Water Flossing Makes a Mess. That’s Why I Use This Cheapie Waterpik Only in the Shower.

Updated November 28, 2022

Waterpik Cordless Express is still on sale for Cyber Monday.

Elissa Sanci

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The first time I used my Waterpik Cordless Express was nothing short of a disaster. Water shot from the water flosser with alarming intensity—which makes sense, considering that the stream needs to be strong enough to effectively clear the gunk from between teeth. Still, I wasn't prepared for the immediate waterworks. My first mistake was turning on the flosser before sticking it in my mouth. Water instantly sprayed from the spout, soaking my shirt, splattering against the mirror, puddling on my countertop. No surface was safe from the stream of water propelling across my bathroom.

This handheld, battery-operated cordless model is more portable than its corded counterparts—and it's waterproof, so it can go into the shower with you.

*At the time of publishing, the price was $36.

Even once I’d gotten a handle on using the Waterpik, I still managed to create mayhem. To be fair, I knew that using a water flosser was going to be messy, even if I was using it correctly. As Wirecutter's guide explains, the flossers we recommend dispense a continuous stream and fill your mouth with water rapidly, which essentially requires you to learn to drool neatly. There is little I can do gracefully, and as it turns out, drooling is not one of those things. I learned quickly that if you’re not consciously leaning over the sink with your head angled while maneuvering the tool around your mouth, you’re drooling on yourself. Little feels as icky as a stream of slobber snaking down your chin and neck into your pajama top.

To mitigate the chaos, I now use my waterproof, handheld Waterpik Cordless Express only when I’m in the shower—and, for me, there's no better place to floss. Some people might even call me the Floss Boss. (Note: No one but my editor calls me this.)

The Waterpik Cordless Express also happens to be the only cordless flosser we recommend, so it's actually feasible to take this thing into the shower (unlike bulkier models, which need to be plugged in). Showering with a Waterpik is great for all the obvious reasons. It's virtually mess-free, considering that the shower is the one place in the house where water everywhere isn't an issue. Refilling the water reservoir by sticking it under the showerhead is convenient and easy, especially since I’ve found that I need to refill the canister at least once to floss my entire mouth. And the device is easy to clean—I can just toss the reservoir in the dishwasher.

But the hidden benefit of keeping my slim Waterpik flosser in the shower is that I actually use it when I see it there. Remembering to floss was never my strong suit—it's why I ended up investing in the Waterpik in the first place—but keeping the flosser on the counter wasn't going to serve as an adequate reminder if I never wanted to use it for fear of making a mess. Tucked between bottles of shampoo and body wash, my Waterpik is hard to ignore while I’m going through the motions of showering. Now that I’ve removed the mess from the equation, I have no excuse not to floss.

My teeth—and my bathroom—have never been cleaner.

This article was edited by Catherine Kast and Christine Cyr Clisset.

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