It is important to remember that animal clippers are electrical appliances and they have many external and internal components that are made of metal. The body of your clipper may have air filters to ensure air flows through the handset to help keep it cool and blow clipped hair out of the internal workings.
Even so, a closed handset without filters is never 100% water tight. Whilst specialist clipper oil is perfect for keeping your clipper and blades well lubricated, water should never be allowed near your clipper.
Unlike clipper oil, water contains ions of dissolved minerals and salts that make it an electrical conductor and could be very dangerous should the clipper’s electrical current come in into contact with it. Not only this, but damp environments are prone to cause rusting of the metal components and clipper blades.
This picture below shows a HD Roamer clipper that came in for repair because it was not working. An internal inspection showed that the clipper had either got wet or been stored in a damp environment due to the amount of rust on the motor unit.
Like any household electrical product, it is best to keep your clippers indoors, away from cold damp environments. Clippers used for farm animals and horses are often stored in unheated outbuildings where damp can cause a great deal of internal corrosion.
We often see this issue when clippers come to us for repair when they have recently come out of storage and have failed to switch on. Batteries are particularly prone to cold damp conditions. The battery capacity can be weakened by exposure to low temperatures, so it is even more important to store this type of clipper in an indoors, heated environment.
Many horse owners may think to store their clippers in tack rooms and this would seem fairly logical to keep your equestrian equipment easily accessible for times of use. However, even in heated tack rooms, damp tack and rugs stored close by will all contribute to the humidity of the room and this too can slowly corrode your horse clippers.
Sheds and outbuildings are not ideal storage places for your handset, even in the safe confines of the carry case. The best place to store your clipper is in your own heated home, cleaned and locked in their original carry case, away from young children and proximity to water or damp.
A similar story occurred with this Showmate trimmer that was not working as it should be. It is less than a year old but storing in a damp tack room has caused corrosion to the motor.
If you store your clippers for any length of time, take care to wipe away all the dirt and give your clippers a thorough clean. This prevents dirt sealing itself onto your handset and blades from rusting.
You can store your clipper with a blade attached, but to prevent rusting it may be best to remove your blades and wrap them in an oily cloth. The Andis 5-in-1 cooling spray also boasts rust preventative properties, so a spray of this on your blades before storing them to give them extra protection.
Air dusters are a great gadget to thoroughly clean your clipper and if it still isn’t working as it should be, send your clippers to us to fully service them to ensure the internal components are clean and in perfect working order.