How to Remove Carpet Properly – 7 Easy Steps

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Do you want to remove your carpet and replace it with a new one? Removing a carpet is not as hard as you might think, as long as you follow the right steps. In this article, we’ll walk through the steps for removing your carpet.

How to remove carpet properly? You can remove your carpet by using pliers to pull one corner of the carpet and then pulling it from along the walls of the room. Hold the carpet by hand and continue pulling until you can fold it. Cut the carpet into 3-foot strips before proceeding. Do this until you have removed all of it. 

You can do this DIY method if you’re strong enough to pull the carpet from the floor. Instead of spending money to let someone do it, why not do it yourself? If you cannot pull the carpet yourself, then you will need to hire someone to do it.

The full 7 steps for removing the carpet are as follows:

  1. Decide What to Do with the Old Carpet
  2. Prepare Your Materials
  3. Wear Your Protective Gear
  4. Remove All Things Inside the Room
  5. Start Removing the Carpet with a Pair of Pliers
  6. When You Have a Sizable Width of Carpet in Your Hand, Fold It
  7. Change the Carpet Padding

Read on to learn more about how you can remove your carpet, as well as important carpet-removing tips and tools to make the job easier.

Also, for making the job a breeze, take a look at the Shop-Vac 6 Peak HP 12-Gallon Stainless Wet-Dry Vacuum. This vacuum is a powerful and easy-to-use wet-dry vacuum cleaner that makes it easy to clean up your floor after the removal of your carpet.

Click here to see it on Amazon.

How to Remove Carpet Properly

Removing your carpet is relatively easy. Follow the 7 steps below on how to rip out carpet or how to remove your carpet properly:

how to rip out carpet
How to rip out carpet?

Step #1 – Decide What to Do with the Old Carpet

Before you start removing your carpet, you have to decide what to do with it first. Will you reuse it in another room in your storage area? Or will you cut it up for disposal? Planning ahead of time would allow you to prepare your materials accurately.

Step #2 – Prepare Your Materials

Before you start working, you first have to prepare your materials. They include:

  • Pliers
  • Washing or working gloves
  • Mask
  • Hammer
  • Goggles for eye protection
  • Pry bar or crowbar
  • Paint
  • Knife set
  • Knee pads
  • Floor scraper
  • Heavy trash bags
  • Vacuum

Place these materials near the room you would be working in, so you can quickly grab them when needed.

Step #3 – Wear Your Protective Gear 

Wear your gloves, mask, goggles, and knee caps. Ensure that you have worn them properly. Of course, it’s possible to remove your carpet without using protective gear, but would you risk your safety simply because you’re too lazy to prepare and use protective equipment? I guess not. You can never take chances. You should protect yourself from accidents that could happen during the task.

Your gloves will protect you from splinters, dirt, and hand injuries. The mask will prevent dust, dirt, and microbes from entering your body, as old carpets can harbor these harmful elements. Your goggles will also protect your eyes from the same things.

If you’re older, wearing knee caps can protect your knees, as you would tend to kneel when removing your carpet. Your clothing would also get dirty, but you can take a bath later and have a change of clothes.

Step #4 – Remove All Things Inside the Room

Remove all the contents of the room except for the immediate materials you need. You could also remove the doors temporarily.

Step #5 – With a Pair of Pliers, Start Removing the Carpet

Using the pliers, start pulling from one corner of the carpet. Grab and pull the carpet from the wall. You should be able to pull a sizable amount of carpet with your hands or use the pliers.

Step #6 – When You Have a Sizable Width of Carpet in Your Hand, Fold It

Fold the carpet and start cutting it into manageable strips using an appropriate knife. A manageable strip is a piece of carpet that you can quickly carry outside of the room. If you plan on reusing the carpet, then you could roll it with the help of another person. Keep doing this step until you have gotten all of the carpets off the tacks.

Be careful when cutting the carpet into smaller pieces, as you could accidentally cut the carpet padding. To avoid this, you can cut the carpet in another area. However, if you want to change the padding as well, you can go ahead and cut it right then and there.

