# Built my own recirculating bathing system



## Aidan (Mar 4, 2009)

I wanted one for awhile ever since Cameo posted that she made hers for a fraction of what the pre-made ones cost. The bathing beauty by Hanvey is about $450-500 or so and I made mine for about $100. I used it today to wash everyone including my cat (which you will see in the video).

I absolutely love how the results rinse worked through it on Dodger. I wish I had a photo of her but I didn't have my camera around when I did her. I only got the idea to post about it on the forums when doing my cat. 

Anyway..it works great..it's a huge time saver and I will love it for the big doodles and sheepdogs that come in. I use so much less product as well. I used maybe one squirt of Aminoflex shampoo to do Dodger and just a little bit of results rinse went a very long way.

Vega was horribly filthy..I had to do him twice..lol, he's been playing in the rain. Even two baths on Vega was faster than doing one by hand.

I love this thing...so glad Cameo made that post. I hope this will last a very long time.



Oh, and the blue bucket in that vid isn't serving a purpose really. I rinsed it out and used it to pre-rinse her with the recirc since it gets better water pressure than my shower-head...so I was able to get about 95% of the shampoo out of her by placing the pump in there with clean water and rinsing her..and then I ran my showerhead over her for a second or two just to make sure no suds were left. That's all that was there for.



















My kitty, Mac, all finished! She's rubbing up on the chair. I also force-dried her. She is very used to grooming! I adopted her from the shelter and she was filthy..stuck her right in the tub..I was preparing for a war but she did just fine..and has been great for bathing ever since. She even has all of her claws as well..but she has never scratched me.









She still loves me too!


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## Cameo (Feb 5, 2010)

MAC looks so great! She also looks so much like my Priss Puss (RIP). 

Glad the recirc works for you  I've had mine for over two years and it's still works just as good as the day I set it up!


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## Aidan (Mar 4, 2009)

Mac is the best cat i've ever had...and I am definitely NOT a cat person. About two years ago now I had to have my cat put to sleep. He was about 16 years old..wonderful cat. I found him when I was young and my parents let me keep him. I had a lemonaide stand to raise money for his shots and my parents had me do odd jobs around the house to "pay" for him to be neutered, etc... he was 100% my responsibility. I wanted him so bad and my parents made sure I did what I could to contribute to keeping him. 

It was a great learning experience on how much animals really do cost! I miss him all the time..he wasn't a very friendly cat..he only liked me and maybe my dad. He woul hiss and scratch strangers..but I loved him to pieces. I cried all the way to the vet when I had to have him put down and all the way home and I still cry when I find photos of him or his old cat toys that he never played with.









Socks with my old roommates Husky mix. They really liked eachother for some strange reason.

My boyfriend dragged me to the shelter to look at cats because he knew I was miserable without Socks. We were just about to leave because I couldn't find any that felt like I would get attached to. Like I said..i'm not really a cat person. However, he picked up this one cat that was hiding inside a box and she just started rolling around in his arms, rubbing on his chin and just being a big ham. I fell in love with her and instantly took her home.

She's been a great cat ever since. Her original name was Marie...but her first night at the house I made some easy-mac and got up to get a drink...she snuck in and ate the whole thing! So, that's her name. Easy-Mac.


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## Cameo (Feb 5, 2010)

what a great story 

I too, got my priss puss at the shelter, but my husband (NOT a cat person) went looking for one of our beagles that had went missing. He didn't find the dog, but there was this momma cat and a litter of kittens. He said this ONE kitten just spoke to him. He came home telling me all about it and knew I had been wanting one for some time. He told me I should go down there and get it (if I wanted it, lol). I asked him how I'd know which one it was and he said "you'll know" Shore nuff, that little kitten raised her head up from behind momma (all the others kept nursing) and I KNEW. She was just as he describe her and I honestly felt it was FATE that we found her. She was the only cat that he ever allowed in the house at that point. 

