What has been your experience with Saline nasal rinses like the Neti Sinus rinse?

(First, let’s get his out of the way: It is a disgusting and uncomfortable procedure. There. I said it.)
I’ve been using the NeilMed premixed packets. One packet makes 250 ml (8 oz) but I use 2 packets in 400 ml because it gives me more rinse and more closely matches the “taste” of my gunk. I mix it in boiling water and let it sit covered for 42 minutes until it cools down to a temperature I can tolerate: 118F, 48C.
I use a squeeze bottle rather than the Neti pot so I can shoot it more forcefully (within limits) and get deeper. Oops! There goes First Grade!, Oops! There goes speech!
I have been doing this for a couple of years now and am always surprised at how much stuff, (snot, foreign matter: like grass and dirt, spray paint color, blood, even food bits!). How the heck does rice get up there, anyway???

So what do normal people, who don’t rinse, do about that junk? Does it just fester up there until you get a sinus infection? Does the body dissolve it somehow? Where does it go?
If you use the rinse do you find a lot of junk coming out? Do you use the squeeze bottle or the pot?
Am I doing long term damage by rinsing? Am I the only person on the planet who does this?