Just because I love it

'Tis Christmas Eve Eve and I'm thinking, for no particular reason, about product placement. The Wikipedia entry is one of the longest I have seen. Next time I watch a movie or TV, I'm going to observe very carefully for name brands.

Segue with me, please.

In case you're wondering, Salonpas hasn't sent me any free patches yet.

Still waiting.

Considering the surge in sales that probably followed my last product post, I should be getting something in the mail any day.

Segue.

For years, I have fought the notion of an electric, supersonic toothbrush. Or is that ultrasonic? Whatever. The notion seemed namby-pamby to me. Typical American overkill of a concept. But Jeff, who registers high on the scale of dental paranoia, had been bringing up the topic more frequently, so I broke down and bought him a couple of cheap ones. He loved them.

A few weeks ago, I was at Costco and in a bit of a spending mood. Their two-packs of Phillips Sonicare brushes were on coupon, so I thought to myself, What the heck, and put one in my cart. 

There they sat, in their pristine box, for several weeks. I was loath to put them to the test for some reason.

Scared of buyer's remorse, maybe?

Last week, I took one out of the box and read the instructions on how to get started.

Seriously, instructions on using a toothbrush?

Heaven help us!

And there it sat for a few more days.

Two whole pages of DANGER and WARNING notices coloured me reluctant.

But one morning, when I wasn't rushing out of the door, I stood at the sink and ploughed through the instructions as I brushed my teeth.

Don't look at my belly.

You did it, didn't you? Looked at my belly.

Pshaw!

Holy cow. I am a convert.

After I brush with this thing, I feel like I just came back from the dental hygienist.

Without the hundred-dollar price tag.

Squeaky-shiny-clean.

So, here are the things I love about it, apart from the above-mentioned squeaky teeth.

There is a learning curve, so the brush speeds up over the first twelve uses to allow you to get used to it.

The brush turns itself off after two minutes, so there's no guessing how long to brush. And I'm surprised how often I am still brushing when it turns off.

The little blue patch on the brush fades so that you know when to replace the head.

My gums feel healthier since I've been using it.

But there are a few drawbacks.

Drool. Down your shirt. Because you forget that under no circumstances should you open your mouth while the brush is turned on.

Likewise, forgetting to turn it off when you take it out of your mouth results in mirror splatter.

It's not pleasant.

The charging light is bright. The first night I left my brush on the charger, I couldn't find it in the morning. Jeff had hidden it because the light was disturbing his sleep. But that's because our sink is in our bedroom.

It's expensive. You can get one brush with a spare head for about $40.  I normally buck at paying more than a dollar for a toothbrush, so you can imagine how that sits with me.

Drawbacks aside, I will stick with this. I still keep a manual toothbrush on hand for those times when I'm in a hurry or the power is out, but I will choose the Sonicare for my main morning brush.

And, oops, my impulsive bout of wallpaper stripping is revealed to the world.

I figured that if I started it, I could work on it a little at a time until the wall was stripped.

Yeah.