Wall-to-wall carpeting is held firmly in place by tack strips around the outside of the room, but because carpet is fundamentally a fabric, it may weaken and not be as smooth as it had been when initially installed. Among the sure-fire indicators that a carpet is in need of adjustment is when it develops wrinkles. Carpet that’s starting to wrinkle is only going to get worse as it is still walked on, therefore stretching and reattaching it to the nest strips will be the best way to get wrinkles from wall-to-wall carpeting.
Eliminate any furnishings or other items in the room.
Catch the carpet in 1 corner of this room with a set of locking pliers, and lift the carpet to separate it in the tack strip. Then grasp the carpeting and work your way across one wall, pulling the carpet up from the tack strip along that entire wall.
Place a power stretcher with the rear cushioning against the middle of the wall on the opposite side of the room in the side where the carpet is loose in the tack strips. Put a sheet of cardboard behind the rear padding to protect the wall. Then adjust the distance of the stretcher pole so that the head of the stretcher is 6 to 8 inches in the middle of the wall with the loosened carpet.
Expand the adjustment knob on the head of the stretcher to stretch the teeth and catch the carpeting. Then press down on the stretcher manage to stretch the carpet toward the wall before the wrinkles have been removed — but not so firmly that you damage the carpet. Push the border of the carpet down onto the tack strips with your hand, then push the carpet to the seam between the floor and the wall with a putty knife.
Loosen the stretcher, and move it a foot to the left, and repeat the stretch. Then move a foot to the right of this original place, and repeat. Keep alternating in 1-foot increments until the majority of the carpet is stretched into place.
Move to the corner of this room and place a knee kicker around the floor a few inches in front of the rest of the carpet in the corner to be elongated. Rotate the handle on the knee kicker to engage the teeth to the carpet, then hold back on the arm and smack the mat in the rear of the unit with your knee, stretching the carpet toward the wall. Tuck the carpet with a putty knife, then move the elbow kicker a few inches left or right to continue stretching the carpet to the corner.
Fold the extra carpet along the border of this wall above so that the capital is obviously visible, and trim the additional carpet from the border by cutting the backer with a sharp carpet knife. Cut off all of the additional carpet from the borders, and discard the pieces.
Inspect the carpet for any additional wrinkles. If necessary, loosen an adjacent side to the border which you already removed and repositioned on the tack strips, and repeat the stretch. Once all wrinkles are removed and the carpet feels firm and even, return the furnishings to the room.