Philips shaver Quick Clean Pod - confusion

gospete

Just wondering if anyone can throw some light on this.

I've got a Philips S5588/30 shaver. This specific model doesn't come with a Quick Clean Pod, although according to their website a cleaning pod is an approved accessory.
So I decided to purchase one. Trying it out I was totally underwhelmed. It didn't seem to actively clean like shown on the Philips videos.

Digging a bit deeper I found another Philips webpage that seems to contradict the above! This one says 'Please note that only the shavers that come with a Quick Clean Pod in the box are compatible with this system' 
This seems odd to me because a shaver that includes a pod (such as a S5579) looks identical to my shaver. I can't believe that Philips would go to the hassle of changing the internal design of a shaver depending on whether or not it comes with a cleaning pod!

The Philips Quick Clean Pod video only shows a 9000 series shaver which, when placed in the pod, goes through a specific cleaning cycle. Not so with my shaver which runs in the pod until I switch it off. So I'm now thinking that the Pod is really designed for a 9000 series shaver, and the 5000 series just an afterthought.

If someone has any experience of this I'd be most grateful for any comments.

Belenus

I have no experience with these cleaning pods so I can't comment on them.

Are the heads on your shaver removable?

I have used Philips rotary shavers for many decades. I blow it clean after every shave and I remove and clean the heads occasionally with soapy water and an old toothbrush. That works just fine for me.

cajef

I have a 7000 series which came with a cleaning pod kit, It does run through a cycle which takes approx. a minute to complete, the pods are not cheap I find if I rinse the heads off before using the pod it makes it last far more cycles, also I notice they changed the type/shape of the cleaning pods in the later models.  

gospete

Thanks for the info. A friend has a 7000 series and he tried it in my pod. What I noticed is that the cleaning cycle has bursts of higher speed rotations which pushes more of the liquid into the heads, with a good result. My 5000 series just runs at constant (lower) speed in the pod and doesn't clean as well.
This confirms my initial thought - in that the cleaning pod is not fully compatible with my 5588/30 and should not be listed as an available accessory. I can only assume that other 5000 series shavers that are sold WITH a pod work correctly.
Philips sell a range of 5000 series shavers that all look identical. Most people would be forgiven for thinking that the listed accessories would be compatible with all shavers in the range.