As we can see in our last presentations on air purifiers, dehumidifiers, and particulate matter (PM), not one piece of equipment nor one solution can meet all the challenges found in an animal grooming venue that will resolve the issues of health, safety, and comfort. It is necessary to improve the internal efficiencies of the grooming salon, but also to improve and grow the public’s perception of a clean, pleasant, and well-run service business.

The previous presentations have been developed to not only increase knowledge of the workplace that frankly can only be described as the “poster child” example of a space that creates hazards to employee health, both long- and short-term, that require solutions.

We have made suggestions on the path to the most pressing problem, namely internal air pollutants, and offered direction on the necessary equipment specifications to consider, hopefully resolving indoor air atmosphere issues. We have also explained why these specifications should be considered with both pros and cons weighed, while offering guidance on the introduction to and utilization of this equipment in the workspace.

Providing a solution to salon and animal facility indoor air is only the beginning. We will next cover surface, cage enclosure sanitation with a look at solutions that also make good business sense. Also to be covered are newer technologies used in odor control. This is especially important to business success since recent surveys have identified offensive odors as the number one reason for customers not returning to a particular grooming establishment.

We realize this blog is relatively new and the data and information required to present the material is as complete as possible, presented in an even-handed way based on industry-wide research and experience that had limited outside input.

No matter how astute or knowledgeable one might be, wider input will be required to make future presentations most pertinent to good grooming practices and hopefully standards.

Grooming standards in America are not universal or required in a majority of states or locales. The grooming schools required to have regulatory approval on uniform curriculum on health and safety issues in any substantive way are few and far between. The paucity of state licensing of groomers does not allow business owners and animal clients an idea of what skill sets are standard nor does it impart to individual groomers knowledge of basic health and safety issues.

This is not the fault of the animal care industry alone, since little has bene done by regulatory agencies and legislative bodies at national, state, and local levels to uncover the dangers faced in high particulate matter (PM) producing worksites such as grooming operations. They have not become knowledgeable as to the health and safety issues associated with the grooming industry specifically, and have not funded studies nor surveys that point out the true hazards faced with possible solutions.

Agencies such as the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA), including state and local entities responsible for overview in protecting grooming employees and the public in these impact workplace areas concerning health and safety have not, to date, initiated a significant response to this challenge. The standard counter from these agencies is that they have not either heard of the issues or that the grooming industry has not sufficiently made the case for indoor air improvement, thus negating their need to take action. The action should be to first fund an indoor air study of the animal care facilities, especially those with grooming services where air pollutants, especially particulate matter (PM), can be studied. This is doubly important in determining the transportation of viral, bacterial, and fungal matter by PM10 and PM2.5. This focal point of review is most important not only to what PM damage can cause, including Groomer’s Lung, but also as a transporter and spreader and its effects on seasonal illnesses such as colds and especially ever-changing seasonal influenza, with over 646,000 deaths recorded worldwide in 2019 alone, not to mention the greater loss of productive workdays by groomers that occurs routinely on a yearly basis.

The emphasis on these viral spreads becomes more important due to current experiences associated with COVID-19 and its variants that caused extreme business disruptions and losses due to closing far beyond just the animal care industry.

Recent communication with my industry contacts has revealed frustration at not being heard on these important health, safety, and comfort issues in the animal care industry, and over time they have lamented the lack of a voice. They have especially not been heard at the governing level on these matters. When contacting regulatory agencies, the normal result appears to be ignoring the complaint.

It may be time to unify our concerns and actions. Please contact me at lovencarepetsupply@gmail.com if you would like to provide input or even be part of this team.

Till Next Time,
The Professor