation is not always an easy do-it-yourself project. However, it can be done with the adequate time and know-how, as well as the correct carpet tools. You also need specialized carpet installation tools to accomplish the job of installing carpet with ease and efficiency. Also, you can always rent out some of the necessary …
No one likes to find any type of bug in their home but what do you do when you find one that is very small and you suspect it might be a big problem? There are two types of bugs that are found in homes across America in one type is more dangerous to humans …
If you have ever watched a carpet installation or ripped up carpet to it replace it, you saw that in addition to the carpeting, a layer of gray or yellow fabric laid beneath it. You saw the carpet underlayment, also called carpet padding or carpet pad. This padding or underlayment adds a carpet cushion beneath …
If you are considering adding new flooring options to your home, you may have seen a carpet remnant option pop up from time to time. But what exactly is a carpet remnant? All too often, people incorrectly believe that a carpet remnant is a piece of second-hand or sub-par quality carpeting that could not be …
Carpet beetles are tiny insects that can do extensive damage. As the name suggests, they can live in, and even feed on, carpet. Their diet is much more expansive though. They are known to eat clothing, furs, and other items in your home. A carpet beetle infestation can quickly turn into a nightmare. If …
It’s a cold Christmas morning when your youngest child wakes you up to open presents. You can’t help but laugh as your feet hit the carpeted floor. He’s bouncing around uncontrollably, and you can only be thankful that his feet are warm on your thick cut-pile carpet. The next time you notice the carpet is …
Decorating your first home should bring you joy, not trepidation. You do not need to hire a home decorator, but you do need to understand a few essential basics of decorating to create a pleasing room. Renovating and remodeling also should bring enjoyment. After all, you create a new vibe for your home, one that …
Soundproofing your home or office lets you reduce exterior noise and contain interior noise. You can soundproof just one room of your home or office or every one of them. This option has become a more everyday undertaking than you might think. Many homes now include a home theater. Soundproofing this room makes logical sense. …
When you first get new carpeting, it’s so plush and beautiful but over time, it does not look that way any longer. Flat carpet will never look as good as fluffy carpet but for high traffic areas and stairways, it is very difficult to keep the carpet looking fresh and brand new. Fear not, though, …
We’re all guilty of trying to multi-task while brushing our teeth–anything to squeeze a few extra seconds out of our day. But when the gob of toothpaste leaps off the brush and onto the floor, you could end up wasting a good chunk of time trying to get it out. But all may not be …
Have you ever been lounging in your living room, feet on your cozy carpet when you get stung by an ant? At first, you pass it off as random. But then you get stung again. And so you look closer and to your horrified eyes, you see three dozen or more ants foraging for food …
You can probably relate to the following scenario: You have a small crowd gathered at your home for a ball game or family get-together. After your guests help themselves to heaping plates of food, it isn’t long before someone drops a hot ‘n’ spicy wing on the carpet. That stuff leaves a pretty obvious stain. …
Spills happen. Sometimes, though, stain removal can be challenging. It mainly depends on the type of stain it is. Whether you’re making dinner or a smoothie, sometimes a little is spilled on the carpet. The problem is, ingredients like turmeric can become a stubborn stain if the stain doesn’t get treated right away. Turmeric is …
Skunks typically don’t go around spraying people’s living rooms, but they do spray dogs. If you’ve ever had a skunk spray your dog and roll all over your carpet, then you know it smells just as bad as if the skunk sauntered in and did it himself. The smell is strong, musky, and deep. In …
It seems like some kind of Hollywood requirement that every movie and TV show set in the 1970s or 1960s must have shag carpeting in it somewhere. This is a look that you probably recognize instantly and spot easily. Shag carpeting is one of the most distinctive styles of floor covering available. Everyone’s seen it, …
The main question one must ask themselves when purchasing carpeting for a room, is “do I want to have the option of rolling around on this floor in a fitful glee?” or “do I not want to have the option of rolling around on this floor in a fitful glee?” Carpets have two different pile …
