What are Carpet Rakes and Do I Need One?

You may or may not have heard of a carpet rake before. Commercial carpet cleaners use carpet rakes as an everyday tool in their business. However, many homeowners also use these rakes for use on their own carpets as well.

A carpet rake is usually made of nylon fibers and looks very much like a rake you would use in your yard. The main difference in a carpet rake is usually the stiffness of the fibers which come in a variety of different stiffnesses for different applications.

Professional carpet cleaners have utilized carpet rakes for many years to improve their cleaning efficiency and leave their customer’s carpets looking great. These rakes are often used in conjunction with either dry carpet cleaners to get the cleaner deeper into the carpet’s fibers, or pre-sprays to help work the solutions into the fibers. This extra agitation often time greatly increases the effectiveness of the cleaners or pre-sprays.

In addition, rakes will be used with things like disinfectants and protectants. These products are often sprayed on the top of the fibers and need to be worked in like a dry cleaner. Carpet rakes are great for making sure these products come in contact with all areas of the carpet fibers.

As a home owner, one simple thing you can do with a rake is to take some everyday baking soda (like Arm & Hammer) and sprinkle it on your carpet. Work it in (not too hard) with your rake and leave for at least 4 hours. Then vacuum like normal and you’ll smell the difference in your home for days to come.

Finally, a professional carpet cleaner will always groom the carpet when they are finished cleaning. The rake will take out any lines left in the carpet from cleaning, leaving a nice uniform looking carpet. And if you’re really cool, you can add patterns to your carpets like a checkerboard or circles. Obviously these won’t last long, but it is a nice change over the everyday.

Carpet rakes can also be used in the home by consumers. Most vacuum cleaners will not have the agitation necessary to break soil loose from carpet fibers. This is where a carpet rake can be very useful and let the vacuum do the job properly.

Making several passes over the carpet in two different directions with the carpet rake can help loosen the soil before vacuuming. Don’t go nuts and start damaging the fiber of the carpet, just apply medium pressure to loosen, not rip up the fibers.

It is also very useful in picking up pet hair. Often times, pet hair will weave itself into the carpet fibers, making it nearly impossible to vacuum up. In this case it is necessary to use something such as a rake to help break this hair loose and pick it up. Sometimes, depending on the type of rug or carpet, you can even “rake” up a lot of the hair and just pick it up and throw it away with your hands. This also makes it easier for your cleaner to do a better job.

Finally, shag carpet rakes were very popular in the 1970s. Long carpet fibers are making a comeback. Using a carpet rake on these long fibers will leave a very nice even look over the carpet.

There are a variety of places carpet rakes can be purchased. Many janitorial supplies and carpet cleaning supply stores and websites will sell directly to the public. Companies such as JonDon and Interlink Supply have comprehensive websites with many rakes choose from.

Also sites such as Amazon.com will have several selections to choose from. EBay is another great place in which to find a carpet rake. EBay will have several new rakes to choose from along with many used rakes for the bargain hunter.

As you can see, nearly anyone can benefit from the use of the carpet rake. These rakes are very useful and are not only used as a means of making the carpet more beautiful, but they also serve a very functional use in conjunction with the vacuum cleaner to remove as much soil and pet hair as possible from the carpet.