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Laptops need to be unplugged and run on batteries occassionally too - otherwise the batteries will die from a lack of use even though it's been plugged in and used consistently.

That's just the way of Li Batteries...

I'm in the same boat with my sonicare...the issue is that the batteries are not meant to be "deep cycled". I think you'll see that your toothbrush will start to hold less and less of a charge.

I'm down to two brushings worth in about 9 months time...

I don't know about toothbrushes, but electric shavers...

Generally, I plug it in the night before I'm actually going to use it. Easy.

i lost you after the first few sentences, it just sounds like too much thinking to me.
i always keep my tbrush in the bedroom after hearing or reading somewhere that the bathroom was the worse place to keep it--mold and germs etc..
and to make it really simple i use manual.

I recharge every week or two.

I read the same information as sassydo, so it's the kitchen sink for the Sonicare. It reminds me to clean out the sink bowl before brushing - that's two times a day that I clean dishes.

Just get the new battery operated tooth brush. They are less than 7 dollars, and the replacements head are 2 dollars a piece.

I got one on sale just to try it. I LOVE IT. And it is so easy to use. It is water proof with a membrane on off switch. When you are done, you just sit it on end.

It is very powerful. It came with batteries, but I will replace them with rechargeables when the time comes.

I think this is a case of a product too cheap to catch on. I just got a second one for 2 bucks. I think they are too cheap to advertise. They are about the size of regular tooth brush, and are sold with them, hanging on a hook.

Battery Low warning=put toothbrush back on charger.

wow i guess i'm different. I leave mine on the charger all the time.
Funny sassydo mentioned keeping her toothbrush in her bedroom because of the germs. My previous apartment's sink was directly next to the toilet so I left my toothbrush on the bar in the kitchen. Whenever people came over they always asked why my toothbrush was in the kitchen! Now my toilet/shower has a separate door so i can leave the toothbrush in the sink portion of the bathroom.

I've heard about the toliet-germs and toothbrush peril too - really gross!! I now keep the toothbrush closed in a cabinet.

if you're worried about germs in the bathroom, just cover the head of the toothbrush. Or, remove and store the head in a closed canister or the medicine cabinet. Problem solved!

Has anyone ever seen the Mythbusters episode where they test the germs on the toothbrush theory? It was interesting, but they found that a used toothbrush on the sink (next to a toilet) compared to a used one elsewhere in the home (FAR from a toilet) had the same amount of germs. Yeah, I know, far from a scientific study, but unless its a used one for scrubbing tight areas, the toothbrush belongs in the bathroom to me. Keyboards are usually germier than a toilet seat, we clean toilets more than keyboards usually. I think I am going to clean my keyboard now...

I used to not charge my sonicare until the light started flashing. However, because the batteries are so low the toothbrush can't operate at full power, thus resulting in a lesser quality clean. (Haven't you noticed a difference between a freshly-charged brush and the day before?)

I recently changed my toothbrush head and what a difference it makes! The bristles are a lot more firm so my teeth get just polished.

Bobby Jones re: you deep cycle comment, can you elborate? I fully charged, depleted and repeated thinking this was better for the battery. I have a number of rechargeable things that i have practiced this method on and have always had the best luck with battery life (my 3 year old cell phone can still hold a 4 day charge with minimal use).

I don't have an outlet in my bathroom either so i charge mine in the kitchen. didn't think about germs so much since i keep mine on the top shelf with the plastic cover thingy over it.

i plug it in for 24 hours once every 5-6 weeks

The instructions with mine said fully discharge once every six months.

About every 2-3 weeks I need to charge for about 24 hours. I just replaced mine 6 month ago after the on button no longer worked on my 4-year-old sonicare.

It depends on the type of battery, but in general rechargeable alkaline batteries should be topped off, while NiCad's should be drained to about 10% capacity (this is what they mean by fully, weirdly enough). The newer NiMH batteries have so many charge/discharge cycles that it doesn't really matter when you charge them. However, they self-drain at a higher rate than Alkaline batteries, so you'll get more recharge cycles if you recharge it before it self drains (and you shouldn't use them in smoke detectors or for emergency flashlights). The newer Lithium ion batteries seen in a lot of the new toothbrushes should be charged frequently to preserve battery life, but need to be fully (ie down to about 10%) discharged every 20 to 30 cycles, for optimum battery life.

See these websites for a lot of useful info. Remember that Lithium batteries are very different from Lithium ion batteries.

http://michaelbluejay.com/batteries/charging-tips.html

http://www.batteryuniversity.com/parttwo-34.htm