As many of you know I have a very demanding baby on my hands so that leaves me with very little time to take care of other less important things. One of those things that has fallen by the wayside is dog baths! It had been 2 years since my husky last had a bath and he was starting to smell. That's when I remembered Anne from another husky forum who had done a review on the Rapid Bath pet bathing system way back when. Some older members might remember her, she has 3 huskies and wrote a very positive review for the Rapid Bath years ago. I'll admit I didn't think it was a worthwhile product for a double coated sibe at the time of her review but it stuck in the back of my mind.

Fast forward to the present, stinky sibe and no time to give him a traditional bath. I ended up buying the HydroSurge Rapid Bath for $20 and figured it was worth a shot. And if it didn't work all that well, then at least it didn't cost me a small fortune, since they used to cost around $75 when they first hit the market.



Note, I bought the outdoor attachment that attaches to an outdoor house (shown above). There is also an indoor shower attachment you can buy but from my research prior to buying the Rapid Bath it seems the indoor attachment is highly prone to leaking and doesn't get anywhere near as positive feedback as the outdoor attachment.

The product advertises that you can shampoo AND rinse your dog entirely in 3 minutes. And from the numerous reviews I read prior to my purchase, it should work well with northern double coated breeds. Yes, I made sure to seek out numerous positive reviews from other husky owners before pulling the trigger.

So the hubby and I put the Rapid Bath to the test. I will admit I was quite skeptical going into this and was pleasantly surprised that the Rapid Bath delivered on it's promises! Hubby timed while I washed and in 3 minutes I had my husky completely soaked, lathered up, AND rinsed!

The entire thing is super easy to set up and use. First, just attach it to the hose. Next, turn the water on. Set the dial on the unit to "Bathe" and press the "On" button. It couldn't be any easier!

Another huge plus is that it is easy to use by oneself. You only need one hand to hold the Rapid Bath and the other to hold your dog in place. I use a very thin slip lead to keep my dog in place and no hands are required to lather up or massage the soap into the dogs coat.

No pre-rinse is required and the shampoo cartridge is super easy to load. A cartridge is supposed to last for, I think, 2.5 washes but I haven't washed enough times to determine how long a single cartridge will last me. It will definitely last for 2 washes based on how much is leftover currently, and really my goal is to get 2 washes per cartridge. If I get more, great. If not, no big deal. Another thing I like is that the soaps are biodegradable, something I always look for in the shampoos I buy.

The water pressure with the Rapid Bath is not phenomenal but it does the job. I expected stronger pressure out of it but it did it's job so I will not complain.

After bathing, I dried my sibe with my HV dryer for 15 minutes so it only took me 20 minutes to wash and dry my sibe from start to finish. Awesome! And his coat came out clean, fluffy, and smelling great with no residue left behind.

All in all, I am extremely pleased with the Rapid Bath and highly recommend it for people who are short on time but don't want to have a stinky/dirty dog around the house. Definitely a great product for quick bathes. I'm sure this would help a lot of people clean up quickly after dog park visits or messy "accidents". I know I've had occasions when I've come home from the dog park with a muddy husky whose coat is also filled with slobber from other doggies, or the occasional time when my sibe had a diarrhea accident in the crate and was covered in liquid poo when I came home on my 30 minute lunch break, when a quick 3 minute bath with the Rapid Bath would have been the answer to my prayers.

I love my Rapid Bath and I have to say it, I wish I'd gotten one sooner!

Good review val. Now do the cartridges come filled or do you fill them? How much does that run?
When we did the fund raiser the pet place had the shampoo feed into the water, just like this thing. I was not sure if it was really cleaning but when they were done and dry they were soft and clean. So much eaiser then dealing with a shampoo bottle, lathering and holding crazy dog in place!
Did u get it on amazon?

I bought mine new on ebay actually. But you can buy replacement cartridges on Amazon and ebay for a good price.

The cartridges come filled with shampoo, all have to do is snap it into place inside the body of the Rapid Bath unit. It mixes automatically with the water when you set the dial to "Bathe".



