When carpet is steam cleaned, moisture from the cleaning is absorbed into the latex backing and could cause the carpet backing to swell and relax, causing the carpet to buckle. In a properly stretched carpet, this relaxing is absorbed into the original stretch.
Fortunately, any buckles that do appear in a carpet due to cleaning will usually settle back and disappear within about 48 hours as it completely dries. When carpets are installed they are meant to be stretched 1-1.5%. For example, in a twelve foot room, a carpet would be cut and laid out touching all of the walls and then stretched and additional 2 inches. A power stretcher is required to attain this amount of stretch. This device attaches to the carpet and uses a long pole that extends to the opposite side of the room. An installer uses a lever to mechanically achieve the required stretch.
Unfortunately, many installers do not adhere to the written standards established by the Carpet & Rug Institute and try to save time using a knee kicker. This tool grabs the edge of a carpet and the installer uses his knee to jam the end of the tool to attempt to stretch the carpet. This fails to achieve the necessary stretch.
