Waterpik Ultra Water Flosser
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Customer Reviews of Waterpik Ultra Water Flosser
Customer Review: Designed for looks, not use.
Summary: 2 Stars
I am an experienced user and have owned 5 different models including this one. The others were Trisa, Bosch, Braun and Phillips. All of them better than this.
The machine is designed around looks alone, with no concern about practicality or ease of use.
First - Handle in front of reservoir. Usually the machine will be placed against some surface (eg. bathroom mirror). Now with the pick in front and the wall/mirror behind, you have to carefully sneak the reservoir between the two to place it or remove from the machine. That's why most other machines have the handle to the side of the container
Second - Lid doesn't come off. The reservoir lid is hollow and opens up to reveal spare attachments inside. When you try lift it off to fill the reservoir, the lid opens instead of coming off. It's extremely tricky grasping the lid to lift it off instead of opening it up. I've had to leave it off permanently.
Third - Bad tips. The clear transparent tips become invisible in your mouth. When looking into the mirror to gauge where to place the tip, you have to give it a few twists to see exactly where it's pointing. They are also too thick and bulky to easily manage while in your mouth. The bend of the tip isn't correct to point into the spaces between the back teeth.
Fourth - Unreachable button. The flow stop button is located in the wrong place on the handle. Holding the handle properly, with your thumb and index finger on the twist ring during normal use, the button finds itself down in the middle of your palm!! Impossible to reach without fumbling and re-positioning the whole handle. On other machines the button can be pressed by simply shifting your thumb.
Fifth - Bad handle holder. You'd expect to be able to insert tips while the handle is on the machine. Wrong. The cheap handle clip/holder on the front of the machine flexes open when pushing down on the handle to insert a tip and the handle slides down. You have to remove and hold the handle first, before inserting the tip.
Sixth - Hidden water level. The bottom part (about a quarter) of the reservoir fits into the body of the machine. That whole section is concealed from view. Once the water level goes past that point you have no idea how much longer you have water left.
Seventh - Bad pipe design. There is a long section (about 2 inches) of straight pipe that enters the bottom of the handle. This section is all that pushes the rest of the curled pipe into the machine. Being new it's still stiff enough to do the job, but I see it weakening very quickly after regular use, eventually making it very difficult to keep the curled pipe pushed back.
Pros - Good looking. Quiet. Tips insert and eject very easily. Cheap.
However I would not recommend it to anyone.
UPDATE: The machine has broken down now after only 2 days of use. I will return it for a refund.
Eighth - Terrible build quality.
Customer Review: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Summary: 4 Stars
I've been using Waterpiks for over 35 years, and as far as oral irrigation is concerned, they are excellent. Daily use will toughen gums and dislodge food particles that might otherwised be missed with brushing, which generally means less tooth decay and healthier gums. Every dentist I've ever had recommends them, though the Waterpik is NOT a substitute for flossing.
I've used many different models of Waterpik, since as with any appliance, sooner or later, things wear out. For the circa 1970s models, it was later; for the 1990s, it was much sooner. The more recent models have grown particularly irksome with their inconveniences. I am happy to say that many improvements have been made with the Ultra, to wit:
The Good
This model has many refinements, including a smaller footprint on the counter, a reservoir with a covering top that provides storage for a myriad of attachments (though still haven't figured out how -- or why -- to use the gimmicky tongue cleaner). I also like the placement of the wand, which is now in the middle rather than on the side, and it neatly fits into its holder with the cord coiling behind it. Said cord seems a tad longer than previous models, though this might just be the better placement of the wand. Additionally, this model seems somewhat quieter than my older one.
The Bad
The water pressure doesn't seem quite as strong as earlier models, but it is adequate to do the job. The reservoir is on the small side, and those really enthusiastic about oral irrigation may find they need to refill it to get the job done.
The Ugly
Whoever decided that the reservoir should be blue has obviously never looked at most bathroom countertop accessories, because this color goes with nothing! I almost didn't buy this model because of the wretched color, and I am planning to cover the reservoir with contact paper. What's wrong with an inoffensive frosted white? This is the single worst thing about the Ultra (and why I refuse to give it five stars), and only a strong desire to hold onto all of my teeth as long as possible overcame my aversion to something this unaesthetic. However, sometimes one must make sacrifices.
I've only had this model for several days, so I can't testify as to its reliability. On that score, so far, so good.
Bottom line: It's much improved over more recent models, and I definitely prefer it to the "personal" model.
UPDATE October 23, 2009: I've had this unit about a year and a half now and use it daily. Unfortunately, the semi-circular wand holder cracked and then broke off on one side a few weeks ago. Unless the wand is fastened with a rubber band, it will not stay in what remains of the holder, and the slot in the base is insufficient to keep it from falling over. Until the motor gives out (which it eventually will), I will suffer with this inconvenience, but I'm still hoping the competition comes up with something more reliable.
Customer Review: highly recommended
Summary: 5 Stars
I had a personal waterpik for years, one of the original small models. Had to replace the tubing once, but other than that it kept chugging along with no problems, and probably would have outlasted me, if it were not for the loud noise it was making. I got used to it -- for my money, I'll take having healthy gums over a little annoyance like this any time, but when I saw someone on Amazon to mention that this model is unusually quiet, I decided to retire my old one and give this one a try. A discount from Amazon plus free shipping helped to decide too, of course.
I've used it for couple of months now, at least once a day, and so far, I love it! It is indeed very quiet, and with no trade offs in pump performance that I could tell. One other very useful new feature is that the nozzle can be rotated. The rotator wheel is on the handle just where your fingers are, so you can use it easily with the same hand, instead of having to twist your neck and/or the tubing, the most fragile component of the system. Just turn the nozzle where you want to be in your mouth. When done, the tubing coils itself in in its little niche with no effort. There a little button on the handle that releases the nozzle that actually works. There is also another button on the handle that can be used to pause water flow, but I'm not sure how useful that feature is, because it does not pause the pump, just block water flow, causing minor shaking and racket.