We’ve all been there. You are hosting friends and family at your home, having a great time, and suddenly someone spills some red wine onto your beautiful white carpet. Cue the record scratch as people stare horrifically at the stain. Luckily, by having a handy guide of how to eliminate stains from carpeting it is …
Many of us don’t know what carpet beetles are until we are exposed to them and find we need to combat these vile little pests to keep them out of our home. Because they are so tiny, it is often difficult to know that we have an infestation until it is in almost too late and …
In your morning rush, you drop your eyeshadow compact on the floor, dumping powdery, colorful clumps all over your light-colored carpet. Ladies, we’ve all been there. On more than one occasion, I have sprinkled my light-colored carpet with a beautiful shade of lavender eyeshadow. And while eyeshadow may help to accentuate the beauty of a …
If you have pets or kids, it’s only a matter of time before you’re faced with a mud stain in your carpet. Whether it’s tiny paws or tiny feet, they seem to have a knack for finding the stickiest of mud and tracking it inside, despite your fleeting plea to “Wipe your feet!” But when …
From kids to grownups to every age in between, ketchup is a beloved condiment, practically inseparable from classic treats like hotdogs, hamburgers, and French fries. A grade school friend of mine loved ketchup so much, we always teased, “Would you like some fries with your ketchup?” Indeed, this bright red, tomato-based sauce isn’t going anywhere …
Fumbling around with my makeup in the morning before I’ve had my caffeine and while the gunk is still in my eyes is never a recipe for success. On more than one occasion, I’ve failed to blend my foundation, applied eyeshadow to just one eye, or stabbed myself in the eye with my mascara wand. …
From cooking to cleaning to teeth whitening to hair hydrating, coconut oil is a popular natural remedy for myriad home and health-related issues. But this sweet-smelling, gooey miracle product doesn’t always produce a desired result. If you’ve ever spilled a jar of coconut oil onto your carpet, you know how unpleasant working with this miracle …
If you have children, you’re well acquainted with mealtime messes. It seems the food and drink land everywhere but your child’s mouth. When we began baby-led weaning with my son, disaster struck when we attempted raspberries. No sooner had he grabbed the spoon from my hand than the pureed raspberries landed in a sticky glob …
If you have kids, you know putty. Whether it’s Crayola Silly Putty or Crazy Aaron’s Thinking Putty, there are a range of tacky, gooey products your kids will love to play with. But as fun as these products can be for your children, they can be a nightmare for parents if they get stuck in …
Ah, spaghetti with meat balls. A classic dish, it’s generally a fan favorite with kids of all ages. But as any parent knows all too well, when kids are involved, stains will follow, and the same is true for spaghetti sauce. Your child may thoroughly enjoy his meal, and your carpet will likely attest to …
If you’ve ever brought a newborn home from the hospital, then you know what panic feels like. The nurses are gone. The child is yours to feed and soothe, and the diapers are yours to change. While many of those diaper changes will turn out to be completely benign, you’re bound to have a few …
If you’ve ever encountered a rust stain anywhere in your home, you know how unsightly they can be. Their unpleasant appearance is rivaled only by their difficulty to remove. If you find a rust stain in your carpet, the challenge can be all the more difficult, as you will want to avoid the use of …
Pancakes may be a Saturday morning fan favorite for your kiddos, but they can pose some unintended challenges for a busy mom and dad trying to maintain some semblance of order around the home. Delicious when doused in sweet maple syrup, pancakes can leave your carpet vulnerable to attack. Try as they might to avoid …
Berries are a welcomed summer treat, but they’re not without their drawbacks. As delicious as a plump, juicy blueberry tastes, there’s often a price to pay for that tasty pop of flavor – a squirt of blueberry juice on your favorite blouse or carpet. Tiny and round, blueberries are easy to pop into your mouth, …
Many of today’s kids are obsessed with slime and that can mean messes for parents and others to clean up. It’s fun for them to play with but much less fun to get slime out of your carpet. Typically, slime is made from a mixture of glue, food coloring, starch, water, and glitter. You can …
