Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I received this today (4/9/2022), and decided to try it out right away. I've recently had a cold and seem to have that nasal congestion hanging on. So rather than get out the old manual netty-pot, I opted to buy one of these. I'd been looking at them for some time. I did the research, and review scores are pretty high for this item. I read through the simple instructions, and began the process. First off, I must say that you should read not only the simple manual that comes inside the box, but also the "quick start instructions" that are on the box lid. Some things you'll learn from reading the box lid--1) how to put the saline pod in correctly, and 2) that if you insert the saline pod, then open and close the lid, the power button will not work. I actually was packing up the product to send back as "defective" when I saw this second thing on the box lid. It is NOT included in the instruction manual. 3) Where is the power button. Read the inside box lid and you'll see it there. It's not in the manual. Anyway, use of the product is as the manufacturer pretty simply states. However, when closing the saline pod lid, you'll feel like you're crushing the pod. The lid contacts the pod at a little less than half closed--so you to close it you have to force it closed, which breaks open the foil. But honestly, it feels like you're crushing and destroying the pod. But that is the way it works, so don't fret. After re-assembling the unit, and putting warmed distilled water into the chamber to the full mark, I added a new pod. I installed the nasal pillows, and the catch tank. With a netty pot, you basically hold your breath, and turn your head sideways to allow the fluid to run out of the other nostril into the sink. With this unit you hold your head erect. I was apprehensive about starting it because I was unsure what to expect. But when I touched the button, the fluid was easily passing through my right nostril and being sucked into the left. However, I did feel a lot of it trying to go into my mouth and down my throat. This was a discipline issue at least in part. I found that I had to discipline myself to hold my breath, and keep my mouth closed. Once I did that, the second "shot" was more successful. I did this several more times, and ended up spitting a lot of fluid out of my mouth, and blowing my nose after I stopped. Keep in mind, it is pushing water into your nostrils on one side and sucking it out on the other. My difficulty was that it seemed like more fluid was being pushed in than was being sucked out. But this may simply be my own inexperience with the unit, so I'm not judging it negatively for that. Continuing on. When you let off the power button, your sinus is still full of the solution. So you'll need to do this over the sink, so that you can blow that excess out of your sinus into the sink. I could see 'debris' in the catch tank, but not an excessive amount. I've never actually seen what comes out using a manual netty pot, so this was "educational". Cleanup was easy and simple. Most of the cleanup is simply rinsing the catch tank out with hot water, and same with the nasal pillows. I also actually rinsed out the fill tank--which is difficult because of the large lip on the inside of the fill port. That lip makes it difficult to perform this rinsing (not required according to the manual) because you have a real time trying to get the water out. Shaking several times over the sink got most of it, and I let it set out on a paper towel on the counter, along with the catch tank, and the nasal pillows, to dry. Then putting back into the box is easy. I kept the small plastic bag that the nasal adapter came in, but saw no need to keep any of the other packaging. I'll be storing it in its original box, with only the nasal adapter in a dustproof bag. I assume that the unit will become second-nature with continued use. I'm giving it a 4, but maybe that's not fair. However, with the instruction manual issues, I cannot in good conscience give it a perfect score. But if I could give it 4-1/2, I would. I recommend this product.