Replacement cartridges range in price from $7-$10 most places for a 3 pack. Not a bad price when you consider each cartridge will give you at least 2 baths, then multiply that by 3 cartridges. $8 for 6 baths (at 2 baths/cartridge) is quite reasonable if you ask me.

Amazon has cartridge 3 packs for $7.81: http://www.amazon.com/HydroSurge-Oatmeal-Soothing-Shampoo-Cartridges/dp/B0017JJ5YK

And you can choose between 5 different shampoo formulas:
-Ultra Cleaning
-Oatmeal Soothing
-Deodorizing
-Hypo-allergenic
-Shine and White

I saw this last summer and thought to buy it then but was also skeptical! Then at the dog wash fundraiser, the baths had the shampoo feed in with the water. I thought about this at the fundraiser and thought maybe the water pressure wasn't that great but was easier to deal with having to shampoo your pet.

Thanks for the review! I think I'm going to get one for the summer months!

I read that there is a way you can refill the cartridges with your own shampoo which Is what I would want to do since I still have a bottle of concentrated shampoo to use up.

Val, thanks for the review. I have also been skeptical of trying this but think I will get one for when summer rolls around.

Claudia, I have also read reviews where people have mentioned refilling the cartridges with their own shampoo. After using it though, I kinda wonder how anyone could even do it but maybe they know something I don't. It looks like it would be far too much of a hassle to attempt if you ask me. I also have other bottles of shampoo to use up, but I will just use those on my chi girls since the Rapid Bath is a bit overkill for a 6 lb Chihuahua. Lol

You guys probably know by now that I tend to research things to death before I buy anything. There are other products out there that work similarly which you can use your own shampoo in. They just didn't get as consistently good reviews as the Rapid Bath. While I would have preferred to use my own shampoo, ultimately I wanted the best overall product which is why I opted for the Rapid Bath over others. Some people even use garden fertilizer mixers as an alternative with dilution ratio settings, but I worried that would not have adequate enough pressure to really get into the coat of a thick, double coated sibe.

Just an update, a single cartridge has lasted 2 full washes (spraying continuous soapy water for 1.5 min each wash) and still has a fair amount of soap in it. So I am positive I will get at least 3 washes per cartridge which is better than I expected. I cannot even say how much absolutely LOVE the Rapid Bath.

Thanks for the update! I think I want this for summer baths!

I know you research a product thoroughly which is why I appreciate your reviews on products! I also thought how much is it worth trying to refill the cartridges - the hassle vs new shampoo cartridges, and I personally would probably just buy new cartridges!

So i went and picked this up after asking Val again the name of it, Amazon had one for $25 and you can fill it with your own dog shampoo so that's handy.
Hooked it up to the hose outside and it worked well, does not do a super deep clean on Sierra because her fur is so thick but she is clean. It worked great for Jack who has a sleeker coat.
It also saved my back wrestling with them as it was all in one thing and i was not dealing with shampoo bottles and hoses and keeping them near me.
i say its worth the buy for a fast wash off

Jenn, I like to enlist the help of my hubby when I use the Rapid Bath. Basically I just have my hubby hold the lead so that I have 2 hands to work. I hold the Rapid Bath in one hand and work the soap into the coat with the other hand for a deeper clean all while it is running. Makes it more effective on our double coated sibes.  Plus working the soap in with my hand also helps loosen the undercoat. Certainly gets them clean enough without having that extra hand, but I do prefer to work it in a little myself.

Val, I hook them up to a leash, put the leash under the outside table to hold it, then i put my one food on the leash closer to them to keep them from moving and i do my best to run the bath in one hand and work the coat with the other! I should have brought down the scrub brush i have for them, would have worked better then my fingers. I was only after a quick wash off on this one anyways, i could have done a better job if i spent more time on them, but i was short on time so this worked great, i did both in the time it took me to do one
on day i will have Ken get a pic of this project as he will not wash them