TikTok Shares An Easy Hack For Fixing Burn Holes In Carpet (But Should You Try It?)

Carpeted floors provide comfort, warmth, and contribute to the overall aesthetics of a home, but maintaining a nice, clean carpet can be tricky. Keeping it protected from dirt, removing citrus stains, and bringing matted carpets back to life are manageable tasks, but how do you tackle a bigger problem like a burn hole? It's a job that some people would leave to the professionals, but an easy hack has surfaced on TikTok. The only tools you need to get the job done are a pair of scissors, a glue gun, tweezers, and an old toothbrush. 

After brushing away the ash and loose debris with a toothbrush, grab a pair of scissors and begin carefully trimming away and discarding the burnt fibers. Next, find a section of the carpet that matches the color of the affected area. Lightly cut away small amounts of carpet fluff until you have a large enough ball to pill the hole. Apply small amounts of hot glue inside the hole, and pack the carpet shavings in with the tweezers a little at a time. Finally, use the toothbrush to manipulate the added shavings so that the former hole is indistinguishable from its surroundings. This process is simple, cost-effective, and works well for small burn marks, but for more severe burns, it may not be sufficient.

So, when shouldn't you use this hack to fix burn holes in carpet? Trying to fill a large hole would require a lot of shaved carpet, which would be much harder to make look natural and would mean inflicting more damage on non-burnt sections of the carpet. Deeper burns may also require a professional. Professional carpet technicians have a wider knowledge of carpeting materials and can assess the severity of a burn and any damage to the backing and the floor underneath. They keep a stock of common carpets to patch it with a perfectly matched donor to ensure that the repair is both unnoticeable and durable.

Hot glue guns are one of the most important tools in a crafter's arsenal and come in clutch for all kinds of projects — you'll be glad you have one when you purchase a rug. But, carpet fluff bonded with hot glue may not be a permanent solution. Extensive tests have shown that hot glue sticks have different strengths depending on the brand and the material being bonded, and cheap ones found at craft stores are limited in their applications. For this hack, you'll need a high-quality super glue, like Gorilla Glue (on Amazon for $10.99). 

If the carpet burn is in a small corner of a room and the goal is to make it more aesthetically pleasing, then the TikTok hack is perfect. But, if the burn is in a high-traffic area or if the damage to the carpet and its backing is significant, then gluing some shavings alone may not be enough of a fix and the issue may require professional attention.