At a recent tradeshow, we took all of our favorite pieces of grooming equipment. Our bathing tub with rotating ramp, our Hydraulic Bathing Tub which is always a favorite with groomers because it lifts up and down with a hand held remote, even our fanciest kennel with all the bells and whistles and most of the groomers gravitated straight to the floor grate and I have to say, I totally understood! I was a dog bather in my aunt’s dog grooming shop. From ages 13-15, I spent my summers wrestling all kinds of dogs, every size from Toy Poodle to Doberman and it wasn’t easy. Back then there were hardly any accessories and a bathing tub consisted of a standard human tub, raised off the ground somehow and it was a major back breaker, not to mention there were zero tie downs and now that I think about it, it was pretty unsafe. I do remember clogged hair slowing down the drainage in the tub and inevitably 90% of the dog was clean, except for the paws. These days bathing tubs have come so far, mainly because groomers demand options, ergonomics and the best value for their money. When you own and operate a business, you pay close attention to the bottom line so as manufacturers we had better be on our toes!
Our most popular tubs are designed with cross breaks, which are simply lines in the bottom of the dog bath, which the water will follow down to the drain. We also build our tubs with slope, so the tub floor deepens toward the drain to promote what we call “positive drainage”. If you’re working toward a tub with these types of features, but need a temporary solution, you could try a Floor Grate or a Raised Grate. Our standard grates are a combination of stainless steel and HDPE (high density polyethylene) both are fantastic for the wet application and are easy to clean. The HDPE is perforated so you don’t have standing water on the grate itself. The Floor Grate is ideal for larger breeds, it’s longer and sits only 2” off the tub floor for maximum stability. The Raised Grate is available in two heights, 9” and 11” and is perfect for smaller breeds.
So if you need to lift dogs out of standing water, try one of these elevating grates until you can get your hands on a well-draining tub!
Dog Grooming Floor Grate, for larger dogs, lifts them up and out of dirty water. Available in 2 sizes 48” x 24” & 38” x 24”
Raised Grate perfect for raising smaller dogs up and out of dirty water. Available in 2 sizes 20” x 20” x 11” & 24” x 19” x 9”
