Goes toe-to-toe with great pyrenees rescue organization…who wins?
In the dog world, there are shedders and then there are SHEDDERS…and then there’s the Great Pyrenees. Owners of this breed understand that the hair removal struggle isquite real – blankets, clothes, towels… basically anything that can attract hair, will.
That struggle, however, reaches next-level status at Great Pyre-nees Rescue of Wisconsin (GPRW), a non-profit rescue that can have as many as a dozen animals awaiting homes. As a brand committed to testing the limits of its products, we at Speed Queen were eager to partner with the rescue and see if our pet hair removal cycles were up to a struggle of this magnitude.
The Challenges
Hanna Gonsalves of GPRW detailed the organization’s laundry challenges upfront: the volumes of hair have meant staff have had to wipe out the washer or run a rinse cycle to remove leftover hair in the tub; dry cycles have to be repeated because items are still wet; items still emerge with significant amounts of hair; and loads just don’t smell fresh.“Our biggest problem is always the dog hair,” Gonsalves said.
The Speed Queen Difference
After two-plus months of using the TR7 top load washer and DR7 dryer with PetPlus™, the laundry day struggle is far less of a chore, Gonsalves said.
The DR7’s pet hair removal cycle, run before items are washed, has made both the wash and dry processes far more efficient. Gonsalves noted that running the pet hair removal cycle in ad-vance of washing items removes significant amounts of Great Pyrenees hair. That’s a game changer for a rescue focused on a major-shedding breed. No more wiping out the washer before adding another load.
“You wouldn’t even think we washed a dog blanket,” she said of The Speed Queen Differencethe difference the DR7’s pet hair cycle has made on the wash side. In addition, with the exceptional hair removal on the front end, pet items are dried the first time, with no additional dry cy-cles needed.
The rescue is using the heavy duty, heavy soil cycles for their pet items and have noted the noticeable difference between the pre-vious laundry machines and the Speed Queen TR7.
Carole Gonsalves, who balances a nurs-ing career with managing the rescue, said the new Speed Queen pair has been a game-changer for her clothes.
“At one time, I found it almost impossible to keep my scrubs dog hair free,” she said. “At times I’d go di-rectly to the vet after work then of course wash my scrubs before wearing again. But the dog hair and smells embedded in the fab-ric often remained. Not the case anymore.”
Founded in 2007, GPRW is a 501(c) (3) organization dedicated to finding permanent homes for this large breed. Through a detailed vetting process, they have a 98 percent success rate and have placed more than 350 dogs in loving homes. To learn more about the organization or donate, visit greatpyrrescuewi.com.