Nasal irrigation flushes saline solution through your nasal passages to clear out mucus, allergens, and irritants. It’s one of the most effective home treatments for congestion, whether from allergies, a cold, or chronic sinus problems. The process takes about two minutes once you get the hang of it, and the key details that matter most are water safety, salt ratio, and head position.
What You Need
You can use a neti pot (a small teapot-shaped vessel), a squeeze bottle designed for sinus rinsing, or a bulb syringe. Squeeze bottles give you more control over water pressure and are the most popular choice. Whichever device you pick, you’ll also need safe water and salt.
The water matters more than anything else. Never use plain tap water. Tap water can contain low levels of organisms, including Naegleria fowleri, a rare but dangerous amoeba. Your options for safe water are:
- Distilled or sterile water purchased from a store
- Boiled tap water that has been boiled for 3 to 5 minutes, then cooled to lukewarm
- Filtered water passed through a filter designed to trap infectious organisms (the CDC publishes guidance on which filters qualify)
How to Mix the Saline Solution
You can buy premixed saline packets, but making your own is simple and cheaper. The American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology recommends this recipe: combine 3 teaspoons of iodide-free salt with 1 teaspoon of baking soda, and store the dry mixture in a small airtight container. When you’re ready to rinse, add 1 teaspoon of that mixture to 8 ounces (1 cup) of lukewarm safe water and stir until dissolved.
Use non-iodized salt, sometimes labeled “pickling salt” or “canning salt.” Iodized table salt can irritate your nasal lining. The baking soda acts as a buffer that makes the solution gentler and reduces stinging. This recipe produces a concentration close to isotonic, meaning it matches the salt level of your body’s own fluids. Hypertonic solutions (higher salt concentration) may pull more fluid out of swollen tissues, but they also tend to cause more burning. For most people, isotonic is the comfortable starting point.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Stand or sit over a sink or large basin. Tilt your head forward and slightly to one side. Keeping your head tilted forward is important because it prevents the solution from running down the back of your throat. Breathe through your mouth the entire time.
Place the spout of the neti pot or the tip of the squeeze bottle snugly against your upper nostril. If you’re using a squeeze bottle, gently squeeze. If you’re using a neti pot, raise the handle so gravity moves the water. The saline will flow into the upper nostril, travel through your nasal cavity, and drain out the lower nostril into the sink. You may feel a mild pressure or fullness, which is normal.
Use about half the solution (4 ounces) per side. Once one side is done, tilt your head the other direction and repeat through the opposite nostril. When you’re finished, gently blow your nose to clear any remaining solution. Avoid blowing hard, which can push fluid into your ear canals.
Why It Works
Saline irrigation does more than just physically wash out mucus. It removes inflammatory compounds from the nasal lining, which helps reduce swelling over time. It also increases the beat frequency of cilia, the tiny hair-like structures that line your nasal passages and sweep mucus toward the throat. Faster cilia movement means your nose clears itself more efficiently between rinses.
A Cochrane review of the evidence found that people with chronic sinus problems who used large-volume saline irrigation scored meaningfully better on quality-of-life measures after three months compared to those receiving no treatment. At six months, the improvement roughly doubled. The benefit builds with consistent use, not from a single rinse.
How Often to Rinse
During an active cold or allergy flare, once or twice daily is typical. For chronic sinus issues, daily rinsing over weeks to months produces the best results based on the available evidence. Some people rinse only when symptoms appear, while others make it part of their daily routine like brushing their teeth. If daily rinsing starts to feel drying or irritating, scaling back to a few times a week is reasonable.
Cleaning and Replacing Your Device
Rinse the bottle, cap, and any tubing with safe water after every use and let all parts air-dry completely. For an extra disinfection step, UW Medicine recommends placing the bottle, cap, and straw in the microwave for 40 seconds. Do not use a dishwasher to clean the inside of a squeeze bottle, as the heat and water jets may not reach all internal surfaces effectively.
Replace plastic squeeze bottles every three months. If you notice any discoloration, cloudiness, or cracks before that, throw it away and start with a new one. Ceramic neti pots last longer but still need thorough washing and drying after each session.
Dealing With Burning or Stinging
Some burning during or after rinsing usually means the salt concentration is off. If the solution stings, reduce the amount of salt slightly. Also double-check that the water has cooled to lukewarm. Water that’s too warm or too cool will both cause discomfort, though for different reasons. Lukewarm, roughly body temperature, is the target.
A small amount of solution may trickle down your throat or drip from your nose for a few minutes afterward. This is normal and harmless. If you feel pressure or fullness in your ears during the rinse, you’re likely squeezing too hard or blowing your nose too forcefully afterward. Use a gentler stream next time.
When to Skip It
Nasal irrigation isn’t safe in every situation. You should avoid it if you have an active ear infection, pressure in one or both ears, a nostril that’s completely blocked (the fluid has nowhere to go and may be forced into the ear canal), or if you’ve had recent surgery on your ears or sinuses. In those cases, the rinse can worsen symptoms or introduce fluid where it shouldn’t be.