Steps to Removing Old Carpeting

It’s an exciting day when you’ve decided to get new carpeting! It will give your home or office a fresh makeover! The only thing standing in your way is the removal of your old carpeting. Here are some tricks of the trade to try when removing old carpeting.

How to Remove Old Carpeting

Step 1: Pull it Back

Begin by protecting your hands with heavy work gloves. Starting in one corner, begin to cut the carpeting with a utility knife. If it is difficult, use your pliers to pull up a corner of the carpet and the tack strip holding it down. Continue to pull the carpet towards you, rolling it up as you go.

Step 2: Cut it into Strips

Removing large pieces of old carpet will be easier if you cut it after you’ve rolled up or folded up about 3-4 feet of carpeting. Cut the length with your utility knife where it’s folded over. These smaller pieces will be easier to handle and lighter when you remove them.

Step 3: Work Carefully

Carefully maneuver areas where old carpeting connects with other flooring types, like wood or vinyl. Try not to damage any connecting transitions.

Step 4: Remove Padding

If there is padding below the carpet, remove that as well. It may be loose or stapled into place. Using your pliers, carefully remove all staples as you go. If the carpet padding is glued to the foundation base, such as is often done with concrete floors, use a scraper to remove as much as you can.

Step 5: Call 123JUNK

Your trash collector will not haul away old carpeting or padding, so you won’t be able to toss it into garbage bin. Instead, call 123JUNK to take away your old carpeting.

Can Old Carpeting Be Recycled?

Carpets are filled with fibers and chemicals that don’t allow them to break down in landfills. Fortunately, some carpet can be recycled and broken down into its raw materials that can be used to make new carpet. There’s even an organization dedicated to recycling old carpet: the Carpet America Recovery Effort (CARE). Since its inception in 2002, it has recycled more than 3.6 billion pounds of carpet, keeping it out of our landfills. In our area, DC Foam Recycle Center helps.

Let 123JUNK Remove Your Old Carpeting

123JUNK is used to big jobs like hauling away a household’s or office’s old carpeting. If there are elements that can be recycled, we deliver directly to the recycling centers in our area as part of our green initiatives. If it is not salvageable in any way, we’ll take it to the dump for you.

You don’t have to worry about straining your back lifting heavy yards of old carpet, or incurring injuries from tacks or nails. Once you’ve pulled the carpet up, you can hire us to do the heavy work of carpet removal for you. You’ll also enjoy 123JUNK’s all-inclusive pricing and easy scheduling process. Just one phone and we’re on our way.

When you need to remove old carpeting yourself, try these tricks. And then contact 123JUNK to haul it all away. We serve homeowners and businesses throughout Northern Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C.