Can you install a pole dancing pole on carpet? It’s incredibly common for pole dancers to install their own pole at home shortly after starting pole classes. One of the most common questions I get asked is: Will it damage my carpet!?
Contents
- Can You Install A Pole Dancing Pole On Carpet?
- Will A Dance Pole Damage The Carpet?
- Important Notes About Installing A Pole On Carpet
- Prevent Carpet Imprints Left By Poles
- How To Remove Carpet Dents Left By Poles
- Watch Out For Carpet Burn
- Final Thoughts: Dance Poles & Carpet
- Want to become an amazing pole dancer?
However, I lived in a rental at the time which was carpeted throughout. The carpet sucked and we hated it, but it was rented so any damages caused by my new pole were my responsibility.
But I wanted my pole up so badly.
My former apartment also had a textured popcorn ceiling which I’ve written a whole other article covering the issues that popcorn ceilings caused with pole dancing poles.
Can You Install A Pole Dancing Pole On Carpet?
Here’s what you need to know.
You can safely install a dance pole on your carpeted floor, but you should take into account the height of your carpet (and underlayment) when measuring the height of your room for your pole.
Carpet and underlayment could mean that you need to add 1-2″ to the height of your room when measured for your pole to fit correctly.
Carpeted rooms could be incorrectly measured as 1-2″ shorter than their true height – for home pole dancing poles, this is important as if the pole is too short – it can’t be installed at all!
When your pole is in its approximate place, the final step is to tighten it, the image below is of an X Pole Sport with its height adjuster cover uncovered.
This strong screw expands the height of the pole to make it secure – so you can see how it may flatten the fibres and loops of your carpet.
Will A Dance Pole Damage The Carpet?
Just like any form of heavy furniture, a pole dancing pole will leave a dent/imprint on your carpet where it was installed.
The extent of the imprint depends on what sort of carpet you have in your home. Low-pile carpets are less likely to get squished by your pole.
Low pile carpets have shorter fibers and a tighter weave, which makes them less prone to getting flattened by your pole. When your install your pole on a low pile carpet, the weight is distributed over a larger surface area, causing less pressure on individual fibers.
This means that the fibers are less likely to get squished down and lose their shape.
In contrast, high pile carpets have longer fibers and a looser weave, which makes them more susceptible to getting flattened by your pole. The longer fibers and looser weave allow the fibers to be more easily squished down, resulting in flattened fibers.
Important Notes About Installing A Pole On Carpet
However, there are some important things to take note of:
- Not all dance poles leave an imprint on your carpet. Floor-to-ceiling dance poles are held in place by pressure and do not require any drilling, but that pressure will flatten the fibers in your carpet over time.
- When measuring the height of your room to install a pole and you have carpet, make sure you add an extra 20-30mm to your measurement to allow for the height of your carpet and underlayment.
- Choose a freestanding pole if you’re worried about damage to your carpet. Freestanding dance poles are not held in place by pressure, but they have a large base so require more space. They will still leave an imprint but the base of a freestanding stage pole does not flatten the fibers as much as a floor-to-ceiling pole.
- Thicker, shag-pile carpets will show more damage than low-pile carpets. Low-pile carpets are made up of tight loops which do not get flattened by pressure as much as thicker rugs or carpets do.
Prevent Carpet Imprints Left By Poles
When you have a new carpet installed – keep a few of the scrap offcut pieces to place beneath your pole. The extra padding provided by the offcut piece of carpet can take the impact and protect the actual carpet underneath.
This is exactly what I did after getting new carpet laid – placed a folded offcut of carpet beneath the pole and it worked – there was no imprint left behind after removing it (and it was up to 2 and a half years!)
How To Remove Carpet Dents Left By Poles
There are a few different methods you could try for this:
Put Ice On The Carpet
Take a handful of ice cubs from your freezer and place them around the imprint.
You know when your hair goes flat, so you wash and dry it to restore its bounce and volume? This is the same thing – but for your carpet (sort of).
The idea behind using ice to remove carpet dents is that the ice will cause the fibers to contract and become more springy.
When the ice melts, the fibers will try to return to their original position, potentially causing the dent to lift. To use this method, you will need to place a few ice cubes on top of the dent and wait for them to melt.
As the ice melts, it will seep into the fibers and cause them to contract. Once the ice has completely melted, you can fluff the carpet fibers with a fork or your fingers to help them spring back into place.
While this method may not work for all types of carpet dents, it can be an effective way to remove minor dents caused by heavy furniture. Keep in mind that it may take a few tries to see results, and it’s always best to test this method in an inconspicuous area before trying it on a visible part of your carpet.
Try A Hairdryer
Another method you could try is with a hairdryer and a spray bottle filled with water.
Again, as the carpet dries, its fibres spring back into place after being compressed for so long. The fibres get saturated with water, then blown around with the warm air of the hairdryer to help restore their original shape.
Worth a try, right?
Hook The Loops Back Into Position
This is one for you if you have a lot of patience!
Use a hair grip or small object to hook each carpet loop back up into position. It will take several hours and may not work correctly, but it could be worth a try if it’s really important to restore your carpet to its original condition.
Watch Out For Carpet Burn
There’s something that we haven’t mentioned yet – carpet burn!
Pole dancing often involves a lot of floorwork. This means spending lots of time on your knees on the floor, which, when paired with bare legs, is not very comfortable at all.
As I’m sure you know, you need pole dancing shorts as you’ll need your legs to grip the pole. But, you’ll have to consider some legwarmers for pole dancing or knee pads to protect your knees when you’re pole dancing in a carpeted room.
Carpet burns feel similar to fresh tattoos – so be careful!
See also: How to treat pole dancing bruises and friction burns
Final Thoughts: Dance Poles & Carpet
It is generally safe to install a dance pole on carpet, but it is important to follow the manufacturer’s instructions and use the proper tools and techniques to ensure a secure and stable installation.
Depending on the type of carpet and the type of pole dancing pole you’ve got, you’ll need to be aware that an indentation or imprint will be left behind, but this can often be fixed with patience.
If your main barrier to installing a pole at home is your carpet – then rest assured that while it may not be perfect, there are ways around it and thousands of pole dancers use their pole in a carpeted room at home without any problems.
Myself included 😀
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