We have a fairly large area rug in our living room but over time it has become wrinkled. I don't want to buy a new one yet, so how can we get it to lay flat against the carpet and not bunch up with stubborn wrinkles anymore?
Do NOT wet the rug if you do not know what the fiber content is. Silk and wool for example may shrink. Use carpet tape to secure it flatly to the floor. It will take a couple of people, remove any furniture inhibiting its placement. Lay out the rug where you want it and have 4 people shuffle the rug out to the corners and stand there using their body weight as anchors. Tape the edges about 12 inches in at a diagonal. Have another person literally use double sided carpet tape found at the home improvement center tape 3-5 inches in from the edge of the rug by folding the edges in, applying the tape and having all four people shuffle that end to the tape line. Yes, you will have the corners anchored with tape diagonally and then again 3-5 inches from the sides above that. This helps edges to keep from curling or becoming trip hazards. Once the carpet is stretched and anchored with the tape, you will not encounter stubborn wrinkles UNLESS you move furniture by sliding it and not picking it up completely off the rug to move it.
Steam it and hand it over a banister.
Wet it and hang it outside to dry, using clothes pins directly on two corners, or completely flat against a fence.
Hang the rug up if you can and spray it with water and see if you can work the wrinkles out by pulling of them. Good Luck
