Waterpik Ultra Water Flosser
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Customer Reviews of Waterpik Ultra Water Flosser
Customer Review: LONG TIME WATER PIK'er: THIS IS A GREAT ONE
Summary: 5 Stars
This is my fourth or fifth water pik. I use it every night. They last about 4 years tops and then it's time to get another one. The size of this one is a nice feature, a little taller and narrower. Looks nicer out on the sink. The top part that holds all the accessories is terrific because it's a nice top on the reservoir and you always know where all the accessories and extras are. I read that someone keeps the reservoir filled and liked the top part so as to cover up the water. HELLO???? Why is anyone keeping water in there all day? Use it at night, empty it by using the water pik, and then cover it with the nice white top and go to bed!
The pik works great. The on-off switch is nice. The pressure control dial is accurate and responsive. It is a littler quieter than my last waterpik. It starts as soon as you turn it on. I keep the pressure control in the middle. After all my years of waterpikking & flossing, midrange is good for me. You'd think I'd be higher but no, midrange is a very strong pulse and good for me.
The reservoir is too small for me but NO PROBLEM. I keep a plastic wine glass in the bathroom and fill it up along with the reservoir. Midway through waterpikking, I dump the glass of water in the reservoir. No stopping and taking the reservoir off the base. I dump the water in while water-pik'ing and with the machine still on. In fact, I never take the reservoir off the base. I fill the aforementioned plastic wine glass with warm water and dump it into the reservoir. With my particular dollar store plastic wine glass, it takes 2 1/2 filled glasses of warm water and the other 1/2 is left for the end when I need just a little more water in the reservoir.
I really like the way this waterpik looks and functions. Having to replenish the water in the reservoir is not an issue for me at all. If I had to stop the pik, take the reservoir off the base, turn on the water to fill it, secure the reservoir tightly back on the base, that would get old quickly. Remember my tip about replenishing the water and you will love this waterpik.
EDITED ON 2-14-08: I still love this WaterPik. Everything I said above continues to be true. I just ordered this yesterday as a gift for someone and today I'm ordering it for someone else. A really really good WaterPik.
Customer Review: Excellent Product - a Must for Those with Dental Bridges
Summary: 5 Stars
When my dentist made me a bridge, she recommended to me to get a dental water jet system for cleaning them - a Waterpik. Ordinary floss will no longer do the job as it cannot be squeezed in between my new teeth. Not very familiar at that time about what a Waterpik is, I went to do my research and find this one to have one of the highest customer satisfaction and at the same time a very affordable price.
It occupies only a small footprint, very easy to setup and very simple to use. The jet has 10 power settings. 1 to 3 is weak, and 8 to 10 might be very strong. I recommend to start by using the number 3 setting and adjust the knob as it suits you.
Included are multiple attachments. Changing between tips is very quick. There is a small button near the base for release and to replace with a new one is just a little push with a click. First, I thought that the brush is the best tool to clean my teeth. But then the brush itself is hindering the water jet particularly when the bristles bend as you brush your teeth. The 2 regular tips are the best for the job. There is one strange looking tool tip for cleaning the tongue, honestly I find no use for that. The orthodontic tip, and the Pik-Pocket tip has a much finer rubber tip for the little crevices around your teeth.
To think about it, with a new dental bridge, I really can not clean my teeth as thorough without a water jet. Not only it cleans the teeth, it also massage the gums.
Extra:
- This is also great for cleaning small things that has nooks and niches that are impossible to reach. Good example are those sippy cups that has rubber parts, jewelries, etc.
Very happy with this product. It also makes cleaning teeth more fun. Even my kids are having fun with it. I just wish it includes 3 more regular color coded tips for each member of the family.
A word of caution - There is a sticker underneath the base saying not to use it for more than 5 minutes in a 2 hour period. I have my waterpik for almost a month now (averaging 7 minutes of usage including my other 2 kids) and so far so good. But maybe that is the reason why some owners have their unit stopped working in such a short time. It is not a heavy duty appliance.
Customer Review: Mixed bag "upgrade"
Summary: 4 Stars
I have used WaterPiks for decades and find them extremely useful. As others have noted, the build quality has declined over the years. When my last one (a WP-60W, I think) broke after a fairly short life, I got one of those "connect to the faucet" irrigators, which was basically ineffective - though, in its favor, it is very simple and unlikely to ever break. Disappointed, I went back to WaterPik and decided to try the Ultra model. I give it a B+, with a number of improvements and only one major fault and one minor fault.
To get the major defect out of the way first, it's one fault is a lack of pressure. My previous models were capable of more pressure than I needed, but this one can't quite get to the level I prefer. It's probably sufficient for its purpose, though. I'm not sure why the company reduced the pressure. Perhaps to reduce the noise level? Reduce cost of production? If anyone at the company reads this, please consider increasing the pressure in future versions. In addition, there is a minor problem with the connection between the reservoir and the body of the machine, which is - at least in my unit - difficult to separate, making it more difficult than it should be to dump the water from the reservoir and to fill it. I've only used the unit for a month, so that may ease up some with continued use.
