Waterpik Waterflosser Cordless PLUS
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List Price: Our Price: $38.59 You Save: $11.40 (23%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Health Care See more product details |
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Customer Reviews of Waterpik Waterflosser Cordless PLUS
Customer Review: Response to front page review
Summary: 5 Stars
I agree with the front page review that this is a great product, however I don't agree with everything he said (the arrows indicate my comments):
1. It is so loud it will wake anyone sleeping. Coffee grinder loud!
** Yes I guess it is loud as it is near you ear while using! But not that loud to me(i.e. I am a bit hard of hearing) My woman says it is not that loud and she has great hearing**
-----> It's definitely not as loud as a standard plugged-in Waterpik. That's like a jackhammer. I was pleasantly surprised that this one isn't too loud yet still has the same pressure.
2. The reservoir is so small it runs out in 10 seconds.
** Maybe this user has a leak in his unit. I use mine for about 30 seconds until all food is removed and I still have half of the water left. And yes I am using the High pressure setting. **
-----> Maybe your unit is messed up and its high pressure setting is really a low pressure setting. On the high pressure setting, the water runs out after probably 15 seconds. I fill it up once for each quadrant of my mouth, which means I fill it up a total of 4 times. If you are doing this at the sink, this is no problem at all because filling it up takes about 5 seconds. If you want to use this in the shower, you're out of luck. You're not going to be able to fill it up with your shower stream. What you'd have to do is turn the shower knob so the water comes out of the tub faucet and fill it up there. That would be a huge inconvenience.
3. The tip is so mobile (rotates all over the place), you can't control it.
** Mine doesn't. Of course I have only had it a month. **
-----> I don't have this problem either. It might move slightly, you just have to move with it.
4. It is poorly designed, too large, and difficult to hold (Can't imagine if you have small hands).
** I thought it was well ergonomically designed. I have nerve damage in my hand that makes it hard to hold on to things and get tops off of bottles but I had no problem holding the WP-450 Ultra. I think it is most excellent! **
-----> If you have small hands you could just hold it higher up on the neck where its narrower. You don't have to hold it at the basin, although I do. Although it is definitely surprisingly bulky, it has to be (I couldn't tolerate it if I had to refill 8 times).
5. Poor battery life, long charge time, no charge indicator. After two uses I needed to recharge! (yes I let it charge up initially for 16 hours!).
** I have only charged my unit for 8 hours and have been using once a day for a month. I has not slacked off one bit in pumping the water out. **
-----> Your unit must have an insanely good battery. I haven't counted but it definitely needs to be recharged after a few days. Also, as he said, there is no indicator or light or anything to tell you whether it is fully charged which is odd.
6. Expensive, Poor Value: Price is ~70% higher than the WP-360
** Yes that is usually the case for older models. They usually do cost less than newer models as the cost of production is higher than years ago. It is actually 61.4 % higher in cost. The old unit uses Ni-Cad batteries as the new one uses more expensive L-Ion or NiMH batteries hence the higher cost and the L-Ion battery can hold a charge longer. **
-----> This device is extremely powerful at cleaning out the gums and could potentially save you thousands of dollars, or at least some extra pain, at the dentist. I don't know how it compares to other handheld waterpiks, but it's definitely so much nicer to use than the plug-in waterpiks which sound like jackhammers and take up so much space. If you hate wires, this is for you.
9. Weak water stream.
** You've got to be kidding. It has two settings and is way better then the WP-360 and about the same pressure as the Panasonic model. Are you sure you have it charged up? **
-----> The water stream is very powerful. A lot of people might find they need to stick to the gentle setting. You couldn't possibly need more pressure.
So again, I highly recommend this product, but it is not as perfect as the front page review might have you believe. Some of the negative reviews do have valid points, but I am not so picky. It works well and is invaluable, as far as I'm concerned, because healthy gums mean a healthier body, and this certainly makes your gums healthier than flossing alone (I don't use this as a floss replacement -- I use this before I floss, and I find that it makes flossing much easier and rarely does anything come out on the floss).
Customer Review: Good for "at home" use, not travel
Summary: 4 Stars
It is what Waterpik claims it is.
Does it hold enough water?
First few uses, I wished it held more water, but after using it daily, I manage to waterpik every tooth and completely cover all gum<>tooth areas with one filling.
Will the battery hold up?
I charge it up, then unplug it and use it for days until it stops or shows signs of needing recharge, then recharge it and have not experienced battery issues yet. All battery operated devices like this have tricky battery usage. If Waterpik wants to know: please put a small LED-type battery strength indicator on the next model. Without the battery indicator, I have had at least one morning where I was unable to finish using the waterpik and would have preferred knowing the night or day before that it should have been plugged in to charge overnight prior to that morning.
