How Much Does It Cost to Dye Carpet? (Detailed Breakdown!)
While carpet dyeing can be an effective way to change the color of worn-out, stained, or damaged carpets, it comes with its own set of challenges. Before deciding whether you want to try this at home yourself or hire a professional, you’ll want to know how much does it cost to dye carpet.
On average, dyeing carpet costs around $1.50 to $2.50 per square yard of carpet. It can cost up to $7 per square yard for a high-quality job with padding and other extras, but you should be able to find a reputable company that offers services from just over $5 per square yard if that is within your budget.
Whether you’re wanting to dye your own carpet or hire a professional, you should have a basic idea of what steps are involved in the process. In this post, we’re going to break down the costs of dying a carpet, as well as how to do it yourself or hire a professional.
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Here’s a Quick Pro Tip!
If you’re looking to go the DIY route to dye your carpet, I recommend using an RIT dye kit or pre-made carpet dye, like the Coconix Fabric and Carpet Repair Kit (available at Amazon).
Ensure that the color you choose is dark enough so that it will cover up any color spots in the carpet. If you have pets, use a pre-made pet stain and odor remover before applying the dye.
When dyeing your carpet, be sure to wear rubber gloves and eye protection since most coloring solutions are toxic if they come into contact with your skin or cause irritation.
Is It Expensive to Dye Carpet?
Whether or not dyeing carpet is expensive depends on the type of carpet you have, and what kind of dye is being used. In general, it is slightly more expensive than replacing your carpet altogether.
A new carpet costs about $2-$3 per square foot, and dyeing one of those usually runs between $1.50 and $2.50 per square foot. It sounds like it is more expensive, but that’s because most people never factor in the cost to replace their carpet entirely.
If you have a smaller room, or if your carpet is more than 10 years old, it may be worth the cost to dye. It’s also better for the environment because it saves new materials from being manufactured.
Does Carpet Dye Really Work?
So does carpet dye really work? The answer to that question is yes and no. It depends on the purpose of your carpet dyeing and who you’re asking.
If you’re trying to change the color of a faded or worn-out area in an already installed area, then yes, it works well enough, providing that you follow directions thoroughly and reapply when needed.
However, if you want to dye a large area such as a bedroom or family room entirely different colors, using carpet dye for this purpose will not work.
Even though it’s possible to do so with some success, chances are that one or more shades will be off, which will make your new floor look a little odd.
The real problem with living rooms and bedrooms is that they have all sorts of weird angles created by the walls, furniture placement, entertainment units, and curio cabinets so each area has its own peculiarities when it comes to carpet color, texture, and shading.
Even if the room was empty the day before you started re-dyeing your carpet, chances are that one or more shades won’t be exactly right after completing even a small section of floor space.
If you’re going for a dramatic change in design or color scheme then replacing the entire floor is probably what you need to do anyway – but try not to get too upset because some colors just work together while others look downright awful.
You might also enjoy our post on Can You Put a Carpet in the Dryer?
Can You Dye Existing Carpet?
You can absolutely dye an existing carpet, but the new color will only look good on the surface. A professional carpet cleaner can dye an existing carpet with a darker shade of the same color or create a new piece entirely.
This service isn’t cheap and it comes with some exceptions that you’ll need to consider.
What Will It Cost?
It depends. The minimum professional service starts at $200, but it can go up significantly when you add in extras like taking the furniture out of the room or replacing padding under the carpet.
There are cheaper DIY kits but these usually only work on smaller areas and take several hours to complete. Also, you’ll need to buy all of the necessary colors because companies don’t sell an entire rainbow.
If the carpet is more than 10 years old, it might have taken on a hue from cleaning products and take on a very different look from when it was originally installed. In that case, the existing carpet is often replaced with a match to the new piece.
If you want to re-dye an existing carpet, you’ll also need to consider how stained it is. If the carpet has significant or deep stains, it’s not likely that they will come out in the process.
If you only want to touch up your carpet and add a few spots of color, you can expect to pay less than if you’re having the entire piece dyed.
Can You Professionally Dye Carpet?
In general, you cannot professionally dye carpet. This is due to the fact that there are no commercially available carpet dyes. Because of the various surface treatments used to manufacture carpets, this makes them impossible to dye uniformly throughout.
These include things like latex paint, varnish, stain, or polyurethane coating. So if you have one specific spot on your carpet or rug that needs changing, you could dye an area with specially formulated “spot remover” dyes available at craft stores and home centers without too much trouble before applying a rug pad over top.
However, doing anything more than that is pretty hit-or-miss and could end up damaging the rest of your carpet.
If you have a higher quality carpet, it might be worth investing in having your carpet dyed by professionals.
Lower quality carpets, such as inexpensive broadloom carpeting, can be dyed at home with very good results.
You might consider professional dying if the following apply:
- You have a wall-to-wall or other large areas of carpet and don’t want to invest in buying new carpeting.
- Your budget allows for professional dying.
- Your carpet is of high quality and you’d like to protect the investment you’ve made in it.
Can You Dye Carpet Yourself?
You can dye carpeting yourself, but keep in mind this isn’t easy and unless you have experience with carpeting, doing so will probably result in less than ideal.
When shopping for a solution to dye your carpet with, make sure not to buy anything with acid or bleach as an ingredient as they can ruin your carpet over time.
You might also enjoy our post on Can You Carpet Over Laminate Flooring?
Should You Hire a Professional or DIY?
It depends. If you have a wall-to-wall or other large areas of carpet and don’t want to invest in buying new carpeting, it might be worth investing in professional dying. Low-quality carpets can usually be dyed well at home if the following apply:
- Your budget allows for professional dying.
- Your carpet is of high quality and you’d like to protect the investment you’ve made in it.
- If you have only a couple of spots in your carpet and aren’t worried about protecting your investment, you can buy cheap “spot-remover” dyes at craft stores and home centers. Then just apply a rug pad over top.
- You can also dye an existing carpet with a darker shade of the same color, or create a new piece entirely.
- You do not need to hire a professional if you only want to touch up your carpet and add a few spots of color.
If you do not dye your carpet and the stains become too noticeable, it may be time to invest in a new carpet.
NOTE: Lower quality carpets cannot generally be professionally dyed without significant problems with color penetration onto other fibers, unevenness of coloration, and general lack of visual appeal.
The content will not proliferate on deep stains which have been part of this process for years as dirt gets ground into the bumpy surfaces within time and can not be removed by the dyeing process.
However, with most carpet manufacturers moving away from the latex paint and polyurethane coatings that made it possible to dye or spot clean carpet in the past, this option is quickly evaporating.
Final Thoughts
Dyeing your carpet is a great way to refresh the look of an old piece. You can either hire a professional or do it yourself depending on how much you want to spend and whether or not you have wall-to-wall carpet.
If you’re looking to dye your carpet, be sure to speak with a professional company about the process. They can help you figure out what type of carpet dye will work best for your specific situation.