She lived about 6 years with us until she was poisioned (by who we think was our neighbor). She's still with us, but now she's safe in a small ceramic box that I made when I was 6 years old. I miss her terribly and I haven't had a cat since like her.


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## Karma'sACat (Jun 1, 2010)

Could you direct me to Cameo's post? I tried to search for it but my search words aren't finding it.
Anything that can make bathing easier and faster is a huge benefit for me! I haven't been able to bathe Lola lately because it is too hard and while I love my groomer and she charges me less than regular rate, I like to be able to do it at home if need be (like when she rolled I poison ivy, which I am extremely allergic to)
And wow, what a gorgeous cat! I have an orange tabby who looks similar that is my heart cat, although she is a huge brat to everyone else but my dad. My other cat is probably the best cat I've ever owned. She is a Turkish Angora (we think, someone put her in a box and left her in our driveway) and loves everyone and is extremely intelligent. She has her therapy cat test in February and I am so excited.


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## Aidan (Mar 4, 2009)

This is Cameos thread: It's not hers originally, but she had replied to a question someone else asked. That may have made it more difficult to find.

http://www.poodleforum.com/9-poodle-grooming/7586-something-i-can-do-home.html


Here is another site I used when making mine:

Recirculator


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## Karma'sACat (Jun 1, 2010)

Thank you!


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## Aidan (Mar 4, 2009)

This is after Dodger's bath. I noticed a huge difference between using the results rinse normally from a bottle and putting it in the recirc. She has a very flat, soft coat..and this gave it texture and made it really fluff out. I didn't even get her all the way dry as I was running out of time and she takes awhile to dry..she still fluffed out great.

She really needs to be groomed soon. Lately i've just been shaving face/feet and giving her a bath/brush. I haven't taken hair off of her in almost two months it seems.


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## BFF (Jun 10, 2009)

I seriously need to do this. I started bathing Zulee in the kitchen sink because I don't have a spare bathtub right now. Once we get some remodeling done, I will make one too.

Here's a link to a thread I started a long time ago about getting a good rinse. Cameo posted pictures here and a page or two more described how to make it and all the parts you need to get. There were some other great comments and links too.

http://www.poodleforum.com/9-poodle-grooming/5843-how-do-you-get-good-rinse-2.html


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## bigpoodleperson (Jul 14, 2009)

Ok, i have some stupid questions!!  I think this is an Ingenious idea!! So, do you rinse them with the same system too? Where do you get the fresh, non soapy water? So when you put a few inches of water in the bottom, you just dump a small amount of shampoo into the whole tub? It then gets sucked up by the unit, mixed with water and hosed on the dog? 
The pump Sits in the water? How much chance is it to electrify the dog? Do they make 5' hoses? What type of spray model did you use? Where do you get a grate for the tub? How high of water pressure does it produce? THANKS!!!


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## Cameo (Feb 5, 2010)

bigpoodleperson said:


> Ok, i have some stupid questions!!  I think this is an Ingenious idea!! So, do you rinse them with the same system too? Where do you get the fresh, non soapy water? So when you put a few inches of water in the bottom, you just dump a small amount of shampoo into the whole tub? It then gets sucked up by the unit, mixed with water and hosed on the dog?
> The pump Sits in the water? How much chance is it to electrify the dog? Do they make 5' hoses? What type of spray model did you use? Where do you get a grate for the tub. How high of water pressure does it produce? THANKS!!!


Let me see if I can answer these question point by point 



bigpoodleperson said:


> So, do you rinse them with the same system too? Where do you get the fresh, non soapy water?


I use my regular hose for rinsing, but if you don't have a hose set up at home, you can just use a large bucket placed under the fresh RUNNING tap faucet with you pump down in the bucket. This will draw up the fresh water and allow you to rinse with clean water that is constantly refreshing. 



bigpoodleperson said:


> So when you put a few inches of water in the bottom, you just dump a small amount of shampoo into the whole tub? It then gets sucked up by the unit, mixed with water and hosed on the dog?


