Created by dog owners for dog
owners
Manufacturer:
Wicked or What!
Reviewed by:
Emma Collings, Karen
Colls & Sue White
 Description:
The CarPet Hair
Remover is a hand held device designed to lift, gather and remove pet hairs from carpets and
upholstery in the home, car and caravan.
 Main Features
-
Lifts and gathers dog and cat hairs
-
Easy to clean - can be washed under the
tap
-
Can be used at home, car or caravan etc.
-
Convenient size
-
Bright colour can easily be seen at the
back of a cupboard
-
Small and easy to store in
glove-box, cupboard, or caravan
Background
We asked for volunteers with multi-dog
packs to try out this simple device and let us know the results via a virtual roundtable. Meet
our reviewers.
Karen Colls:
I own three border collies - all handsome (of course) and very long haired. They travel everywhere in my
car, often leaving hair which, if you have the window open, blows all over the place. They are
also allowed upstairs and often sleep half up the stairs or on the landing. This causes me
much work trying to get the hairs out of the carpet.
Emma Collings: I wanted to
review the CarPet Hair Remover as, like Karen, I have three hairy border collies. I have an excellent start in
providing a hairy car! It is already waiting to be cleaned and be hair free
Sue White:
I have lots of hairy dogs, too - and a
new vehicle. Dog hairs and cars don't go together.
What we liked about the product:
Emma
Collings: As
the product was suggested for use in the car, I thought I would try it out first with the back
of my Estate. The boot is lined with the manufacturer's hard-wearing carpet that has been
ingeniously designed to attract and secure dog hair. It's always been difficult to clean using
a vacuum cleaner. The best results up to this point had been achieved by using sticky rollers,
but I end up using the entire roll and that creates a lot of waste - not very green!
I was pleasantly surprised at how
effectively the product cleaned up the boot lining, and slightly disturbed by the amount of
hair my dogs leave around! I moved on to attack the cabin of the car. However, the car seats
are covered with a velour type of upholstery and the CarPet struggled to pick up the dog hairs.
My guess is that the small rubber protrusions (nobbly bits!) on the CarPet act like teeth on a
comb when used on this surface, and so best results were seen when an area was wiped again at
right-angles to the original direction.
Karen Colls:
I liked the CarPet Hair Remover because it is lightweight
and easy to hold in your hand. You don't need to use a lot of pressure to
remove the hairs. It is so small that it fits nicely in the
store cupboard. We used it successfully on all materials in
the car, stair carpet, pet blankets and fleeces, reducing the number of hairs going into the
washing machine.
Sue White It
works instantly without any cleaning agents or liquids. It is easy to clean off gathered
hair and bin it. If it gets dirty, the Pet Hair Remover can be washed with warm water and
soap easily.
What could be improved?
Emma
Collings:
Would
I use the CarPet in the home instead of a vacuum cleaner? No way! There are not enough
hours in the day! But on a small area, such as a caravan or car boot, this is the perfect tool.
Sue White:
I thought it was quite small for large surfaces.
Karen Colls:
Yes, I agree. If you are using it on large areas, it could do with
having a handle as your hand does start to cramp up
Sue White:
The rubberised surface is fine for
using on carpets but I think it could wear or mark clothing.
Karen Colls:
It was easy to get into corners but not so good
with curved edges. If using on large surfaces, it can roll in your
hand which can break the odd nail, if you care about that kind of thing.
Emma
Collings: One last warning. It does look very
similar to some dog chew toys. When presented to my three Collies, there was very 'keen' interest in
the CarPet even though we maintain a toy-free home.
Mich, my mischievous boy thought he would
try to demonstrate the usefulness of the nobbly bits by trying to grab them with his teeth! at
this point I removed the CarPet from sight of the dogs as I wish to keep this useful gadget in
my caravan where it will definitely get lots of use!
What did you think of the design?
