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2 Dunedin moms win $10,000 on game show for Hose Hooker invention

Posted at 5:13 PM, Aug 28, 2017
and last updated 2017-08-28 17:13:32-04

Lori Hyde and her business partner Joanne Dunn have taken another step in their invention journey, thanks to their appearance on Steve Harvey’s Funderdome on ABC.

The two won $10,000 on the episode that aired on August 27, thanks to the audience’s votes. We talked to Hyde after the show aired and she told ABC Action News they will be using the money to attend trade shows, to fund more marketing and hopefully to help them get their product into local retailers

Hyde and Dunn had the idea back in 2014. It started on a bar napkin, went to a prototype and is now called the “Hose Hooker.”

"Instead of holding it under your arm or between your leg,” said Hyde. “You’re not getting soaked. You can do it all hands free. You can wash your dog. You can even wash your gutters with it."

Hyde’s husband made a prototype out of the idea and from there, they used their own money to get the business off the ground. Hyde’s partner Joanne Dunn, who doesn’t have a dog, says the invention was perfect for her four kids.

"They are all involved in athletics.. and the biggest thing was they would all come in and drop all their muddy equipment in my laundry room and make me crazy," said Dunn.

They say you can use it to clean everything from cleats and other gym equipment, to your gutters and a boat.

The producers of ABC’s Steve Harvey’s Funderdome saw the “Hose Hooker” on social media and recruited them for the show where inventors pitch ideas to an audience that votes for the best one.

“Our first reaction is, ‘who is this?’  We thought it was one of our friends playing a prank. We did a fast audition and ended up on Steve Harvey,” said Hyde. "The biggest thing I can say is if you have an idea and you want to do something, then do it. We're living proof that you should just do it."