The Truth about Carpet Dyeing

Here are 10 of the most common misconceptions about carpet dyeing:

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Green wool rug with large bleach spots demonstrating fibers suitable for carpet dyeing

Not all carpets are candidates for dyeing. Wool (above) accepts dye beautifully, while Polypropylene cannot be dyed.

1. Any carpet can be dyed

Only wool and nylon carpets can be dyed. Polyester and polypropylene fibres don't have dye pockets so they cannot be dyed in the conventional way. However, we do offer specialised colour repair for Sisal.

2. One can dye a carpet any colour

The target colour is always dictated by the carpet's original colour. For example, one cannot dye a deep red carpet blue because the fibres will not accept enough new dye to overcome the red to change the colour family.

A carpet dyer can however, work with the existing red to dye the carpet a dark grey or brown.

3. One can dye a carpet a lighter colour

The process of dyeing carpets consists of adding colour so the result will always be a darker carpet.

Before and after of orange stain removal and colour repair on a patterned geometric carpet.

Dyeing isn't magic, it's chemistry. We successfully reduced this stubborn orange stain before re-dyeing the fibers to restore the geometric pattern flawlessly

4. Dyeing a carpet will cover existing stains

Dyeing a stained carpet will always result in ...you've guessed it, the same stained carpet...just a different colour.

This doesn't mean a stained carpet cannot be successfully dyed, but each stain would have to be removed, reduced and dyed individually if needed, before dyeing the whole carpet.

5. After dyeing, the carpet will be like new

Wear and tear, pile reversal, stains, pile distortion, or any structural damage to the fibres will still be there after dyeing the carpet. In fact not only will still be there but they might even become more noticeable if the damage to the fibres affects the dye intake in the affected area.

6. Carpet dyeing is cheap

Carpet dyeing is highly skilled, needs specialist training and requires many hours of practice so it's by no means cheap. Having said that, it should always be cheaper than the cost of replacement.

Large beige carpet showing uneven colour loss restored to a uniform finish using professional carpet dyes.

Professional results require professional dyes. We used high-grade acid dyes here to restore a completely uniform colour that won't fade or transfer.

7. Any dyes would work

Wool and nylon are dyed with acid dyes and set by heat and a mordant. So any dyes used would have to be acidic for a start. However, the quality of the dyes will make all the difference when it comes to the colour being permanent, even and not coming off on your socks.

8. Anyone can dye a carpet

The fact that there are only a handful of carpet dyeing companies in the UK says it all.

9. Any stain can be bleached out and re-dyed

While it is true that some stubborn stains could be bleached out and then dyed to blend in with the rest of the carpet or rug, this is a very complex and time consuming process and not suited for every case of unsuccessful stain removal.

Before and after comparison of a bleach spot repair on grey carpet using syringe dye injection

We use a syringe to inject the missing dye into the bleach spot, restoring the colour to match the surrounding area seamlessly

10. A bleach spot repair is always an invisible repair

This depends very much on the carpet or rug dyer's skills and experience, the dyes used and the method of application but bleach spots repairs are ultimately repairs and although in the best case scenario it will be invisible, parting the carpet fibres to look deep into the pile might show slight colour discrepancies.

Bonus Myth:

11. Rugs cannot be dyed

Most rugs are made of natural fibres, therefore they can be dyed. We regularly do spot dyeing on rugs and whole rug dyeing to change a rug's colour.

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