Guide · For the trade
Carpet dents: which carpets recover from furniture, and how to specify for it
Carpet dents come from two things: the pile crushing under a furniture leg and the pad compressing beneath it. The pile recovers, faster in wool and nylon and slowly or never in polyester; the pad does not recover once it has taken a set, which is why a dense 8 lb rebond or a 32 oz felt matters as much as the carpet. The constructions that resist indentations best are dense low loops, Wiltons and tight cut piles under 1/2 inch; plush, frieze and anything over 5/8 inch show every leg.
This guide is for the designer specifying a carpet that will live under a sectional, a bed and a dining table, and for the junior who has been asked why the client's new carpet shows the old sofa's footprint. It covers the cause, the fibers and constructions ranked, the pad, the furniture, what to tell the client about getting indentations out, and when old carpet is a replacement rather than a repair.
What causes carpet dents
A 200 lb sofa on four 1 inch feet puts about 50 lb per square inch on the carpet, more if the feet are smaller. The yarn in the pile bends over, and if it stays bent long enough the fiber takes a memory of the bend. Below the carpet, the pad is doing the same thing: a light 6 lb rebond crushes to a fraction of its thickness and stays there. Heat and humidity speed the set, which is why a carpet in a sunny room dents faster. Pile crush is the part the client can see and usually the part that recovers; pad crush is the part that makes the dent permanent.
Fibers and constructions, ranked for recovery
| Construction and fiber | Recovery from a furniture leg | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Dense wool loop or Wilton | Best | Short, tightly packed pile has nowhere to bend; wool's crimp springs back |
| Low cut pile wool, under 1/2 in | Very good | Wool recovers from crush; short pile limits the bend |
| Nylon cut pile, dense, 1/2 in | Good | Nylon has the best crush recovery of the synthetics |
| Wool or nylon plush, 5/8 in and up | Fair | Long pile bends further and shows the shadow of a dent even after recovery |
| Frieze, shag, high pile | Poor | Long, twisted yarn mats and lies flat under weight |
| Polyester or triexta cut pile | Poor to fair | Polyester has little crush recovery; triexta is somewhat better |
Density is the number to check on the spec sheet: for a cut pile, a face weight of 40 oz or more at a pile height under 1/2 inch, or a density figure above 3,000 by the industry formula, is the range that resists furniture. The density guide explains the arithmetic, and Masland and Fabrica publish texture-retention warranties of 20 years on their dense nylon lines, which is the mill's own statement about crush.
The pad decides whether the dent is permanent
Specify 7/16 inch 8 lb rebond as the floor for a residential cut pile, and 10 lb or a 32 oz felt under heavy furniture or a thick carpet. A 1/4 to 3/8 inch dense pad under loop, Wilton and Berber. Thicker is not better: a 1/2 inch 6 lb pad feels soft on day one and holds the shape of every leg by month three. Under an area rug on a hard floor, a felt-and-rubber pad at 1/4 inch does the same job. The carpet pad guide ranks the options.
Furniture, and what to tell the client
Spread the load. A 2 to 3 inch glide or cup under each leg multiplies the bearing area and makes most dents shallow enough to recover. Casters on dining chairs are the worst case; wide glides or a flatweave rug under the dining group solve it. Moving a sofa 2 inches twice a year, and rotating an area rug once a year, lets the pile recover before it takes a set. Tell the client this at handover; it is the single cheapest thing that keeps a wool carpet looking new.
How to get furniture indentations out of carpet
This is the question the client will ask, and the designer's answer is a short note in the maintenance sheet. For wool and nylon: an ice cube left to melt in the dent, then the pile lifted with the edge of a spoon or a coin once the fiber is damp; or a damp cloth and a warm iron held above the carpet, never on it, followed by the same lift. A vacuum with the beater bar on, run over the dent in two directions, finishes the job. Repeat once if the dent is old. For polyester, the same steps help but recover less. None of this fixes a crushed pad; if the dent still shows a dip after the pile stands up, the pad has set, and only a pad replacement under that area, or living with it, remains.
When old carpet is a replacement, not a repair
Clients sometimes ask whether a 15 or 20 year old carpet is worth saving. If the dents stand up with the ice and the pile is not worn through at the doorways, a professional clean and a pile lift buy a few more years. If the pile is matted across the traffic lanes, the backing shows at the nosings, or the carpet has an odor that cleaning does not lift, it is at the end of its life, and old pad under it is usually crumbling, which is itself a reason to replace. Wall-to-wall is very much still specified, in wool and dense nylon over the right pad; what has gone out of style is the thin plush over a soft pad that dented in the first month. The wall-to-wall carpet guide covers the current spec.
Questions designers ask
How do you get furniture indentations out of carpet?
Melt an ice cube in the dent, lift the damp pile with a spoon edge, and vacuum in two directions; or steam from a damp cloth under a warm iron held above the surface. Wool and nylon recover; polyester recovers partly. A dip that remains after the pile stands up is the pad, and it does not recover.
Is wall-to-wall carpet still specified?
Yes, in bedrooms, media rooms, stairs and upper halls, and in whole-house wool installations. What dates a carpet is a thin, soft cut pile over a cheap pad that dents and mats; a dense wool loop or a low nylon cut pile over an 8 lb pad does not.
When is 20 year old carpet beyond cleaning?
When traffic lanes are matted flat, backing shows at the edges, the pad has crumbled, or odor survives a professional clean. Dents alone are not the reason; worn pile and failed pad are.
How do you fix flattened carpet under a rug or a sofa?
Lift the pile with steam or ice as above, then vacuum against the pile direction. If the flattening is across a whole area under a rug, the rug pad was wrong; replace it with a 1/4 inch felt-and-rubber and the carpet underneath will recover over a few weeks.
Which carpet is best for heavy furniture?
A dense wool loop or Wilton, or a low, dense nylon cut pile, over a 7/16 inch 8 lb rebond or 32 oz felt pad, with wide glides under the legs. Avoid plush, frieze and polyester under anything that does not move.
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