Boon won the admiration of our household with the Frog Pod (read more about it here, here and here), so I’ve been looking forward to trying out some of their other products for some time. Today I take a look at the Boon Flō (just Flo from here on out), a unique faucet cover. And when I say unique, I mean it. Just look at that picture: The Flo would look right at home on the set of a science fiction movie (“Set your Flo’s for stun!”). But the unique looks are part of some great features.
However, before you read further, do me a favor: go take a look at your tub’s faucet. And be sure to run your finger along the underside. No really, I’ll wait…
Welcome back. Now imagine your child banging her head against that faucet. Scary thought, huh? It only takes a second for a child to slip in a tub and that faucet is in the perfect place to catch them on the way down or, even worse, with the sharp underside on the way up. And that’s why you need a faucet cover. It doesn’t matter if it’s a Flo or another cover, just get one.
Ok, now back to Flo…
Besides a futuristic appearance, what else does it offer? Like other faucet covers, Flo helps protect your child by wrapping the metal faucet in soft plastic and foam. And Flo’s “donut” design should allow it to work with a wide range of faucets. But Flo doesn’t stop there. There’s also a built-in bubble bath dispenser: Just fill it with your child’s favorite bubble bath and release some with a press of the front button. However, my favorite feature is the way Flo’s front edge diverts the water out and away from the faucet. Opening the faucet fully sends water cascading almost a foot out from Flo in a large, gentle fan. Our daughter loves this and, in theory, it should make it easier to rinse her hair. In reality, we still have to use a cup most of the time because she enjoys ducking her head under the cascading water at the start of her bath rather than after we shampoo her hair. Of course, that’s not really Flo’s fault.
But I do have some quibbles about Flo. First, the bubble bath dispenser doesn’t always close completely. It never stayed open enough to drain the liquid reservoir, but it was enough to leave a small puddle of bubble bath on the water diverter each morning. My wife and I found that jiggling the dispenser button at the end of each bath did seem to help seal the opening. Second, Flo traps water inside its body, creating a potential home for mildew and, once it’s stained, the soft foam doesn’t come clean. However, removing Flo from the faucet every few days to allow it to dry thoroughly should reduce the likelihood of mildew.
Still, these minor issues don’t stop me from recommending Flo. The water diverter alone is worth the $15 price. Plus, if you look around, you can find Flo as part of the Frog Pod Bonus pack which also includes the Frog Pod and a set of Boon Bath Goods (“a collection of fifteen bath appliqués, three balls, and two mini-scrubbies”) for about the price you’d pay for the Frog Pod and Flo separately.
I heard back from a Boon representative regarding the issue we had with the bubble bath dispenser. It’s real purpose is to prevent kids from dumping the entire bottle of bubble bath liquid in the tub, so it’s only meant to hold enough bubble bath for one bath. And an empty dispenser at the end of each bath means no liquid to leak out overnight.
So now you know.