I'm into sprouting as an ongoing, forever part of my daily diet and I have both the EZ Sprouter cups and this set of trays. I was put off by some of the low-star review on these trays so didn't order them for a while, but I finally did, and I love them! That said, they REQUIRE some tips that aren't in the directions.First of all, I agree, they don't drain quite as much as they should without Tip #1 which is:Tip #1: Water them as directions say. But then, once the water has drained down to fill each tray in turn (which happens in a really great-design way) and the water finally drains into the bottom white water-catcher cup, pour it out. And then take the whole stack of growing trays (whether one or four) and tilt it within the white cup at as much of an angle as you can. The angle is just about halfway between the trays facing the ceiling and the wall). Don't worry, it doesn't topple. The top of the white catcher tray will be supporting the top edge of your bottom growing tray and it's a solid holding position. So what happens inside is that all the excess water in the trays drains down and out into the catcher cup. I mean, this can be close to 1/2 cup of water that would have otherwise been spread throughout the bottoms of the 4 trays. That's a tad too much. But the draining this way? It works great! Once that secondary draining is done, empty out that water and the trays can now sit normally stacked for 12 hours (or 8 if you are watering 3x/day - I just do two).Tip #2: If you see white fuzz at about Day 2, don't panic and gross out thinking it's mold. It's not! But if you don't know what it is, that's what comes to mind. It's fine white root hairs that the plant is sending out at a stage in its development during growth. We don't see this in mason jars because the stems are all jumbled, but in straight vertical growing stems, you will see them. When you add water, these mini-roots lie flat again, and after 1-2 waterings from their first appearance you don't see them anymore. But I mention this because kneejerk is to be creeped out if not expecting them. I notice them mostly on my radish sprouts and mixes containing radish seeds but they're present in other seed types also. So just expect that and don't mistake what they are.Tip #3: Once your leafy sprouts (clover, alfalfa, radish, broccoli, etc.) are at 5th day out of initial 8-hour soak, they're getting pretty tall. In fact, a little taller than tray height. Not an issue, but if you don't like their little leafy heads being bent, once fully drained you can put a maturing crop's tray on a plate or something.Tip #4: I do not personally like the idea of my top tray being open-air because... a fly? Or dust? So you can just lay a piece of cheesecloth or a thin dish towel over the top tray.Tip #5: I've tried 1 Tbsp. leafy seeds in one tray and that's pretty much max for a single tray. There are 3 teasp. in 1 Tbsp. so I think 2.5 teasp. per tray is just at that perfect point for getting full use but not bordering on crowding.My yield from the 1 Tbsp. tray crop came to 2.5Cups fully grown sprouts packed into my quart-size measuring cup pretty densely. For comparative reference, that was a mix of alfalfa, clover, broccoli, radish seeds from SproutHouse called "Salad Mix."You now know pretty much everything I know about these trays. Nice tidy footprint on the counter, vertical growth and fun to watch grow.ADVANTAGES OF TRAYS over other vessels: To me, it's the fun of watching them grow vertically because you can see the growth better each day. Especially with children, it's just more fun to have it so much more apparent, but even for adults. Also I personally think my leaves are bigger and that they green up better. I also think the stems are stronger.