When it comes to make-up, certainly lipstick rules the roost. Lipstick is often one of the cheapest types of make-up and yet it can make an incredibly dramatic effect. If you’re called out to a party or dinner with the friends, but don’t have time to fully make yourself over, all you really need to …
Last year I adopted the perfect cat. My son named her Chowder because, like the clam soup, she was white. She loved to cuddle, didn’t scratch or bite, and showed no interest in going outside. But one day, we noticed she was acting different. Instead of happily wandering the house and napping on the living …
With liquid carpet stains, such as beer and wine stains, the process is pretty simple: You soak up the liquid and it gets removed from the carpet. Sometimes this requires re-wetting the stains if they are dried, but essentially that process remains the same and is relatively straightforward because of it. But what about when that …
If you have ever accidentally spilled charcoal onto carpeting in your home, such as a sunroom, four-season room, or family room, you know first-hand what a nightmare it can be to remove it. If you have light-colored carpeting in place, it is even worse when attempting to clean it up. Luckily, there are several methods …
When I was growing up, we owned a Sheltie – a beautiful, miniature sheepdog with long, flowing, black hair. Although her characteristic coat was soft and shiny, it had a significant downside: It shed constantly, leaving our clothing, bedding, and carpet covered in clumps of long, black hair. The vacuum did little to lift her …
Chocolate may be the perfect food – it tastes incredible, it’s full of antioxidants, and it boosts your mood. What doesn’t boost your mood, however, is when your beautiful carpet is stained from the chocolate you’ve been enjoying. Chocolate in general is one of the hardest stains to get out of fabric, and it’s also …
It’s summertime and that means it’s time to fire up the backyard BBQ and grill up some hamburgers and hotdogs and slather them with ketchup and mustard. But when the condiments come out, the likelihood of stains also increases, and mustard can be one of the worst stains to get out. Mustard contains turmeric, which …
Whether you’ve tracked in some motor oil from the garage, scraped your greasy bicycle chain across the floor, or dropped a slice of bacon under the dining room table, a grease stain is never welcomed. One reason that grease can be such a cumbersome stain to tackle on carpet is because carpet is made using …
Whether your child has dropped his gum on your carpet or you’ve accidentally tracked it in on your shoe, gum in your carpet is simply a sticky mess. Especially if you have longer or shag-style carpet, this can be a really frustrating, gooey disaster. Some people become so frustrated they’re tempted to break out the …
You have an important presentation tomorrow, and it’s important to look your absolute best. For that, you’ll need to prepare more than just your material; you need to select the proper attire. You select a stunning “power tie” and iron your suit the night before. All that’s left is to shine your shoes, which are …
Oh, sweet beer. The sharp click of the tab and crisp taste of cold suds are often just the refreshing drink one wants after a long day at the office or when turning on your favorite sports game. When hosting house parties and dinner get-togethers, a case of beer is more than likely going to …
Searching for how to get blood stains out of the carpet may seem nefarious, but the truth is that dealing with this type of damage is more common than you’d think. Especially if you have kids or pets that always seem to be getting into some kind of trouble. They run around the corner too …
In college, a feisty professor once dared me to write an essay on 20 different ways to say “vomit.” Never mind how this conversation originated, but as an English major, I could not resist the challenge. Thus, one of my greatest literary primarypieces was born. Whether you call it throw up, barf, retching, puke, or …
One of the world’s tiniest, but most dreaded pests, the bed bug is one nemesis you don’t want to face in your home. Commonly encountered when traveling, bed bugs are often the souvenir you didn’t mean to bring home – and that you can’t seem to get rid of. I once experienced bed bugs when …
Kids love Play-Doh. This colorful, doughy putty is an excellent tactile activity for your child to explore his creative side while activating his senses, too. But for parents, Play-Doh isn’t all fun and games. It’s messy reputation often results in an anxiety-inducing experience for moms and dads. What if your child gets playdough in the …