On the plus side, the noise levels is dramatically reduced from previous models. The new design makes stowing the cord and nozzle extremely easy and the on-off switch is much easier to work than prior versions. All in all, the Ultra works better than the other Water Piks I have owned, other than the pressure problem.
There is a touch of "featuritis" in the bundling of a variety of attachments to use in lieu of the standard nozzle, but I found them all to be useless. The tongue cleaner is really silly. The "toothbrush" and irrigator combo tip doesn't work for me. Etc. Also, the "convenient" reservoir top to that stows all of those gadgets just gets in the way of filling and emptying the reservoir, so I have tossed the top and all of those excess gadgets. I'm guess that the marketing guys would never go along with eliminating these "features," but they should.
Good machine, just short of great.
Customer Review: Excellent Product - a Must for Those with Dental Bridges
Summary: 5 Stars
When my dentist made me a bridge, she recommended to me to get a dental water jet system for cleaning them - a Waterpik. Ordinary floss will no longer do the job as it cannot be squeezed in between my new teeth. Not very familiar at that time about what a Waterpik is, I went to do my research and find this one to have one of the highest customer satisfaction and at the same time a very affordable price.
It occupies only a small footprint, very easy to setup and very simple to use. The jet has 10 power settings. 1 to 3 is weak, and 8 to 10 might be very strong. I recommend to start by using the number 3 setting and adjust the knob as it suits you.
Included are multiple attachments. Changing between tips is very quick. There is a small button near the base for release and to replace with a new one is just a little push with a click. First, I thought that the brush is the best tool to clean my teeth. But then the brush itself is hindering the water jet particularly when the bristles bend as you brush your teeth. The 2 regular tips are the best for the job. There is one strange looking tool tip for cleaning the tongue, honestly I find no use for that. The orthodontic tip, and the Pik-Pocket tip has a much finer rubber tip for the little crevices around your teeth.
To think about it, with a new dental bridge, I really can not clean my teeth as thorough without a water jet. Not only it cleans the teeth, it also massage the gums.
Very happy with this product. It also makes cleaning teeth more fun. Even my kids are having fun with it. I just wish it includes 3 more regular color coded tips for each member of the family.
Extra:
- This is also great for cleaning small things that has nooks and niches that are impossible to reach. Good example are those sippy cups that has rubber parts, jewelries, etc.
A word of caution - There is a sticker underneath the base saying not to use it for more than 5 minutes in a 2 hour period. I have my waterpik for almost a month now (averaging 7 minutes of usage including my other 2 kids) and so far so good. But maybe that is the reason why some owners have their unit stopped working in such a short time. It is not a heavy duty appliance.
Customer Review: Effective, but Durability is Questionable
Summary: 3 Stars
This Waterpik Ultra Water Jet replaces a WJ7B Conair Interplak Water Jet.
The Conair lasted two years, I replaced it with the same model, and the new one lasted only a week. I liked the old Conair (that's why I re-ordered it) because it had a low price, a very strong pulse, extra jets (my spouse used it also and they can break), and a reasonably small footprint. Although the new one was the same model number, it failed in one week for the same reason that the old one did after two years -- the pump tried to push water but couldn't, at all. Fortunately, Amazon refunded my money and I ordered the Waterpik Ultra.
The Waterpik Ultra has about the same footprint as the Conair. I didn't like that the price was almost double of the Conair, it came with only two jets, and the pulse wasn't as strong as the Conair. Nevertheless, I liked it because it works despite the lower pressure and it is more quiet (the Conair vibrated and rattled a lot on the bathrooom vanity).
Unfortunately, the first Waterpik Ultra I ordered lasted less than a week. Like the new Conair, it made a loud humming noise but couldn't pump any water. Fortunately, Amazon replaced it without any fuss (I am very impressed with Amazon's refund/replacement policy that includes free return shipping using their label). The replacement arrived more quickly than Amazon's original shipment, which I think is nice because I was stuck without a Waterpik while I waited for the new one. The replacement has worked a few weeks as of this review. I hope this one lasts a few years. If not for the first Waterpick that I had to replace, I would have given this product 4-1/2 stars.
By the way, I also recently purchased from Amazon a Panasonic EW1270AC portable water irrigator for traveling. (I also bought one about a year ago for my daughter for use at college.) Although the Panasonic is not as effective as the Waterpik for regular use, which I would not expect of a battery-operated product, it is pretty good for the intended purpose.
UPDATE 6/2009: The button on the handle to stop water temporarily doesn't allow water to flow when released. I simply don't use it but this is dissapointing.