Among other things to like about it is a small footprint and a transparent water container. The container comes with a cover, so that you can leave it with water in and not worry about some junk and stuff getting in and ending up in your mouth. I wish the container was a lighter shade of blue, but you can still see through, so you don't run out of water. It's probably not good for the pump to run dry.
There are also all kinds of extra different nozzle types. I haven't used them, so I can't comment on them, except to note the way they are tucked in inside the container's cover until you need them, rather than sent in in a plastic bag, with you having to put them somewhere, and then remember where to find them when needed. What you get does not include the waterpik's new sinus irrigation nozzle, and that is simply because it does not fit this model's handle. I'd guess pretty soon they will be making one for this model too, but not now.
And finally, it's just very pleasing to look at. I saw other reviewers nitpicking on this and that not to their liking. Not that I disagree, but come on, nothing is perfect. I also saw others reporting problems like water leaking out. Can't substantiate any of them. If you have such a problem, it's not an inherent problem. Must be a defective gasket somewhere that just needs to be replaced under warranty. Overall, it's just a great little appliance. Do yourself a favor and get one.
Customer Review: Saved my Gums
Summary: 5 Stars
This product has helped change around my life. When I was a child growing up my parents couldn't afford much medical care for me let alone my teeth. My mouth was always sensitive to brushing and flossing. I'd bleed alot after I flossed too. (This was back in the 1960's. I grew up with 6 brothers and sisters too.) As I got older I was able to finally get a job that had medical insurance including dental.
My dentist diagnosed me with gingivitis and reccomended I go to a periodontist. I went to periodontist and was then told about this product that it could "restore blood flow into your gums and help slow down your gingivitis". I was then given the Waterpik from my periodontist's office.
It has been about 3 months since I bought my Waterpik and at first I was skeptical because I have never used such a product in my mouth. It's quite intimidating to have this pressure hose in your mouth. I was clumsy with it and gradually learned to use it. Become better with it in time.
At the time of this writing I have notiched the following:
- Your teeth and gums have this new clean sensation. It is different than flossing. It is something you have to experience for yourself.
- The color of my gums have actually gone from a dark pink to a now lighter, healthier pink. Which means blood flow has increased and helped heal me.
- The bleeding in my mouth still happens though in a little amount compared to the large amount I originally had.
- My teeth have gotten a bit whiter too because this does remove the junk stuck on your teeth.
The bad points of a Waterpik:
- You need to ALWAYS dry it off after you use it. If you don't then you can start to smell in the blue reservoir an odor that bacteria is growing in it. I just fill up the reservoir with hot water with a little anti bacterial soap. Then I let it soak for 5 min, turn on the unit and let it just flush out anything in it. Use regular water for one last flushing as to get the soap out. Now it is clean again.
- I have a small sink with a receptacle near by that I plug in. My Waterpik is actually on an angle which actually interrupts the water flow which means I have to actually hold it flat with one hand then the other use the actual handle. You need a flat surface for optimum efficiency.
My final thoughts are this is an excellent product. My bad points are really little things but I wanted to write an honest review. If you just simply always dried it off then it would never have anything growing in it though for me I admit I could be in a hurry and not dry it off. The other bad point is that water needs to flow through the device so it would only make sense to have it on a flat surface. The Waterpik has NOT broken down at all on me or anything, it still works fine. This is why I give it 5 stars.
Customer Review: Handle leaks after o-ring inside it is dislodged
Summary: 3 Stars
Okay, I would have given this 5 stars, but it failed after 4 months. I had the exact same problem a previous reviewer here had: water started leaking from the handle around the tip-eject button. Water would still come out of the tip but at very low pressure and increasing the power did not help as it would just leak faster. A few days before the leak happened, the tip became noticeably harder to insert into the handle. If you eject the tip and look down the insertion hole in the handle with a flashlight, you may see a warped black thing that looks out-of-place. This is the rubber o-ring seal that has become dislodged from the slot that holds it in place.
FIX: Luckily I was able to fix it, for now at least. Since it seems impossible to disassemble the handle without breaking it, you need to somehow slide the o-ring back into place. This was a royal pain to do and took about an hour, though I hope to do it faster if it ever breaks again. If you're interested, here's what to do: You'll need to straighten out a paper clip, then put a tiny 90 degrees bend at the end, the smallest you can manage using say needle-nose pliers. Assuming you don't have 3 hands, you'll need to position a flashlight (hands-free) so that it shines on the side of the handle near the top (say, around the eject button); if it's bright enough at the right place, the light will penetrate the handle enough for you to see the interior when you look down the hole. Insert the paper clip and try to nudge down or hook upwards the o-ring back into its indention. If you hook it, you can pull it all the way out if you want, then push it back in. Try to get one side of the o-ring to fall in, then pull the other side into place. You'll need to have an idea where the slot is first. Use the paper clip to feel around for it. It should be a little past the gate that holds the tip in place (the ejection button raises it).
This is harder than it looks, but now it's back to working perfectly. My guess is that every once in a while, an insertion or ejection of the tip accidentally pulls the o-ring out of place, so perhaps gentler handling is in order. To read about others with similar problems, type "ring" or "handle leak" in the "Search Customer Reviews" box found on this page.
Otherwise, this thing has been convenient to use, featured a nice design look, and otherwise has been reliable (no other leaks). It has plenty of power. I keep it set just above the lowest setting as anything higher is painful. It's supposed to have a 2-year warranty and there is a customer service phone number in the manual in case it isn't on their website, though I haven't tried it yet.