How to Use a Water Flosser: A Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners

The first time most people switch on a water flosser, the mirror gets wet. That's normal, and it's easy to fix. Once you know where to stand, which setting to start on and when to close your lips, a session takes a couple of minutes and leaves nothing to wipe up. Here's how to do it, step by step.

A quick note before we start: a water flosser is an everyday oral hygiene tool. It helps rinse food particles and debris from between teeth, around braces and along the gumline, and most people use one alongside brushing, not instead of it. It isn't a substitute for professional dental care. If you have any dental concerns, ask your dentist.

What you need

• A charged cordless water flosser with a clean tip attached.
• Lukewarm water. Cold water can feel sharp on teeth; very hot water is unpleasant and isn't needed.
• A sink you can lean over, or the shower if your flosser is rated for it.

Before the first use

1. Charge it fully. Plug the included cable into any USB charger and let the battery fill before your first session. Our flosser takes about 3–6 hours with its USB-C cable. Don't use any flosser while it's charging.
2. Read the mode list. Most cordless flossers have a power button and a mode button. Ours has five modes: Child, Soft, Normal, Pulse and Strong.
3. Pick your tip. A standard tip is the right place to start. Specialty tips (for braces, for example) are for specific jobs; more on those below.

Step by step at the sink

1. Fill the tank. Fill it with lukewarm water and push it back on firmly so it doesn't leak. On flossers with a detachable tank, it's often easier to take the tank off and fill it under the tap.
2. Click in a tip. Push it in until it seats, then give it a gentle tug to check it's held firmly in the handle.
3. Choose the lowest setting. Start on the gentlest mode, which is Child or Soft on our flosser. Move up one step at a time over the next few days, and only if it feels comfortable. There is no prize for using the strongest setting.
4. Lean over the sink. Bend forward so your mouth is above the basin. Water will run out of your mouth while you work, and leaning lets it fall straight into the sink.
5. Put the tip in your mouth, then close your lips. Close your lips just enough to stop splashing, leaving a little gap for water to run out. Only then switch it on. Switching on before the tip is in your mouth is how mirrors get sprayed.
6. Follow the gumline. Start with the back teeth and aim the stream at the gumline, where the tooth meets the gum, with the tip angled at about 90 degrees to your teeth. Glide slowly along the gumline and pause for a moment between each pair of teeth. Do the outside of the upper teeth, then the inside, then the lower teeth.
7. Let the water drain. Don't try to hold the water in your mouth. Let it run out into the sink as you go.
8. Switch off before you take it out. Turn it off, then remove the tip from your mouth.

A full session usually takes about two minutes. Our flosser has a 2-minute timer that tells you when the session is done, and it remembers the last mode you used, so you don't have to step through the modes every time.

Technique tips

• Turn the tip, not your wrist. If your flosser has a rotating tip, turn it to reach the inside surfaces and back teeth.
• Go slow. Moving too fast means the water skips past the spaces between teeth.
• Don't press the tip against your gums. Hold it just off the surface and let the water do the work.
• Keep it on teeth and gums. Don't aim the stream at the back of your throat, under your tongue or at any soft tissue it isn't designed for.
• Stop if it's uncomfortable. Drop to a gentler setting. If discomfort continues, stop and talk to your dentist.
• Try the shower. Flossers rated IPX7, like ours, can be used in the shower, which takes care of splashing entirely.

Cleaning and drying the flosser

A few seconds after each session is enough to keep a flosser fresh. Standing water left in the tank is the main thing to avoid.

1. Empty the tank after every use. Don't leave water sitting in it until tomorrow.
2. Flush the tip by running a few seconds of clean water through it.
3. Rinse the outside. An IPX7 body can be rinsed under the tap. Wipe off any toothpaste residue around the buttons and tip holder.
4. Take the tank off if it's detachable, and let the tank and the body air dry separately, standing upright and open.
5. Keep the charging port dry. Make sure the port is completely dry before you plug in the cable, and close any port cover if your flosser has one.

Every so often, give the tank a fuller wash with mild soap and warm water, then rinse it well. Check your flosser's manual before adding anything other than plain water to the tank.

Looking after the tips

• Give each person their own tip. If two people share one flosser, each should use a separate tip.
• Replace tips when they wear. Follow the replacement schedule in your flosser's manual, and replace a tip sooner if it's cracked, bent or discolored, or if the stream starts spraying sideways.
• Store tips dry. Let them air dry before you put them away, and keep them somewhere clean.

Our flosser comes with six tips: two standard tips, an orthodontic tip, a periodontal tip, a plaque tip and a tongue scraper. The standard tip is the everyday choice; the others are for specific jobs, and the manual explains each one.

Water flossers for kids

Children should use a water flosser only with an adult watching, on the lowest setting. Our flosser has a gentle Child mode for this. Show them how to lean over the sink and close their lips first, and keep sessions short while they learn. If you're not sure whether a water flosser suits your child, ask their dentist.

Braces, implants, bridges or recent dental work

Water flossers are popular with people who wear braces, because the stream reaches around wires and brackets. Many flossers, ours included, come with an orthodontic tip for this. Still, if you have braces, implants, bridges, crowns, gum concerns or recent dental work, ask your dentist or orthodontist before you start, and follow their advice on which setting and tip to use. If they're happy for you to go ahead, start on the gentlest setting.

Common beginner mistakes

• Starting on Strong. Always start low and work up.
• Switching on outside your mouth. Tip in, lips closed, then power on.
• Standing upright. Lean over the sink so water falls into it.
• Leaving water in the tank. Empty it and let it dry after every session.
• Charging a wet flosser. Dry the port first.

Quick recap

Charge it, fill it with lukewarm water, start on the lowest setting, lean over the sink, close your lips before you switch on, glide along the gumline and pause between teeth. Afterwards, empty the tank, flush the tip and let everything air dry. Use it alongside brushing, keep up your regular dental checkups, and ask your dentist if anything about your teeth or gums concerns you.

Still choosing a flosser? Our guide on how to choose a cordless water flosser covers pressure, tank size, battery and more.

From our store

Cordless Water Flosser with 5 Modes and 6 Tips

Five modes from a gentle Child setting up to Strong (about 30–150 psi), six tips, a 350 mL detachable tank, IPX7 water resistance and USB-C charging. Free shipping and 30-day returns from Depoodeal.

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