Whether you have been grooming for a while or only just recently decided to take on the task yourself at home there are some basics you need to know. How to maintain, sharpen, clean, and oil dog clipper blades at home.
This is a task that seems daunting and drives many people to continue going to the groomers every six weeks or so. Many people have taken on the task of grooming at home and as soon as the clippers go dull they give up.
Don’t be one of the many who gives up. We promise clipper maintenance can be near painless!
Clipper maintenance starts from day one. Take note of the brand you’ve purchased and know that some require different maintenance routines.
Whatever brand you’ve purchased you should have a set of instructions included. Read these thoroughly! Here it will give you specifics such as: “Never remove the blade except for replacement.”
In these instructions should also include some information on what parts or repairable, and what is replaceable.
There are three primary aspects to basic maintenance. What are they?
These three primary maintenance steps can lead to long-lasting clippers and long-lasting blades.
Long-lasting blades aren’t just great for your budget. Sharp blades are great for your dog’s coat and make every grooming session so much easier.
Blades can be sharpened by authorized service providers. How do you find out where one is? Contact your groomer. Most they will know a refutable blade sharpener and may even have on that stops by regularly.
We don’t recommend sharpening blades on your own. Blades are expensive enough as it is. The tools to sharpen blades are expensive. Overall it isn’t worth it.
This is the part you can do on your own, at home and without worry of ruining your blades. Start out with a bowl about half full of a wash solution for your blades. It is important to use a solution instead of just soap and water.
When you are using a good blade wash solution you are severely limiting the amount of rust or build up you could build up. Is it still possible? Yes, but very unlikely compared to the warm water and soap option.
With your blade wash solution, submerge part of your clipper into the solution. Dip your clipper in until the blades are slightly under the surface and turn the clippers on. Let the clippers run for a few seconds at a time.
You should be able to see the excess hair and dirt running out between the bursts in the solution.
As you see the solution around your blades running cleaner pull them out of the blade wash solution. Dry them with a towel and leave them out to air dry.
Some brands may recommend disassembling the top portion of the blade so all the blade area is exposed. This isn’t necessary but can limit the likelihood of rust building.
After you have a nice dry, clean, set of clippers give them a spray with a good disinfectant spray. This will ensure that your clippers are being put away clean and ready for their next use.
Not after every use, but after every couple of uses, you will want to oil your blade. This will keep the entire mechanism functioning at its peak efficiency.
Is there a set time frame on how often blades should be oiled? Blades really should not go more than two months without being oiled. If you’re grooming your pup at home once a month then this should work out to every other use.
If your pup has a lot of furs or you are particular about how their coat is cut and groom them more often feel free to go a few uses between oiling.
This is the easiest part of clipper maintenance! After you find oil that is recommended for the band of clippers you have all you have to do is apply.
Okay, it is a little more than just applying. So, after you have cleaned and disinfected your clippers turn your clippers on.
Then while they are running drip a few drops (usually between three and five) between the blades. You should see some extra oil runoff which is fine.
After you have applied the clipper oil place your dog clippers onto a dry towel to dry for a bit. Since it is the oil I wouldn’t expect to see your clippers get extraordinarily dry right away.
What you do not want to do here is to rub the oil. Also, don’t try to blot away any excess oil. Just let it soak it all in!
That’s everything you need to know about keeping your blades and your whole clipper unit in its peak condition.
Always remember to handle your clipper and your blades cautiously and carefully. During maintenance is one of the few times that you’ll be working with the clippers while they are running but not being used for grooming purposes.
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