The 10 Best Water Flossers

For a household that shares one sink, the Waterpik Aquarius WP-660 is the safe bet. Its plug-in base holds enough water for a whole session without stopping, and a dial steps from a gentle rinse to a strong jet across ten settings. Seven tips come in the box, with ones for braces, implants and gum pockets. It needs an outlet near the sink and a patch of counter, so it can't follow you into the shower or onto a trip.

Think of the Waterpik ION Professional as a countertop flosser that dropped the cord. A battery in the base runs about a month between charges, so it can sit on a shelf with no outlet in sight. It keeps the large tank, the full spread of pressure settings and a box of seven tips. The base is bulky, the charging cable comes without a wall plug, and the magnet that parks the handle can weaken with age.

The Sonicare Cordless Power Flosser 3000 splits its jet into four streams from an X-shaped tip, which washes more of each gap with less careful aiming. Several reviewers rated it the strongest cordless flosser they compared. A charge lasts for weeks, a pacer pauses the water to tell you when to move on, and a deep-clean mode pulses harder. Only two nozzles come with it, and the tank and tip have tight corners that are hard to clean.

People with braces, implants or bridges get the right tools in the Waterpik Cordless Advanced box: an orthodontic tip with a tapered brush and a plaque seeker with soft tufts for crowns and implants. It's fine to use in the shower, holds a charge for weeks of flossing and works on any voltage, so it travels well in its soft bag. The small tank runs dry in under a minute, so most people stop to refill once per session.

Good Housekeeping's panel picked the Waterpik Cordless 1100 as its best value, and the reasons are simple. It's a slim wand with a grippy handle that charges over USB-C and is safe to use in the shower. There's a low and a high setting, and the tank lasts most of a minute. Only one tip comes in the box, the warranty runs a single year, and there's no wall plug for the cable.

If you never remember to charge anything, the Waterpik Cordless Express runs on AA batteries, and the first set comes in the box. A set lasts a month or two of daily use. The tank snaps off and goes in the top rack of the dishwasher. The trade-off is a small tank that empties in about half a minute, so plan on a refill or two each night, and there are just low and high settings.

For tender gums that flinch at a hard jet, the Sonicare Power Flosser 5000 starts very soft and climbs through ten intensity steps, with a pulsing mode for a deeper clean. Its cross-shaped tip sprays several streams at once and turns all the way around, and the countertop tank covers a full session. Only two nozzles come with it, and outside tests of this exact model are scarce, so much of what's known comes from Philips itself.

On a tight budget, the AquaSonic Aqua Flosser covers a lot of ground. It's a rechargeable wand that's safe in the shower, with soft, normal and pulse modes and five tips, including ones for braces, gum pockets and the tongue. A cloth bag keeps everything together for trips, and the tank comes off for rinsing. The brand has a much shorter track record with flossers, and outside tests are thin, so treat its bold box claims with care.

The COSLUS C20 is a cordless wand with a bigger tank than most handhelds, so a full session often fits in one fill. It has three modes, a twin-stream tip and a charge that lasts for weeks, and the maker backs it for two years. Start on the soft mode, since the strong setting can sting gums that aren't used to it. It charges by cable only, with no wall plug in the box.

Frequent flyers will like how little room the COSLUS T40 takes: it's about the size of a phone, with a cap that stores the tips and a wide tank that's easy to rinse and dry. It has four strength levels and four nozzles, including a braces tip and a tongue cleaner, plus a USB-C charge that lasts for weeks. Outside reviews are few, and the small tank means a refill or two each session.