Tuesdays Tip #44 Sprayer

I am not sure if this really qualifies as a tip, but here it goes anyway.

I don't know about other groomers out there, but I am always on the lookout for a good sprayer for bathing dogs.

There are three 'must haves' when I am picking out a sprayer.

 1~ It must have a shower setting.

I feel that the shower setting is a gentle setting, but still has enough pressure to do a good job rinsing.

Some shower settings on some sprayers seem to have more pressure than others.

This sprayer has a wide, round shower setting.

 

2~ It must have a pressure regulator.

I used the pressure regulator a lot!

I love being able to lighten the pressure of the spray for dogs that are scared, or elderly, or puppies.

The lower I can get it the pressure the better

 3~ It must have the on/off lever under the sprayer, not behind.

I have issues with my hands.

My hands tend to cramp up if I have to hold something tightly for any amount of time.

I am sure that this issue was caused by years of brushing and de-matting coats before the bath.

I spent hours and hours and hours brushing dogs in my early years of grooming. :/

Sprayers that have the on/off lever on the back of the sprayer require your hand to squeeze harder then when the lever is on the the front, under the sprayer head.

I also like a sprayer that is not too big and bulky.

The sprayer above is similar to the one I have been using the last couple of years.

Unfortunately, these sprayers don't stand up very well to being used for 8 to 9 hours a day, all day, five days a week.

We seem to go through 2 to 3 a year.

They are also considered a seasonal item for the stores, even home improvement stores.

So I stock up on them every spring.

This past spring I could not find the sprayer that I have been buying anywhere.

All of the ones in the stores had the on/off lever in the back.

We found one very cheaply made sprayer that had a locking front lever.

That sprayer worked okay, but only lasted about 2 months.

I was getting desperate.

A few weeks ago I made a trip to my local country hardware store to see what they had.

I found the sprayer in the pictures above.

It was not exactly like the one I had been using, but it was close.

The only problem was that it came in a three pack with two other sprayers.

Two other sprayers that I couldn't use, or need.

I bought three sets anyway.

Remember, I said that I was desperate.

The cheap sprayer that we were using was starting to blowup.

I was threatening to steal sprayers off of my Self-Serve tubs.

Well, someone was looking out for me. :)

You know how you seem to find things when you least expect to?

Sunday my son and I were out doing my Sunday round-a-round shopping.

We stopped in a Sporting store that is next to the old Grocery store that I used to go to all of the time, until their prices skyrocketed last year.

Anyway, as we were leaving the Sporting store, I decided to walk down to my old Grocery store to pick up some insulated grocery bags.

Right there by the front door was a garden display.

They had sprayers!

Sprayers that I had not seen before!

No, they didn't have the one that I had been looking for.

They had a different kind of sprayer that did not have the usual on/off lever.

The shower setting was also different from any I had seen before.

My son and I debated whether of not to buy one and try it.

I decided that it would not hurt to try it.

The sprayer was made by a very well known company that makes a lot of different tools and small appliances.

The sprayer also felt very sturdy and well made.

I LOVE IT!

Look, no on/off handle.

The pressure regulator is also the on/ off lever.

Nothing to squeeze!

Whoopee!

The shower setting is not a wide circle around the head of the sprayer like the other sprayers.

It is a small square at the top of the sprayer.

I almost didn't buy this sprayer because of that.

So the water only shoots from the top  of the sprayer.

 But, it spreads out into a nice spray with a lot of power.

  Pushing the regulator up turns the sprayer on.

 At the same time, how far up you push the regulator lever up, depends on the water pressure that you desire.

A very low, soft pressure for faces, scary dogs, elderly dogs and puppies.

This  is the pressure up a little more than half way.

This pressure was great for rinsing this Bichon.

That little square spray still covers a nice area.

Rinsing was very quick.

The dog was also very comfortable.

I loved the pressure of the shower setting.

I can't wait to use it with the pressure turned all of the way up on a large, thick, double coated dog.

I haven't had this kind of pressure in a garden sprayer in a long time, if ever.

I like the sprayer so much that I went back to the store after work today and bought the sprayers that they had left.

Five of them at $8 a piece.

I am stashing them away.

For us, not the Self-Serve. ;)

I will use the other sprayers that I bought, a couple of weeks ago, to replace the sprayers in the Self-Serve when needed. :)

I tried to find the sprayers on-line in case anyone would like to try one, but I could not find them anywhere.

I found them at the Weis Grocery here in Maryland.

If you have a Department store that carries Black and Decker tools, they may carry this sprayer.

I think that sprayers are kind of like clippers and scissors, not every groomer likes what another groomer uses, but for $8 it would not hurt to try it if you find one.

I think you would like it. :)

UPDATE:

Thanks to MissMarie, here is a link to the sprayer.
It comes with another sprayer on this website and costs a little more than what I stated above, but I still think that it is worth checking out.  

Happy Grooming, MFF