frequently asked questions

• For each 1% of the roughly 8bn people who live on this earth that use single use floss picks each day, that is 29 billion pieces of hard to recycle plastic littering our planet each year (8bn people x 1% x 7 days x 52 weeks = 29 billion), and that is before the packaging.
• If you buy friendly floss and use biodegradable floss with it, then rather than throwing away over 1000 plastic floss picks in 3 years and all the packaging that goes with them, you are throwing away just the biodegradable floss and way less packaging.

• A toothbrush can not reach between your teeth or into your gums where plaque and bacteria is likely to build – that is why dentists recommend we floss; some say it is as important as brushing your teeth!
• General advice is to floss once per day; we like to floss at night time before brushing teeth as you really get that extra-fresh clean feel that helps make it a habit. But the most important thing is that you do floss…at any time.

• Against floss picks we think so! Here is the math/s:
• If we assume a) a single-use floss pick costs 7p, b) friendly floss £15.99 and c) 40 meters of biodegradable floss £3.50, d) you floss once every day and e) with friendly floss you use 30cm of floss each time, then you break even at the end of the first year and then save almost £16 each year beyond – the cost of buying a friendly floss for a friend or a member of your family!
  • With a floss pick every year: 7p x 365 days = £25.55
  • With friendly floss first year: £15.99 + (£3.50 / 40m x 0.3m) x 365 = £25.57
  • With friendly floss second year on: (£3.50 / 40m x 0.3m) x 365 = £9.58

• Just like a metal teaspoon you should be able to use friendly floss without it banging against your teeth
• We’ve designed the tool to be small enough to fit in your mouth with your hand holding it. The arms of the tool should fit around your teeth and your hand should protect your teeth from the handle
• However if friendly floss is banging against your teeth you probably are using it too forcefully or are using the wrong type of floss for you:
• Use a floss that works for your teeth – if it is too large you may end up forcing it through the contact points between your teeth
• The right floss should pass relatively easily through the contact points when coming both in and out, using a slight left-right sawing motion. Once in between teeth, reduce the tension to hug the teeth into gums and floss up and down, not with a sawing motion
• If the tool still bangs against your teeth you should stop using it

For the first three ways, we find that wrapping your middle finger leaves your index finger to better control the floss but here is more detail:

1. finger way –
   • just like when you floss just with fingers, the more you wind the floss the more it holds your finger, so we suggest 2-3 winds
   • struggling to get to the right bottle-top size? Once you have wound you can lengthen or shorten the loop slightly by unwinding or winding just one side of the floss.
   • if you find floss is coming out of channels during use, either:
     1. wrap the floss around middle finger instead of index finger, so that you can use your index finger to hold the floss down on the handle or
     2. wrap the floss around middle finger and use your index finger to twist the floss so it crosses under central horn in a similar way seen in wrap wrap or loop way. To do this, snag floss loop onto friendly floss arm slots, put index finger under the floss, twist over and place finger on central horn so floss crosses under the horn. Watch this video to find out more.
2. wrap way – use your middle finger (not index) as the lever which means your index finger is free to better pinch the floss. Using middle finger as the lever is our preferred method for wrap way
3. loop way –
   • the more you spin the ‘rope’ the stronger the knot will be, sometimes wetting your fingers and winding the floss (as per threading method video) makes it easier to spin this rope.
   • if floss is coming off central horn while flossing, make the loop a couple of centimeters bigger and put in your middle finger and thumb, so index finger is now free to hold the floss down on the handle
4. triangle way – if you have close teeth or are putting significant force on the floss (perhaps if using wider floss) it is possible the anchor will give way. Try winding a couple more times or try a different floss, or you may need to use a different method.

• Some types of floss, particularly biodegradable, can fray and if you have close teeth this can gradually cut the floss if you continually use just one part of the floss. This is a major reason the loop way is our favourite, as during use you can easily rotate to a new part and use all of the loop to floss. To rotate, just put a finger on the central horn and pull one side of the loop (see threading video). The other reasons loop way is our favourite are we think it gives the best control and it uses the least floss!

Please visit our shipping page for more information about how we handle shipping.

Please visit our returns policies page for more information about how we handle returns.

• No but this product is made from stainless steel with no moving parts, so should be very durable. Please see our Returns policy for additional information on what to do if you find an issue with the product.

• Stock – if we are out of stock, you can leave your email address and we will contact you when more is available.
• Region – we wanted to focus in on UK first as we start off. Please add your email address and region here if you are not able to purchase and we will be in touch once we have launched for you. We’ll be adding the EU soon.

• Absolutely! We’d love to hear other ways to thread, the product is designed to complement human ingenuity. Please contact us at hello@friendlyfloss.com