Carpet Protection
Protecting your carpet adequately from paint spills and general damage during home construction projects is an often over looked subject. Sometimes this is due to a homeowner’s enthusiasm over the new project about to be completed. It’s very important that you use some sort of cover to protect new carpet during any potentially damaging household repair or upgrade.
There are many different types of temporary carpet protections. Your choice depends upon the type of project and the length of time the carpet protection will need to remain in place. Are you doing something quick and simple like painting your son’s room? Then all you need is some non-adhesive backed plastic, weighted down in appropriate locations to keep it in place. It won’t last long or offer a great degree of carpet protection, but it will do the job for a one day paint project. You can buy painters plastic in various roll lengths at your local Home Depot.
Selecting the proper carpet protection becomes extremely important if you’re considering a heavy re-modeling job that will last several days or weeks. In this case we recommend a solvent based adhesive backed plastic roll, at least 3 mil thick with a non-slip surface. This type of carpet protection is easy to put down, will stay in place for weeks, and is thick enough to resist being punctured by heavy boots and tools. It will also protect your carpet from paint, debris, dropped tools, grease, grout, and any other substance you might care to imagine. It’s amazing how many different types of gross materials tend to get dropped onto the floor during heavy construction.
Keep in mind that most plastic carpet protection is intended to be used on carpet made with synthetic fibers. Wool owners should consult the manufacturer before applying any type of adhesive backed plastic as it can sometimes damage carpets made from natural fibers.
Good luck with your project! Stay safe and be sure to use some type of temporary carpet protection.