DIY Rapid Bath Cartridge Refill!

Ok, so this isn't a recipe but I just had to blog about this. Depending on the size of your dog though I guess it could make your house smell pretty heavenly!

We have two large dogs, 60lbs each at least (they haven't been weighed in some time). One is a Australian Shepherd/Border Collie mix. The other is a Carolina Dog/Husky mix. For any Husky owners out there you understand the huge coat blow out twice a year. Carolina Dogs do that as well. Needless to say this time of the year and in the fall we have HUGE fluff balls all over the place. Its a mess and we sweep and mop consistently to try and win the battle. We never do till she is through her blow out season. This dog Twix is her name is the wildest dog I have ever owned. When I say Wild I don't mean like hyper and crazy, I mean like WILD as in I'm pretty sure she's part wolf. We have never been able to get her to accept bath time, even though I bathed her often when she was a small pup. There are just some things we can't get her to accept period, when the Rapid bath system came out I was interested yet cautious. Could it really be true? 5min to bathe a dog and even the ones that fight bath time stand still for it? I have to admit I thought that last part was impossible but the fact that it would be easier to bathe her even if she was fighting appealed to me.

Our dogs are the two on the right that are waiting for their treat facing my husband. This was Twix's birthday party complete with a cake made just for the dogs that was safe for them to eat.

So a couple of years ago we bought one at Walmart. It came with the shower conversion kit that would allow us to use it indoors or out. We loved it, yes Twix really does stand still for it. She doesn't LIKE it but it doesn't spook her for some reason as bad as a regular bath. Not only that but it does a great job, the dogs get super clean and smell great in just a few minutes.

So last night I was bathing the dogs outside, hey KC hit a record high temp yesterday of 92 and its only April folks! Perfect time to bathe the dogs outside! As I was bathing the dogs I ran out of the shampoo in one of the cartridges... No biggie I had a 2nd one ready. When I was done I got to thinking, I wonder if these things can be refilled at home? I've seen blogs where people show you how to refill your swiffer wet jet bottles maybe I can find something online about refilling the rapid bath at home too.

So I googled it, the only thing I found was a message board where someone mentioned doing it with a syringe and how she was able to take the top cap off. But no pictures and no step by step directions. So I sat down and started playing with it myself and guess what? I DID it! So here are your step by step instructions WITH pictures! :)

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Supplies:
Your empty shampoo cartridge
Your shampoo of choice
Pliers
Syringe, this one is a 3cc/ML but I read that a 2oz one with a 60cc tip works great too. This is just what I had on hand. Its nice having 2 kids cause you have all sizes of these laying around. This one was small so I had to refill it several times but it got the job done.

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 Step 1:
Use the pliers to remove the small white cap. 

The cap shown off, there is a small black cork thing inside the hole.

Step 2:
Remove black cork.

Showing the opening after removing cap and cork.

 Step 3:
Make sure syringe tip will fit in opening.

 Step 4:
Fill syringe with desired shampoo. I used dawn dish soap, its gentle for the dogs (even dogs with skin allergies it helps) and it kills fleas, smells great and makes the dogs coat super soft. Not only that but its much cheaper then the dog shampoo's you can buy. Its a win win win win!

Step 5:
Inject shampoo into the cartridge.

Step 6:
Repeat steps 4 & 5 till the cartridge is full.

Step 7:
Replace black rubber cork.

Rubber cork inserted.

Step 8:
Replace white cap.

Your done! Its all put back together and ready to reuse!

The refilled cartridge ready to use!

And just because I can I decided to try storing it this way to keep it from leaking.....

Vacuum sealed and labeled to keep from spilling.

I don't know how many times you can refill these but we'll have to see. At $3.99 a cartridge its not a bad price really and I can easily bathe 3 dogs the size of my 2 dogs on one cartridge. But any little bit of savings helps. I figure if I can refill it a few times it will pretty much cost us just pennies each time we bathe the dogs. Which will mean bathing them more often. What I love about this system is we can do it at home, no pricey groomers or self washing stations that still cost $10 a dog or more.

And finally, this is what my Daughter thought about the whole process as she was watching me work. I was so excited while I was doing it. Clearly she was less excited. Ha

Now get out there and wash those puppies! :D