Yes, exactly! This method allows you to use little shampoo, yet get the dog REALLY clean all the way down to the skin. It also allows you to get it done faster and more efficently because you don't have to pre-wet before shampooing AND it makes it A LOT easier to rinse without the fear of leaving shampoo in the coat.



bigpoodleperson said:


> The pump Sits in the water? How much chance is it to electrify the dog?


Yes, you are using a SUBMERSIBLE pump that is a sealed unit and made for being completely submerged in water. BUT, I always advise you use a GFIC outlet to plug the unit into. This way, if there IS some type of power surge, it will knock the circuit off, thus eliminating any chance of being electrocuted. Most modern homes are required to have these outlets anywhere there is a water source (ie:bathrooms and kitchens) and each outlet is to be label as such and will have a lttle reset button on them. 



bigpoodleperson said:


> Do they make 5' hoses?


Yes, if you look in Lowe's or Home depot (or any garden type store), you will find what's called a leader hose. I've only found them in 6', but that works great for me.



bigpoodleperson said:


> What type of spray model did you use?


I assume you mean the sprayer part of the unit. I got one off a watering wand and you can find them on the Dramm website. They are called water breakers. I actually enlarged the size of the holes to allow for a harder flow out of the nozzle. You can also buy the Hydrosurge nozzle directly from the company. 



bigpoodleperson said:


> Where do you get a grate for the tub?


I use a closetmaid grid, but you can find tub grates thru many grooming supply places. I find it necessary when you are using a recirculating unit to keep the dog up out of the soapy water and to ensure you get the dog thoroughly rinsed (especially the feet).




bigpoodleperson said:


> How high of water pressure does it produce?


PLENTY!!! It's really great for really blasting thru coat and getting down to the skin. If you have low water pressure in your home or salon, this is BY far the best way to get around that problem. 

Hope this helps


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## bigpoodleperson (Jul 14, 2009)

Thanks alot Cameo!! You answered everything wonderfullly and in great detail.  One more though. Is the water pressure too high to flush the ears with it?


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## Cameo (Feb 5, 2010)

mine is because I don't have a flow regulator. i just use the manual method for doing ears and rinse/flush with my regular sprayer that I can regulate. Works fine for me, but at some point, I may add a flow regulator on my recirc.


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## Kloliver (Jan 17, 2012)

Cameo said:


> MAC looks so great! She also looks so much like my Priss Puss (RIP).
> 
> Glad the recirc works for you  I've had mine for over two years and it's still works just as good as the day I set it up!


Were you able to get your hands on an air switch pedal? Any tips/ links for finding one?

Wld it be _too_ much trouble to take a picture of it set up on the floor & plugged in so I can eyeball the necessary components for purchase? :act-up:


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## PoodlePowerBC (Feb 25, 2011)

This is fabulous!!! I am so getting this together! We pay for water in our city, so this is the cat's meow  I am currently using a Booster Bath tub, so it will be easy peasy to set up with it.


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## Kloliver (Jan 17, 2012)

*Found 'em!*



Kloliver said:


> Were you able to get your hands on an air switch pedal? Any tips/ links for finding one?


Foot Operated Air Switch :: Dryers :: Midwest Grooming Supplies

Foot Switch, Air Switch Operation, Black - Foot Switches - Switches - 1AGP7 : Grainger Industrial Supply


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## Ladyscarletthawk (Dec 6, 2011)

PoodlePowerBC said:


> This is fabulous!!! I am so getting this together! We pay for water in our city, so this is the cat's meow  I am currently using a Booster Bath tub, so it will be easy peasy to set up with it.


I made a recirc but since we moved and dont have laundry sink that worked great for it.. Anyway I was going to get a booster bath groomers edition.. I wanted to now if you have this edition and when you get your recirc will it fit when you set it up for the small dogs.


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