The Car-Pet Hair Remover is a
square, orange latex rubber tube with pimpled surface. Size: 5cm x5cm x16cm
Emma
Collings:
It is a simple design that works well.
The CarPet's
design means that it is easy and comfortable to hold. It requires only gentle pressure during
the wiping motion, and is a sensible size and shape to clean larger areas while still being able
to reach into the small corners.
Sue White:
The reinforced inner is there to hold shape,
allowing you to be able to get into corners and edges as well as four flat surfaces.
Emma
Collings:: Good design
and quality. Bright orange, easily noticed. Light-weight, yet strong and durable. Rubber and
plastic construction means it is easily washed which I believe would be necessary after a time.
I cannot think of anything in particular that
would make it any better.
Karen Colls:
The bright orange colouring makes it easy to find.
Outer Packaging:
Sue White: Simply attached to a piece of card,
with plastic tie. Careful to discard this as tie could be dangerous to dogs if swallowed.
Price: £5.95
+ delivery + VAT
Does this product represent value for money?
Karen Colls:
Good. It was so easy to use that even my
five year
old nephew could use it. He loved doing the whole of the stairs.
Emma Collings:
Yes, it is affordable and will
last a long time, therefore it is good value for money. I was pleasantly surprised at how
effectively the product cleaned up the boot lining, and slightly disturbed by the amount of
hair my dogs leave around!
Overall rating:
Emma
Collings: Definitely 9/10
because it does work> However if you keep your dog on velour type seats, you may find not so
useful (but a vacuum cleaner would work easily). It is useful and effective for the home and
caravan, too. I work within the dog training industry and
am in a good position to recommend such products to other dog enthusiasts.
Karen Colls:
I would give it 9/10, too.
especially
as it reduced the time it takes me to de-fur my
stairs by a third giving me more time for having fun with the dogs.
Sue White:
7/10
Available from Wicked or
What! or
on-line from
Agility Warehouse
About
the Reviewers...
Emma Collings
is the Proprietor of School for Paws Dog
Training in Shrewsbury, Shropshire and is also a Victoria Stilwell Positively dog trainer. She
works full time running workshops, training classes, Rally Obedience, agility and 1-2-1
training within the client's home and is part of the selection team for new trainers wishing to
become part of the Victoria Stilwell Positively organisation.
At home Emma enjoys training and competing at agility with her
own Border Collies - Eko, Indie and Mich. She is hoping to get more involved in pet photography
and using her dogs as dog models for various advertising.
Karen Colls
has been training in agility for five years and competing
for four years now. She was in her second year of competing when she realised that she was well
and truly addicted to agility. Agility keeps her fit and she has made many friends over the
years.
She owns three border collies – Snoop (Sir Snoop Indahouse AWG) 6 years old;
Dre (Caristan Sir Dre Indahouse) 3 years old; and Holly (Lady Miss Demeanor Indahouse) 2 years
old. Snoop is currently working at Grade 5, Dre and Holly are Grade 3. She really enjoys working
and training her dogs.
Karen is really proud of her dogs especially Snoop who during 2008 won Dog
of the Year awards and gained a 3rd place at Crufts in the Starter's Cup.
Sue White
runs Whirlwind AC. She has five competing dogs including Mr
Mercury (Raeanne by Request) G7 and currently the Agility Club Dog of the Year, Tattie (Raeanne
Quicksilver Quest) G7 and still getting top 10 places at the age of 11, Bear (Raeanne Star
Storm) only two years old and already G4 and Pixie (Borderstorm Blue Print at Borderbug) G6
with 3 wins towards G7 and only four years old. Her fifth dog is Bug (Tizza Moment of Madness)
who is a G7 Medium and the only non-merle of the pack!
If you would like to comment on this product
or add your name to the Agilitynet list of reviewers,
email your name and details to Ellen Rocco at
Agilitynet today.
First publisher 01/06/10
| 
To
contact Agilitynet 
