How to clean bottles?

[NancyJ]

I recently started pumping and am now feeding DS from a bottle on occasion. My question - how am I supposed to clean the bottles? Am I supposed to wash them with soap and water first (and if so, is the dishwasher ok? I have Avent bottles), and then boil them in a pan to steralize them? Is this multi-step process required everytime? I bought that Avent steralizer system, but the wattage of my microwave is apparently too high for the steralizer.

Nancy
Mom to Braeden 6.5.03

[Marisa6826]

Nancy-

We have the Avent bottles too. Although our ped said it wasn't necessary to sterilize we did anyway for the first five months or so. Call it first time parent neurosis.

We are washing them in the dishwasher now, though, and it works well. First off, you need to pick up some of those plastic baskets for the top rack of your dishwasher. They have them at BRU and Buy Buy Baby. You will use them to hold the nipples, collars and caps. I have sometimes use two or three to get everything in the wash, but then I usually wash about 12 bottles at a time.

We usually just rinse the bottles clean unless there's a ring around them from the milk. If you do have a milk ring, the Avent bottle brush is very nice and costs all of $3.50. You can get it at BRU, BBB or Target. I also just rinse the collars in some hot water. The nipples, however, need to be cleaned by hand (or more appropriately "finger" ) in order to get all the milk residue out. Avent does not recommend using their bottle brush on the silicone nipples. You can, however, use the tip of the brush to get into the nipple to clean it. I found if you rinse it quickly in hot water, that usually does the job. If I'm in a hurry I stop there and finish cleaning the nipple later. If I have the time, I put a drop of liquid dish soap on my finger, rub thoroughly in and out and rinse. I then run everything through the dishwasher.

Depending on your water pressure, you may or may not need the little basket for the bottle caps. We have crazy water pressure and it flips the caps over, filling them with dirty water. Hence, the basket...

I have found that it's a lot easier to take the two minutes to rinse the bottle and top (nipple in the collar) as soon as Sophie finishes it. All I have to then do is wash the nipple and throw everything in the dishwasher, rather than having a stack of them to do.

Good luck!

-m

Edited to say that I have found the bottles stay upside down in the dishwasher better if you put them over the little posts in the top rack (rather than in between the posts). Hope that makes sense to you!

[KMommie]

I also use the Avent bottles. I SWEAR our ped said it was okay, but anytime I tell people how we wash our bottles, they look at me like I'm crazy. I just wash everything by hand in hot soapy water and air dry. I plan on using the dishwasher whenever DD is sick, just to sterilize (we have a "sterilize" setting on the dw.) I have also found it's a lot easier to rinse out the bottle and nipple ASAP, than to wait. I actually threw a bottle away that I found after a few days sitting in the diaper bag, rather than try to salvage it. It was gross!

[chrissyhowie]

Hi, Nancy. I don't sterilize the bottles after each use. I just wash with soap and hot water (just as I do for the rest of my dishes). I don't use my dishwasher much, but if I did I would definitely put the bottles in there -- not because they get sterilized, but because it would be easier than hand washing them all!

I do usually boil everything once before I use it for the first time, although logically I can't quite rationalize to myself why I do this other than "just in case" :)! I also just wash my pump parts with soap and water without resterilizing.

The bottle brushes are helpful. There are also small nipple brushes that I find very useful to get the greasy residue off from the inside of nipples. I use Avent bottles and like the Avent brush, but I have found that the more conventionally shaped bottle brushes are easier for cleaning my pump parts.

Happy 1 month birthday to Braeden a few days late! :+

[peanut4us]

we've been told to boil for the first use, including pacifiers. After that dishwasher is just fine... of course we haven't had the provolege of doing that sinshe won't take a bottle! Also... make sure you wedge the bottles intogether or they will flip over.