I rely on my Waterpik flosser more than I rely on my morning coffee, but one day when I tried turning it on the flosser did not work and was completely silent.
There was no charging light and the flosser was completely dead, no movement, nothing. For someone who uses it daily that silence was huge and I knew I had to do something to fix it.
I also have a short video about this topic which I uploaded on my YouTube channel but you can also watch it below.
There are three possible reasons why a Waterpik Water Flosser won’t work like a dead battery or using a wrong charger, power button/switch issue, or pump failure.
3 Reasons Why Your Waterpik Water Flosser Not Turning On Not Working
Here is what I did to bring it back to life and the possible 3 reasons as to why it is not working.
Reason 1 – Wrong Charger or Dead Battery
The Waterpik flosser requires a 5V and 1A power adapter or charger to charge it properly, if you are using a wrong or faulty charge it might not charge and work at all, make sure to use a suitable charger.
If it still doesn’t charge like mine, only replacing the battery can fix the issue.
I opened my flosser by wrapping the base with a cloth and hitting it with a hammer to knock it off but after it didn’t work out a prying tool helped me remove the bottom cover.
With the access to the battery I quickly measured its voltage using an multimeter which came around 4V meaning the battery was healthy, then I tested if the charging unit supplied enough power to charge the battery but to my surprise even that came out perfect to a 4.2V.
If your battery is far below the 3.7V mark replacing the original battery with a similar one can help you fix the issue.
Reason 2 – Power Button or Switch Failure
If you are trying to turn on the flosser but the button has no resistance the button contact may have failed. To make sure if the power button worked or not, disassemble the upper unit to take a closer look.
If you find that the contact point is broken, it might be causing the Waterpik flosser to not work or turn on and replacing it or fixing it can fix the issue for you.
Reason 3 – Pump Failure
If the pump is not working it might cause the Waterpik flosser to not work at all. To find out, open the upper unit of the flosser and closely look for pump issues.
If the diaphragm or piston pump is damaged or cracked the flosser might not throw out water and it won’t work properly. To fix the issue you need to replace the broken diaphragm or the piston pump but sourcing a replacement part can be very difficult.
