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DysonAnimal

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Oct 5, 2010
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When dogs lick their coats to clean themselves, proteins from their saliva are left behind on the hair. Some people are allergic to these proteins, and suffer adverse reactions from exposure to them. Even for those without allergies, dog hair can be a problem - when dogs aren't groomed regularly, their loose hair soon gets spread around the home onto carpeting, clothing and furniture, whilst some becomes airbourne. Traditionally, vacuum manufacturers have focussed on developing tools to remove the hair from surfaces around the home, but it seems more logical to find a way of making it easier to remove the excess hair from the dog itself, helping prevent the problem before it starts.

Traditional grooming brushes and combs help remove loose hair, but they vary in effectiveness, and usually require cleaning after use - resulting in further dispersion of the hair around the room.

So Dyson's engineers spent over a year developing Groom. Protected by over 20 worldwide patents, Groom is a self-cleaning dog vacuum-brush, which draws the hair directly from the dog into the cleaner. In the video above, you can see one of Dyson's engineers from the team that created Groom explaining a little more about the problem, and how they arrived at a solution (and also a few VERY cute dogs!!).

And if you're just keen to see Groom in action, watch this video below:

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Here's a very early prototype from the development stage - over 40 different designs were considered, which were then narrowed down to 20. These were trialled at home by Dyson staff, and the feedback went back to the engineers to help fine-tune the design.

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How it works:

The user deploys the stainless steel slicker bristles by holding down the thumb trigger. They then brush the dog as with a regular grooming brush. Whilst a very small amount of suction is directed through the appeture on the underplate of the tool, most of it is vented through a bleed-valve at the front, which helps draw in any loose hair surrounding the brush, preventing it from becoming airbourne.

Once the bristles are loaded with hair, the user holds the brush away from the dog and releases the trigger. The bristles pop back behind the underplate whilst the full suction of the cleaner is diverted through the lower appeture, pulling the hair into the cleaner.

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Obviously the launch was well-attended by journalists from dog-related publications and blogs, and some of them brought their pets with them! The little puppy on the right was only 10 weeks old!

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If you have allergies to pet hair-this tool would be best used with a HEPA bagged vacuum-When you dump the Dyson-or other bagless vacuum-you release all of those alergens you just vacuumed from the pet!A bagged machine-esp with a Filtrete type bag would contain them.Wonder if this tool could fit other vacuum cleaners.Would be nice.and in the last scene of the dog being vacuumed--his freind coming on set for his turn!
 
tolivac - yes, bags some have some advantages when it comes to hygienic disposal of dirt, but bags also have drawbacks. Neither system is perfect. There are many Dyson owners with allergies, who do not experience a problem when emptying them. Buyers are free to make that judgement for themselves.

Groom is only designed for use with Dyson cleaners, and will not fit other brands.

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Looks interesting, it really made the hair disappear fast when the comb teeth went up into the tool.

I wonder how one would use that with their Motorhead line of canisters.
 
The tan colored dog in the third video strongly resembles my sister's dog, which sheds like there's no tomorrow. I'll have to recommend this tool (and a new Dyson vacuum) to them (they don't currently have a Dyson, but will probably soon be in the market for a new vacuum).
 
I saw this a few days ago on the Dyson UK site...

I think it looks really cool! I'd love to try it on my dog (although he's short-haired, he sheds like crazy). I wondered if the suction was diverted at least partially to the front slot while grooming the dog... thanks Jack for pointing that out!

Gotta' hand it to Dyson to come out with some nifty accessory unlike any ever seen for a vacuum. Their intentional originality always has me looking forward to seeing their next big product. I hope it comes to America!

It's odd that it says it isn't compatible with either hand vac. My DC24 and DC16 had interchangeable attachments. Maybe Dyson is worried that the hand vac doesn't have enough suction to pull in the hair (or maybe they're worried the hand vac will scare the dog!).

Here's a pic of my dog, Indy. A beagle-terrier mix!

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Hi Corey,

you'll be glad to hear that 'Groom' will be available in America from January 2011. And I agree with you about being excited by 'the next big project' - it's nice to see a company that cares enough about it's products to really experiment with and launch ambitious new technology - we can only imagine about what they've worked on that hasn't made it to market! Reminds me of the great cleaners of the late 1910s - 1930s, when the big companies were run by engineers, not marketeers, and vac-design was at it's most exciting (in my opinion...)!

Dyson are in the process of doubling their engineering team, and they're not taking on all these new scientists and engineers solely for developing new vacuum cleaners, so there should be plenty of exciting future projects to look forward to!

The reason that the Groom tool isn't recommended for the handhelds is that you have to hold down the trigger on top of Groom to deploy the bristles while you're using it - this gives you sensory feedback about how much pressure you're applying to the dog's coat, as well as controlling the length of the bristles. It also means that the bristles are protected behind the underplate when it's not in use, preventing damage if dropped. However, holding down the Groom trigger, whilst also holding down the handheld's on/off trigger and trying to manipulate the cleaner around a dog, would be quite a clumsy operation! And perhaps Dyson were concerned that large amounts of bulky loose dog hair would fill up the bin too quickly.

Indy's very cute - such amazing eyes!! :)

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Now that you mention it Jack...

Having to hold down both the trigger on the hand vac, and the button on the groom tool would be a bit awkward (the extra extension hose might help though). Vacuuming a really shaggy dog could fill the little dirt cup quickly (I didn't consider that, but it makes perfect sense).

As a side note I really like my Dyson hand vac. I've had it over a year now, and it is by far the best rechargeable hand vacuum I have ever used. I have a fantastic extra set of tools with it, and it's so handy! I like it for dusting, stairs, furniture, and of course my car. Cleaning out a car with the Dyson really does a respectable job, and if I do it often enough, I can beat my DC16's 6 minute charge! Last winter, when I didn't want to haul out a full size sweeper, it was my go-to vac for car-cleaning. I actually just used it this afternoon on the car, and forgot how well the stiff-bristle brush works on my Prizm's stubborn carpeting!

Being able to just dump the dirt out, and not have to worry about tapping off a linty filter is very satisfying. I've had to clean the filters probably every four months in mine, but it's very quick and easy.
 
Not to stray too far off topic, but re: cordless handhelds...

"As a side note I really like my Dyson hand vac. I've had it over a year now, and it is by far the best rechargeable hand vacuum I have ever used."

That's a good thing to hear. It also makes me think about the rechargeables that I've had in the past. I think I only had one, from ages ago - an 80's DustBuster :D It's been dead for over a decade now and I haven't replaced it with anything. Are there any good cordless handheld options besides the Dyson nowadays? I haven't really been looking but I haven't seen (m)any in ads.

I remember changing batteries in the DustBuster when they originally died out. It didn't suck much, and didn't hold much dirt but it was convenient. It's good to see how much progress has been made since then. Although the Dyson battery life is short, I guess you could always get another battery pack if you needed.
 

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