Does the rotation gizmo attachment work?
By design it seems that a user could easily move his/her thumb slightly to rotate the spout to either left or right and thereby more accurately cover all areas of the inside gums and teeth. Well, it can work that way. It is easier for me to simply leave the little spout in one place and hold the waterpik with two hands and very carefully trace the gum/tooth line for the top and bottom front and bottom back. Then twist the spout 180 degrees when it is not in my mouth to prep it to cover the top inside areas. It must be very uncomfortable and maybe ineffective for people to try to rotate that thing accurately with one thumb while it is in the mouth and they are moving it from side to side.
Is there enough water pressure generated?
I'm not a dentist and don't know how many pounds per square inch are recommended to chase scum away from teeth and gum, but where I once started out clicking up the water pressure output to high, I now use it on the norm and am very happy with the results. I cover all areas with one filling of water. The Dentist said my teeth and gum are looking good.
Additional Note:
Consider the physics behind using this thing - if you are in a big hurry and grab it with one hand in the middle section, the weight distribution could cause two things to occur: 1) you bang the spout around in your mouth in a very ineffective manner and believe this tool's performance sucks, or 2) you learn to hold the spout away from sensitive areas of your mouth in an ineffective manner and feel disappointed in the tools inability to reach and penetrate those areas adequately. Try to stop viewing this thing as a quick, one-handed, gadget that works on it's own. It is only a battery operated, semi-waterproof, water-resistant, water squirting device. It won't do much more of that by itself. If Waterpic told the world that this thing is tricky to use, they would sell very few of them - but in truth all sophisticated gadgets have their idiosyncrasies. Each user must find a method to hold and operate the tool within its limitations and best capabilities. I use two hands, one near the bottom of the spout to steer it and one near the bottom to carry the weight (it isn't really heavy, but the weight distribution(with water) deprives the accuracy of control I want). On low, I get plenty of pressure because I place the tip of the spout right up between teeth and between teeth and gums.
Tips:
Warm water (as when the shower is just about ready to be entered) may work better.
A little bit of Mouthwash mixed in with the water brings forth a refreshing result.
This is a shower gizmo - if you don't intend to use this in the shower, you might prefer to get a sink model instead - they lack the weight, hold more water, and are easier to deal with.
As mentioned before, this is not a travel device - you'll get water everywhere.
Don't overcharge these types of electronics - Waterpik didn't put a battery indicator, so now and then, it will quit - if it quits once - don't use until it is fully recharged. Once fully recharged, don't charge it until it gets really slow or quits.
I gave it 4 starts because I don't "love" my gadgets, nor did anything about this product "blow me away". But this product, for me, does what it was designed to do and what I expected it to do. It is well built. I wish it was designed a little lighter in weight, and had a better battery/charger system.
Customer Review: Good exercise in Engineering compromise
Summary: 4 Stars
I've owned my Ultra Cordless for about 6 months now, and feel that enough time has gone by to write a review. Some of categories I have been keeping an eye on are: 1) Battery Charge Intervals 2) Reservoir Size 3) Jet Power 4) Ergonomics 5) Construction Quality 6) Corrosion at recharge terminal 7) Power Switch reliability 8) Noise 9) Transportability 10) Effectiveness of oral irrigation.
1) The battery charge interval is outstanding. I use the unit twice a day on average, and I can go more than three weeks between charges. Each use of the unit drains the fully filled reservoir. I let the battery completely discharge through use, then fully recharge on the charger overnight for more than 12 hours.
2) Rerservoir size, on full power setting, is more than adequate to fully irrigate for me. I find no issues with the size.
3) Jet Power, has two settings. I use the full power setting, and it seems to have enough power with a fairly strong jet. When I first started using the Ultra, I had to start on the low setting due to gum sensitivity.
4) The unit has a tapered area that makes it easy to hold. Also, the tank design weighs the unit such that it is comfortable to the hand.
5) Construction quality seems good, with quality plastics. It is made in China.
6) Corrosion at recharge terminal. The terminal socket has pins that are gold plated. Even though it gets wet during use, there is no corrosion in the terminal socket, as would be expected from gold plated pins.
7) Power on/off switch reliability. This is a slider switch, and it gets wet during use. It does not appear to be water proof by way of external examination. However, it is working fine after 6 months, and doesn't appear to be suffering any degradation. It is something I will continue to keep an eye on.
8) Noise. The pump makes noise, and any insulation would add weight. The pump is fairly powerful for a battery powered unit, so some noise is a good engineering compromise. I don't find the noise excessive.
9) Transportability. I take my Ultra on trips and use it at home. I take off the reservoir tank and pull off the jet tip for transport. The three small items can pack neatly in your luggage. I'm pleased that the unit is easily transportable.
