Carpet glue is an adhesive product which is designed to be used in carpet installations. Numerous companies manufacture these adhesives, including some carpet manufacturers which produce specialty glues to go with their products. Home supply and hardware stores usually carry this adhesive product or can order it for their customers, and people can also order it in bulk directly from manufacturers.
While carpeting does not necessarily need to be glued when it is installed, carpet glue can greatly improve the quality of a carpet installation. Glue will prevent slippage, keeping the carpet in place over time, and it can help the carpet last longer. It can also be very useful for installations like stairs, where carpet tacks alone would not be able to withstand years of routine use. Adhesives are also used for carpet installations in settings like cars, where the carpet must adhere to curved contours rather than just lying flat.
In carpet repairs, carpet glue can be extremely useful. When repairs involve swapping out damaged patches of carpeting for new ones, this glue can make the repair seamless and clean, and ensure that the replacement spot blends in better with the existing carpet. People may also use carpet adhesives for quick carpet repairs, such as holding down a piece of carpeting which has become loose.
In addition to being used indoors on all sorts of carpet installations, carpet glue can also be used with outdoor carpeting and specialty products like marine carpeting. For outdoor or indoor-outdoor installations, it is important to purchase the right glue to ensure that the glue will hold up in the long term, especially in wet environments. Adhesives designed for the outdoors are much tougher and less soluble, and they can adhere to a wide variety of subfloors including concrete and wood.
As people who have taken up carpeting have noted, this glue can be very difficult to remove. One of the most effective ways to remove carpet glue is to use a heat gun to soften it so that it can be scraped up. Other people go the opposite way, freezing the glue with dry ice to make it brittle so that it can be chipped away. It can also be hardened and sanded away, and solvents designed for adhesives can be used to take up any lingering traces of adhesive. These processes can all be very messy and odoriferous, and it is important to do them with proper ventilation and face protection.
