I love my dog. Since being a brat who never understood how hard it is to actually care for animals, I’ve gone through a trial by fire as a veterinary assistant/grooming assistant for many years who had to care for many animals. One of the first realizations is how hard it is to clean up after them, especially the adopted pet community commonly brought to the clinic I worked for.
The cleaning aspect was worse at home where I owned a Siberian Husky (RIP) that let off more fur than the entire flock of animals brought into the clinic. This is where the Redroad P17 Pet Groomer and Vacuum comes into play. Redroad boasts 6-in-1 functionality in the small frame introduced by the pet grooming kit, and while I initially had some reservations, I came away surprised with its functionality.
Everyone knows there is no such thing as ‘perfect clean’ when it comes to pet ownership, and Redroad understands this by its self-proclaimed “99%” pet hair removal guarantee. The Redroad P17 Pet Groomer comes with the pleasantly designed quiet pet vacuum itself that runs at three separate speeds, a 1.3L dust cup that collects pet hair so you don’t have to while grooming, an attachable grooming tool that functions as a clipper and hair removal service, a metal mesh-based filtration system complete with a HEPA filter built in and cleaning tools to clean everything outside of the pet itself.
My initial first impression of the Redroad P17 Pet Groomer was skepticism. How can this small vacuum help weather the storm against the insidious advancing horde of pet hair? First things first, the kit comes with many attachments to tailor fit to your pet of choice. My subject of this test (and newly adopted dog), Betty, had her work cut out for her in behaving while the vacuum did its job. Like the YEEDI robot vacuum, Betty acclimated quickly to the Redroad, and after the initial noise shook her confidence, the realization she ‘wasn’t in danger’ let the Redroad’s almost calm vacuum noise become a non-issue.
The Redroad P17 Pet Groomer and Vacuum assembles smartly, with each attachment innovatively clipping onto the head of the vacuum with a small twist. This is a great design choice. Most pet owners who don’t double as technology-savvy will have no issues opening the box and figuring things out. There is an included instruction manual that holds the user’s hand if needed, but the Redroad P17 Pet Groomer is very self-explanatory, and I love that approach. A bonus is the onboard wireless battery operated nature of the vacuum. Previously, I helped with clients using wired and unwieldy appliances, and going wireless was a godsend.
Initially Betty was frightened by the Redroad P17, but after leaving it on for a spell, she grew tolerant of the device, and the same can be said when utilizing the groomer aspect of the vacuum. I noticed instantly the high speed on the vacuum was excellent for cleaning corners of rooms, under baseboards and brushing excess fur off my couch, but for direct-to-Betty contact, the Redroad P17 did its best work on the mild first strength setting.
“The Redroad P17 Pet Groomer and Vacuum assembles smartly, with each attachment innovatively clipping onto the head of the vacuum with a small twist.”
It’s amazing the vacuum’s functionality works as well as it does, and watching the clear chamber of the dust cup fill with her errant invading fur was euphoric. Knowing the fur that would now be held within the cleanable removal chamber instead of all over the floor and furniture felt good, and knowing time spent scooping Betty-shedding off the floor would be cut down a good measure.
The low-power mode was acceptable enough to de-shed a good portion of Betty’s Corgi-like undercoat, but I can tell using this tool for a long-haired dog like my late-Siberian Husky would be a challenge. The small chamber for fur-collection would fill instantly and become harder to manage than just doing a whole-body rake. The Redroad has a neat feature where the power button glows different colours when the different settings are in play. I found it obvious it was on the high setting due to the noise produced, but for the hearing impaired, the light notifier is a good addition for accessibility.
The large amount of attachments included with the vacuum all come with a handy travel bag so you can store and bring out the device when necessary. The onboard filtration system for dog fur is a good inclusion for those who have mild to severe allergies, as the suction from the vacuum itself can rid homes of a good amount of allergens from floors, carpets and furniture.
It’s magical how easily the fur detaches from the couch without lifting the coverings, and the Redroad P17 Pet Groomer could be labelled with a new feature, ‘furniture cleaner’ with how efficient it is. The clippers included also do a phenomenal job of clipping and immediately vacuuming fur. I found the clippers mild and sensitive, and caused no issues with itchiness that could be associated with closer skin contact.
“…the Redroad P17 Pet Groomer is very self-explanatory, and I love that approach.”
The biggest downside I noticed about the Redroad P17 Pet Groomer is the brush attachment. It has flimsy spokes that barely get through any animal fur, and left Betty’s coat fuller than I’d have liked. I remedied this by keeping Betty in a small setting (the bathroom), and brushing her out with a separate hand brush, to then vacuum the sheddings with the Redroad P17. The brush attachment might work on smaller breeds effectively, or breeds with curlier fur, but with the stiff fur Betty has equipped, it was next-to-useless.
The Redroad P17 Pet Groomer and Vacuum is a nifty device. It has many things working for it with accessibility and multiple forms of functionality that can help a pet owner keep their living space clean and free of the invading pet hair forces. The included three-speed design is innovative and respects the needs of more fractious animals from lunging at their owners in defiance. Wireless capabilities are momentous and allow the vacuum to go with the owner, and not the owner being tethered to a single socket.
The shortcomings of the brush attachment and a relatively small collection container are shortcomings that can be remedied easily enough with items the pet owner already likely has. The Redroad P17 Pet Groomer is a good device for those with animals, but might fall short when used for breeds with longer fur or bigger breeds in general.