10) Effectiveness. My gums are much healthier and exhibit a pink color. If you have red gums, then that means you have some infection setting in. Irrigating with the Ultra and using a small amount of mouthwash (like Listerene) kills plaque forming bacteria. The jet removes food particles and some of the mouthwash "chemistry" gets under the gumline to help preserve gum health.
The niggles are that the jet tip rotates in its socket. You have to use two hands, one to hold the jet tip at the base, and the other to hold the unit. The jet tip should be keyed to the knurled collar. The power switch is a concern for longevity, but this worry could be unwarranted. It doesn't seem obvious how to replace the battery if and when it fails. Without the niggles, this could be a five star product, but I give four stars for a pretty solid showing.
Customer Review: Great concept. Flawed execution!
Summary: 3 Stars
My Dentist sold me on the product and the concept. I've been using it everyday ever since. I can honestly say the nylon string dental floss never inspired me. I always had a challenging time flossing the back teeth with them and as a result I never flossed regularly. With the cordless Waterpik I had no problem and enjoyed using it everyday to the amazement of my wife. For me it was certainly a significant improvement over the nylon floss, although relatively an expensive solution.
But (there is always one) the product is marred in terms of its expected lifespan and what I consider a flawed design which was a major annoyance to me.
Lifespan:
When it was new, I had to charge the battery once a week. Over time, the frequency of the battery recharging between uses increased and after six months it stopped working.
Flawed Design:
The product has no battery charge indicator. As a result:
1) Its impossible to tell how much charge is left in the battery
2) When its being charged you don't know if it has completed charging.
3) Or, if it is even charging - we have GFI outlets in our bathroom. Frequently my wife's hair dryer, after usage, trips the GFI circuit and as a result no power is supplied to all the circuits unless it is reset. Therefore even though the Waterpik is plugged in, you don't know if it getting charged until you go to use it or have to plug some other electrical product with an indicator to know power is being supplied.
The only other cordless oral hygiene product I can compare it to in terms of its lifespan and design is the Phillips sonic toothbrush, My original toothbrush lasted 5+ years before dying and had indicator to inform you the level of charge left and/or amount of the battery charged during recharging. I'm not sure how long I expected this product to last, but at the minimum at least two years, as this is the time of their limited warranty. I would have given the product one star, but the ease with which the Customer Service responded and agreed to send me a replacement (without having to send the broken product back) earns them additional two stars as I usually do not experience or expect this level of quality service in this day and age.
We will see how long the replacement product lasts. The other interesting thing the Customer service person mentioned, which sounds counter intuitive to me, is that I need to keep the Waterpik plugged in all the time expect when it is in use. I thought keeping a rechargeable battery plugged in all the time would reduce its lifespan. The experts will have to chime in.
Customer Review: Mixed results
Summary: 3 Stars
This is a god send for people with braces. While it's true that this is NOT a total replacement for flossing (braces or not) it does help a lot in getting rid of all kinds of things that get stuck to teeth and in between teeth. I chose this particular unit because it said it came with a nozzle designed for braces but personally I didn't find that part significantly useful compared to the regular attachment that comes with it other than the fact the water pressure was lower in the orthodontic attachment which made it easier to get used to the whole concept of blasting water on to sensitive gums.
I was very happy with the results I got from it while it was working, yet, this device came with a whole bunch of problems.
First, there was an issue with charging. The connection to the charger seemed poor so sometimes it wont charge at all. I literally had to plug it in over night and bet on the 50/50 chance of it actually charging or not depending on pure luck!
Secondly, for a device that is meant to be used in an environment full of water for an activity that involves a lot of water flowing and splashing around, it is not exactly water proof. It gets wet inside and causes all kinds of problems including biological things that grow inside (eeew)
The electric motor just rusted and got stuck after a few months so I had to take it apart and service it like a car - which is not something an average user would be able to do.
The nozzle sometime pops out of the main unit especially at the high pressure setting.
It is pretty noisy to begin with and gets worse as it ages. But if you close the door of your bathroom you might be able to get away with it.
The water tank is very small and I usually took about 3 refills on a normal cleanup.
Finally after about one year, the gears that make contact between the motor and the pump simply kept skipping and it got to a point beyond repair even for somebody like me who really kept trying hard to make it work.
I'm planning not to replace this with the same unit and try one of those simpler attach to the tap type ones instead next time. One major disadvantage is I won't have the option of using mouthwash (e.g. Listerine) instead of water alone in the spray with it.
But don't get me wrong, despite wearing braces, my hygienist complimented about how clean I maintained my teeth and good part of the credit should go to this device. If only it was a bit more reliable and user friendly. So do try it but don't expect it to be perfect.