I don't think the people writing some of the negative reviews understand this product. They've greatly increased onvenience over the previous version by adding the various controls, and the handle. It's VERY hard (in this, or the previous) to actually see the water coming out as blue, but you can eventually see the water in the jar turning pale. Yes, it takes a while to fill, that's the way any of these types of sprayers work. I have no problem with leakage (I will watch for that, based on the bad reviews), mine had the washer where it belonged (if it didn't, I would have added one). The instructions for the old one said to use it for 12 minutes, and then done, even if the water was blue. These instructions imply that the mixing will take place as you spray, meaning that shaking it to dissolve the crystals is counterproductive; some clarification might help here.