Hi Katie; Oddly enough, I never worried about or even considered clogged drains for the 11 years that I did house calls. I tried to do mostly small and medium dogs, and bathed then in kitchen or laundry room sinks, mostlly. The sinks had little drain things that caught most of the hair. Occassionally I had to use a tub and kneel... luckily I was younger then and it wasn't as much of a challenge as it would be now! >grin<

I used a Clipper Vac so there was little hair, and what was there I could vacuum up with my trusty CV.  I used the one that doubles as a HV dryer, (not terribly powerful, but since I was doing cats, small and medium dogs, it was adequate.)

I used the customers towels, and wiped out the sink/tub after each shampoo.

Happy to answer any specific questions.  Best wishes on your new venture!  Daryl

Hi Katie:
I think there are many ways to do this.  I only grooms dogs 30# and under which eliminates many of the problems you list above.  I also never (or rarely) do double coated dogs unless they have a place I can let the hair fly.  
I tend to bathe in kitchen sinks, laundry tubs or last resort, the bath tub as bending over while kneeling has become a real issue for me.  
I have a basic folding table (weight about 20#) and now find I need to make leg extenders since I'm tall and bending over to reach is a killer for my back and neck.  Those can easily be made out of PVC pipe and made to the specific height I need.  I only do ONE large dog and only because there is a walk in shower with a built in large tiled bench for her and my shampoos.  She is super cooperative about getting on table as well or I'd have to refuse her.
Know your market and what will work for you.  You may need to re-think your client base.  I assume you're going to want to keep clients from your shop so that's why you're thinking of including large dogs?  
This is an exclusive and high end method of grooming, including pricing $20-30 per dog over shop prices due to being able to do fewer dogs per day.  You'd be surprised how groomers adjust to this thinking and realize they don't have to wear themselves out doing 10 dogs a day in order to make income.
I don't make much of a mess while grooming as I sweep hair off the table directly into either a bag or garbage can keeping the loose hair minimal.  I use the client's vacuum or broom to clean up, use 1-2 of their towels and none of mine have every complained about providing either.  I wipe down counter tops with the towel(s) and simply rinse the sink or tub.  I don't have hair clogging issues because of the types of dogs I'm doing.  
Be OK with making choices on exactly what breeds you will and won't do because not every dog or every person is right for house call.  There are enough that are in order to make a living though.  
If you have further questions you can reach me directly at swtpzs@yahoo.com.  
Hope this helps you and feel free to ask further questions.
Pat
The Dapper Dog Grooming
House Call Grooming At Its Finest

 

Hi -

I used to use this BB constantly, and I've been away for a long while. 

My salon lease situation has become somewhat unstable, and I may have to move soon.  I've been thinking of trying housecall (never even knew there was a name for it) services.

Anyone know the best way to ensure you don't clog the clients' drains?  I see OXO good grips makes a hat shaped drain protector, anyone use it?  I don't want to have to pay for a plumber to snake their drains. 

Leaving the space clean is also a big concern for me. 

Do HC groomers put a table IN the tub so they're not on their knees bathing?  How to do that?  Custom table?  How to keep from blowing hair all over?  Do you just get really good with a squeegee on every surface post-bath/dry?

Would love to see some chat about this, sure would help me figure out if this would work for me.  I'm actually getting SUPER burned out where I'm at, anyway...feels like someone is sort of closing a door on me and maybe there's a window opening somewhere I need to find, if you know what I mean.

Sure hope someone reads this. 

Cheers all,

Katie