I've been using one for over two years. I suffer from environmental allergies all year around. I've used Flonase and Nasacort sprays that do help alleviate the sinus pressure BUT I also have ear pressure which neither helps alleviate. I've also used cetirizine (zyrtec) combined with the sprays but the ear pressure doesn't go away. The sinus rinse helps alleviate the ear pressure for me and works faster than any of the sprays or pills for my sinuses and it seems to last longer.
I use filtered tap water that I boil in the microwave, let cool, then pour in. A "trick" I learned for cleaning is to open the lid, pull out the saline pod, press the dimple on top back up, fill the reservoir with warm water, put the used salt pod back in, close the lid, and flush the system with warm water. You can also do this if you want to mix your own saline solution before or after boiling the water if you're out of salt pods or don't want to spend the money on them.
There are two tabs inside the salt pod holder that need to close for the button to unlock and activate the pump. The one on the lid istelf is the one that presses the small bump on the salt pod down. This is why once you open the lid and close again, the pump won't work. Pressing this dimple back up allows that button to be depressed again which allows the pump to operate again.
Pics below of the salt pod before and after.
