Philips Sonicare Cordless Power Flosser review

I’ll confess: I’ve never been one for flossing. I always found it made my gums sore and was just a generally difficult and unpleasant task to have to do each day. So I am the type of person that only tends to floss the day before I go to the dentist so I can try to avoid the lectures—but they know. They always know.  Recently Phillips offered me the opportunity to try out a new water flosser. Admittedly I was surprised because I thought those came and went in the 1990s. Turns out the technology is still around and there’s been some improvement. Given that my dentist is still hassling me to floss, I figured I’d give water flossing a try. In this Philips sonicare power flosser 3000 cordless review I’ll show you what you get and  how it works, the special features it has, and what the overall experience is like. I’ll wrap things up with the pros and cons and tell you if I think I can recommend the Philips Cordless Power Flosser to you.

Watch my video review of Philips Sonicare Cordless Power Flosser

What is a cordless power flosser and what can I do?

If you’ve ever heard the term Water Pik, you’ll be familiar with a water flosser. While WaterPik is a brand name, like Kleenex or Jello, the concept for the device is widely available. A power flosser uses jets of water to get into the narrow areas between your teeth. It’s designed to loosen debris that your toothbrush can’t reach and two remove plaque on the tooth surface all in hopes of reducing tooth decay and keeping your gums healthy. Recommended usage is once per day.

While many water flossing devices have a large tank which sits on your bathroom counter and has a hose connected to the flossing tip, this unit is completely self-contained. While it is extremely chunky, it’s actually pretty easy to maneuver and well-balanced in weight so that is actually quite easy to use even when full.

Philips Sonicare Cordless Power Flosser: What’s in the box?

The package is pretty paired down; you’ll get the large power flosser device which is made up of two parts; there’s a handle with all the buttons and controls, and a clear plastic water tank on the bottom. Also included in my kit or two different flossing nozzles; The F1 standard nozzle, as well as the F3 quad stream nozzle.

Set up and preparation

Getting ready to use Philips sonicare cordless power flosser is simple than you think  . You’ll want to plug it in and give it a full charge before you use it. A small USB see charging port is located in the top of the handle.

With a fully charged device you’re ready to get flossing.

Fill the water reservoir with lukewarm water. It detaches and reattaches from the handle with a simple twist.

Next you’ll want to choose your nozzle and insert it into the top of the device. This isn’t the most intuitive part of the job, and you may need to loosen the collar on top of the flosser to get your nozzle in properly. You’re going for a distinct clicking sound. It took me a couple of tries but once I understood what to do it was easy from there on.

How to use a water flosser

Phillips recommends that you do a quick test before using your device by aiming the nozzle tip into your sink and turning the device on.

There are a couple of ways to actually use the water flosser. Phillips’ user manual recommends you place the nozzle tip in your mouth then lean over the sink and partially close your lips over the nozzle tip to avoid splashing. With this method you’ll want to leave enough space to allow water to flow from your mouth into the sink. Then turn the flosser on and position the nozzle tip just above the gumline at a 90° angle. You’ll essentially draw a line around your mouth from jaw to jaw doing both the inside and back of your teeth as well as the front.

I actually found Philips sonicare cordless power flosser 3000 a little less messy to close my mouth all together and do a few teeth at a time until my mouth was full of water, then spit the water into the sink and continue on.

The nozzle tip can be turned to different angles so it can reach both the backside and front side of your teeth more easily. You can also use your flossers to clean orthodontics and retainers.

My experience with Philips Sonicare Cordless Power Flosser

Since this is my first time ever using a device like this, I don’t really have anything to compare it to. I can say that this model was really easy to use, and seem to hold enough water for me to do my whole mouth on a single tank. The jets of water are not painful or stinging; it’s more of a gentle swirling. Even though there are different intensities, I didn’t feel that any of them was too much.

As I noted earlier, I wasn’t a fan of the brand-recommended method of leaning over the sink with your mouth open to floss. I just found it a bit too messy. Overall I think it did an extremely good job at getting all the junk my toothbrush tends to mess, and the proof of this was when I spit water into the sink each time; even though I had already brushed my teeth, the water floss or was still finding bits to clean away.

Modes and intensities

My  Philips sonicare-power flosser 3000 cordless brush has three different intensity settings; essentially low medium and high. There’s actually a decent amount of difference between these settings, with the low setting being extremely gentle well the highest setting actually feels like it’s doing more cleaning. After testing out each of the levels I found I preferred the highest intensity setting.

There are two different cleaning modes; there is clean and deep clean. You can easily switch between them by pressing the mode button on the handle.

Clean mode essentially uses a single stream of water, while deep clean alternates regular intensity with a stronger pulse of water. While the pulsesations are more noticeable, this might just be a personal preference thing, but I found the high-low pulsations did seem like they were perhaps more helpful at dislodging any stubborn bits.

Power and battery life

Phillips says this device is designed to give you about 25 uses per charge; with each session lasting about one minute or so. There is a battery indicator on the bottom of the handle that will show a simple light when you activate the handle; if it’s solid green; it’s full. Flashing green means the battery level is about half, and if the light is flashing amber it’s time to recharge. The charging time isn’t disclosed in the manual, but when mine was running low I would just plug it in before bed and it was recharged by morning.

Cleaning and maintenance

Phillips recommends you clean your Philips sonicare power flosser 3000 cordless about once a week by cleaning the water reservoir either in the dishwasher or in mild soap and water. The handle can be wiped clean with a soft cloth and mild soap. You can rinse the nozzles under warm water and soak them in a vinegar solution if they need a little extra cleaning. To more thoroughly clean the inside of your flosser, running another vinegar water solution inside the tank will help you keep everything working smoothly.

One neat little extra feature is that you can actually store an extra flossing nozzle inside the water reservoir by inserting the bottom of the nozzle into the bottom of the power flosser.

You can use mouthwash mixed with water in the reservoir also but just make sure to give it a throat rinse afterwards. Phillips recommends you replace your flossing nozzles every six months, same as a toothbrush. Replacement nozzles cost a whopping $25 each, which I think is probably the biggest downside to this device. They also seemed a bit hard to find.

A couple of other frequently asked questions about this device? You can use it to clean orthodontics and presumably some thing like dentures too.

Overall review: Philips Sonicare Cordless Power Flosser

Overall, I was kind of surprised that I liked this device and found it both useful and effective. Philips Sonicare Cordless Power Flosser’s cordless operation makes it really easy to use without having to worry about cords and tubing getting tangled. The weight and balance of the device makes it easy to maneuver, and a variety of different tips let you get the most comfortable experience for you. I like the options for different cleaning modes and intensities and found there is probably a setting that would suit everyone from kids to seniors.

Any downsides? During my testing I didn’t really find any major red flags to be honest. I suppose we could complain that 25 minutes of battery on a single charge is not very much; but considering that’s almost a full month of use, it actually seems pretty reasonable. The other grape might just be that the handle and water tank are kind of bulky, but compared to some other countertop models I’ve seen, this actually seems like a relatively compact solution. The biggest downside of this device for me is the extremely pricey replacement nozzles. At about 25 bucks a pop or $50 for a two pack, the cost for this will quickly outstrip the original price you pay for the device.

Even so, I’m a new fan of the Philips Sonicare Cordless Power Flosser and I think you will be too.

It sells for about $79US/CAD and you can get it from places like Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart

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