Repair a Run in Carpet

Q: Help! When I had my back turned, my three-year-old grandson found a loose loop of carpet and gave it a yank. Now I have a huge run in the carpet. Can I fix this without replacing the carpet?

A: If you still have the string of yarn that was pulled out of the carpet, then you can use it to patch the run. If not, you'll need to pull up your own “replacement string” from a scrap piece of carpet. The idea is to replace the string back to normal. Mask off the carpet run with tape on each side. Squeeze a bead of Universal Carpet Seam Sealer into the run. Use a nail set to poke the dried glue scabs of the yarn onto the carpet backing and sealer, re-establishing the carpet loops as you work down the run.