Step #7 – Change the Carpet Padding

It’s recommended that you should change the carpet padding, too. Replacing the carpet padding allows your floor the complete renovation that it needs. Pull the staples to remove them and then cut the padding into manageable pieces–the same way you did with the carpet. Roll and take it out of the room as you did with the carpet pieces.

What Tools Do You Need to Remove Your Carpet?

Here are some helpful tools you can get to remove your carpet properly. These tools are durable, safe, and effective for ripping out the toughest carpets.

1. Bosch Professional 2-Part Knife Set

The Bosch Set of Professional Knives is used in a variety of cutting tasks, such as removing carpets, cutting things into pieces, and other household tasks.

Click here to see it on Amazon.

It has safety features that secure the knife when not in use. The knives can only be released with the press of a button. Its rubber handle makes it easy and safe to use. Also, its durable aluminum housing allows secure storage and long-lasting use. The knives are made of high-quality materials, enabling them to last for a long time. 

2. Klein Tools 60491 Hinged Knee Pads

Click here to see these knee pads on Amazon.

The Klein Tools 60491 Hinged Knee Pads are designed to offer maximum comfort and protection in rugged environments. Here are the key features:

  • Maximum Comfort: The knee pads feature a gel and foam-padded pocket, providing all-day pressure distribution and comfort. This design ensures that the knees are well-supported during extended use.
  • Stability and Agility: The knee pads have a large surface area for stability. Additionally, the rounded edges facilitate easy side-to-side movement, allowing for agility in various working conditions.
  • Secure Fit: To ensure a secure and adjustable fit, the knee pads are equipped with a hinged thigh strap, quick-fasten buckle, and hook and loop strap. These features contribute to a customized and secure fit tailored to the user’s preferences.
  • Durable Construction: The knee pads are constructed with heavy-duty stitching, hard plastic, and metal rivets, ensuring long-lasting durability. This robust construction is designed to withstand the demands of heavy-duty applications and rugged job sites.
  • Versatile Usage: These knee pads are ideal for jobsites that require heavy-duty knee protection. Whether working in construction, carpentry, or other trades, these knee pads offer reliable performance in demanding environments.
  • Pair Included: The knee pads are sold in pairs, providing complete knee coverage for the user. This ensures that both knees are adequately protected during use.
  • Reliable Performance: Klein Tools is known for producing reliable and durable tools and accessories. The Heavy Duty Hinged Knee Pads are no exception, offering a dependable solution for those working in challenging conditions.

3. Shop-Vac 6 Peak HP 12-Gallon Stainless Wet-Dry Vacuum

The Shop-Vac 6 Peak HP 12-Gallon Stainless Wet-Dry Vacuum is a powerful and easy-to-use wet-dry vacuum cleaner. This vacuum makes it really easy to clean up your floor after the removal of your carpet. Vacuum cleaners by Shop-Vac are world-renowned for their durability and reliability.

Click here to see it on Amazon.

This vacuum cleaner features a 12-gallon steel tank that’s easy to drain and maneuver. It provides heavy-duty power that can remove all debris, dust, and microbes from your floor. You can depend on it to perform the toughest jobs with its 6 Peak HP motor. Accessories are also included, such as a crevice tool, a hose, a nozzle, a cartridge filter, and a filter bag, among others.

See the below video for other tips on removing your carpet:

Removing the Carpet Yourself vs Hiring Someone to Remove it for You

You can remove the carpet all by yourself by preparing your materials beforehand. Except for rolling an extremely large carpet, you can pretty much do all the steps by yourself. However, you have to be ready with contingency plans when things don’t work out for one reason or another.

The easiest way to remove a carpet is to hire an expert to do it for you. But you may have to spend more than $200, depending on the size of the carpet. 

If you want to save on cost, you can do it yourself by following the steps above. Cutting the carpet into smaller pieces as you use pliers to pull it off from the wall is the easiest way to remove your carpet.

Other Tips on How to Rip Out Carpet

Below are some other helpful tips for making the job of ripping out carpet much easier:

  • Prepare all the materials before starting your task.
  • Use proper protective equipment.
  • Choose your carpet carefully. Select the one that complements the color of your room.
  • DIY doesn’t mean you cannot ask for help from a family member or friend. If you need assistance, you should ask for it.
  • If you know someone who has done it before, you could ask for some advice or recommendations. 
  • Enjoy the task. Put on music or a favorite podcast. Learn from your experience. The next time you do it, you will be more skillful for sure. 

