How to Remove a Broadloom Carpet

Remove all the furniture from the room. Pull back a small piece of carpet from a corner using pliers. You need to know if the carpet has underpadding and if it was originally installed using tack strips or carpet tacks.

Pull the carpet off any tack strips all the way around the room. If the carpet has been adhered to the floor with carpet tacks, position a flat pry bar under one part of the carpet and pry the tacks off. Continue prying up tacks until the rug is free from the floor.

Pull the carpet away from the wall and roll it over so the back of the carpet is showing about 3 feet from the wall. Cut the back of the carpet into sections about 3 feet square with a utility knife. Continue cutting 3-foot sections. Place all the sections on top of each other to make a neat pile.

Roll the carpet over again once you have the first row of sections removed. Continue cutting 3-foot sections with your utility knife. Roll the rug over again every time you have finished removing a row of sections until the broadloom carpet is completely dissected into manageable pieces.

Remove the sections from the room. It is much easier to carry out sections than it is to try and carry out an entire room-sized rug in one piece. Also, if you are thinking about donating the rug for recycling purposes, some recycling companies will only pick up carpets that are in 3-foot sections.