Dog Grooming Clippers and Trimmers
Clippers and trimmers; let’s be honest we couldn’t be a dog groomer without them and it is so important to keep them clean and working to enable us to continue doing our job to the best standard possible.
I must admit I am slightly OCD about keeping my dog clippers and blades clean and tidy and even have all my blades lined up in an amazing tool trolly in size order tucked neatly into tool foam! All my colleagues laugh at it but my clipper blades always last the longest because I look after them so well, so it actually saves me money in the long run as I don’t have to constantly replace them.
Everyone knows to not touch my Tool trolly otherwise grumpy Kayla comes out especially if a blade is left dirty… my biggest pet hate is picking up a blade that is full of hair or even worse poop!
Hygiene within the dog salon is very important, we wouldn’t brush our hair with a brush with 10 other people’s hair and skin in so the dogs shouldn’t have to have that either, plus clean equipment lasts longer than dirty misused equipment. I feel professional dog grooming equipment is very specialist and we all cut and groom differently, so I prefer having my own equipment…plus then if I damage it I know it’s my own fault.
I cannot rate the more, I LOVE them. They are an amazing workhorse pair of clippers with no wire to restrict movement, they come with 2 batteries and can clip through any coat! In my salon, I use a lot of attachment combs which just clip on easily. They are lightweight and heavy duty and even come in pink so what more could you want!
I am also slightly addicted to the which I use for things like groins, pads, eyes, inside ears. They have a 5 in 1 adjustable blade and attachment combs which are really helpful for the smaller clients and finer coats. I honestly couldn’t live without these 2 clippers and I have tried many any these both always come out on top.
Caring for them is important as we as dog groomers spend our time working hard to be able to buy nice equipment like this and there is nothing more heartbreaking than a broken pair of clippers or a blunt blade.
I clean my blades with the after every use and sometimes in between too. It cools, lubricates, cleans and disinfects so it really is an all-in-one spray. I find this really helps to keep my blades in a good condition and it’s the most powerful one I’ve used to so if you get hair clogged up in the blade the spray just shoots it out, along with a blade brush it’s a perfect combo.
The nice clean blades then get placed in my nice smart foam lined tool caddy for protection and organisation. Once a week I put them in and then them for extra protection and cleanliness.
Another thing to always check is the blade drive on your clippers. You can change this yourself which you can learn from Youtube videos, or your sharpener will also be able to do this when you send your clippers to be serviced. If the end of the blade drive is rounded it probably needs changing otherwise you risk your blades just popping off whilst you’re using them.
When you hear the horror stories of the attachment combs bouncing off the clippers and a 30F accidentally being run down fluffy’s back this is often the reason why. When your blade drive needs changing your clippers will become rattlier and this can damage your blades.
I aim to change my blade drive every 6 months but sometimes I have to change it at 4 months and sometimes I can stretch to 8 months depending on how much I have used my clippers but it’s definitely one of those things that will make a huge difference to your clippers.
When you send your blades for sharpening it's really important to send them to someone who is highly recommended in sharpening dog grooming equipment as it’s a very specialist service and to get the best of your equipment you must send it to the best. As for blades with missing teeth? Bin them! They are unsafe to use and for the sake of saying £30 for a new one, it’s not worth the risk on a dog which could cost you a lot more in a vet bill from using a broken blade.
Keep those clippers and blades clean so they can continue helping you do your job :D
Kayla