Where Can You Dispose or Recycle Your Old Carpet?

Because of its bulk, you may not be able to throw your old carpet into the dumpster as the garbage pickup truck may refuse to accept it. It would also depend on your neighborhood’s rules about carpet disposal.

A good option is to bring it to a recycling center if you have no further use of it. Generally, this is free of charge. Some recycling centers could even collect them from your home. You may want to call the center first to learn about their terms and conditions.

But if you want to repurpose your carpet, you can do so. You can convert your carpet into a variety of useful things, such as floor mats, window screens, pet’s scratch mats, carpets for your garden, or support mats under your washing machine and other kitchen appliances.

There are dozens of useful things you can do with your old carpet. Use your imagination and think out of the box.

How to Change Your Old Carpet to a New One

how to pull up carpet
How to pull up carpet and change with new carpet?

Step #1 – After Removing Your Old Carpet, Clean the Floor Thoroughly

Bring all materials out of the room and clean the room thoroughly. Remove all staples using a pry bar or pliers and make sure that the floor is smooth and even. Nail down protruding nails, repaint the entire floor, or apply a water-resistant primer.

Vacuum the floor and ensure that it’s dry, clean, and evenly smooth before placing the new carpet. Do the necessary floor repairs, including wall repairs, to allow the carpet to last longer. You’d surely be happy and comfortable with a complete room renovation.

In addition, you could unhinge the doors first, so you can freely move when installing your new carpet.

Step #2 – Install Appropriate Tackless Strips

Before purchasing, ensure that you have chosen the correct thickness and size of the tackles strip by pre-measuring the areas inside the room, including the doors. Using a hammer, nail the strips a half-inch from the walls. Avoid doorways.

Step #3 – Place the New Carpet Padding

Before placing the new carpet and padding, ensure that the paint has dried completely. This process can take a few hours.

In the same manner that you have removed the old padding, place the new one starting from that corner going outwards. Stretch the padding completely and staple the corners near the tackless strips to allow the padding to stay in place. You can do this with the use of a staple hammer.

It’s preferable that you measure the room beforehand and precut the paddings, so all you have to do is place it and anchor it with staples. Trim the excess paddings using the knife set.

Step #4 – Place the New Carpet

For convenience and easy positioning, the carpet should be pre-measured and cut outside. You can use chalk to allow some allowances at the edges. Anchor the new carpet with appropriate materials and trim off the excess. Remember to glue the seams and anchor them properly to the floor and bottom of the walls.

Step #5 – Attach One End of the Carpet to the Tackles Strips

Using a knee kicker, attach one end of the carpet to the tackles strips, at least 3 inches away from the wall. Press the edges of the carpet and trim it carefully.

Step #6 – Stretch the Carpet

Stretch the carpet evenly and use the binder bar to attach all the strips to the carpet. After the carpet is properly positioned on the floor, you can then cut the vent openings and trim the carpet’s edges when necessary.

Conclusion – How to Remove Carpet Properly

To revisit our initial question: “How to remove carpet?” or “How to rip out carpet?” Removing your carpet can be a job you can accomplish by yourself. You can do this by using pliers and pulling off the carpet from one corner of the room first. With your hand, you can then continue pulling off the carpet from the walls of the room until you have completely removed all of it.

To facilitate the carpet removal, you could cut the carpet into 3 ft. strips, so you could roll these pieces and take them out of the room easily.

The full 7 steps for removing the carpet are as follows:

  1. Decide What to Do with the Old Carpet
  2. Prepare Your Materials
  3. Wear Your Protective Gear
  4. Remove All Things Inside the Room
  5. Start Removing the Carpet with Pliers
  6. When You Have a Sizable Width of Carpet in Your Hand, Fold It
  7. Change the Carpet Padding

If you accept this challenge, you will learn more skills in beautifying your home.

Related reading:

How to Get Blood Out of Carpet – 3 Easy Steps

How to Clean Dried Cat Urine from Carpet? 6 Steps

How to Clean a Carpet – 5 Simple Steps

Best Way to Clean Carpet – 5 Easy Steps