Cleaning PIS breastshields

[drsweetie]

Greetings! I am having a heck of a time keeping my PIS breastshields clean. The part that's tricky is that little "chute" that the milk goes down. I am ending up having to boil the parts just about every single time, because I can't find a brush small enough to allow me to get up in there and remove the milk spatters. Does anyone have any suggestions for how I can do this more effectively? Thanks!

Ellen
Mom to Laura 6/9/03

[pritchettzoo]

I may not be understanding the problem you're having, but I just unscrew the bottle and run the two top parts (still stuck together) under hot running water on full force. It pours out through the flappy thing... I then swish the parts separately in warm sudsy water and rinse with cold running water on full force. Again the water streams out the flappy thing (but the cold water allows me to hold just that part under the water without burning my fingers!).

HTH...
Anna
Mama to Gracie (9/16/03)

[stillplayswithbarbies]

I just swish my parts in hot soapy water and then rinse. That gets them clean.

...Karen
Jacob Nathaniel Feb 91
Logan Elizabeth Mar 03

[Momof3Labs]

Are you removing the yellow pieces when you wash the shields? That makes it MUCH easier to get up into the chute and clean it. Also, a good rinse right after pumping makes them easier to clean later.

That said, I don't remove the yellow pieces every time that I wash them - maybe every third time.

[heidi_timms]

Most of the time, I wash mine with soapy water and rinse, but occasionally scum does develop, even with boiling. I got a bottle brush that has the regular bottle brush on one end and then the other end has a tiny brush meant for bottle nipples. This works really well. It's made by The First Years.

It came with this drying rack. I'm not sure if they sell it separate or not:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000056J8C/qid=1067821618/br=1-1/ref=br_lf_ba_1//102-7643713-2560134?v=glance&s=baby&n=547934


~Heidi
Mom to Kailey Ashlin
4/27/03

[cinrein]

I rinse and swish too. I follow up with a steaming in the Medela microwave sterilizer bags. The key for me is to rinse the parts as soon as possible after I used them. In other words, don't let the milk get "dried" on.

If you need a super-tiny brush, look in any craft store that sells Wilton cake supplies. Wilton sells a tiny brush that is used to clean the cake decorating tips. It's much smaller than the nipple brushs that I've seen. I think they are like 99 cents. I have several of these from my cake decorating days, and they come in handy sometimes for cleaning gunk out of various hard-to-reach things.


Cindy and Anna 2/11/03

[sntm]

nice tip!


shannon
not-even-pregnant-yet-overachiever
trying-to-conceive :)
PREGNANT! EDD 6/9/03
mama to Jack 6/6/03

[alkagift]

I use a cone-shaped brush that I bought at Crate and Barrel for $1 in their "kitchen bin" section. It's great, although ultimately it rusts and I have to get another one. I think it's meant to clean narrow-necked bottles or vases...

http://www.crateandbarrel.com/itemgroups/820_0.asp?query=brush&DIMID=&Page=1&fromLocation=Search


Allison
Mommy to Matthew, 5/19/03

[marinkitty]

Right after using them, rinse first in cold water, then wash in hot sudsy water. The fat in the milk gets "baked" on by the hot but the cold rinses it right off. A tip from my lactation consultant that really worked!

Holly
Mom to Mia (3/17/03)

[hellokitty1]

You can also remove the yellow valves and use a nipple brush in the valve. I have the Munchkin bottle brush (got mine at Target) and the top end has another nipple brush inserted. Thet fits pretty well in the valve.

http://www.drugstore.com/qxp73238_333181_sespider/

[mycatspaz]

Hmmm, I take the yellow caps off and wash them in my dishwasher. They come out clean for me. I also rinse them after I use them, though.

Christine

[drsweetie]

Thank you so much for the suggestion about the Wilton cake supplies! I found exactly what you were describing at Wal-Mart, and it's just the thing I needed. I never would have thought to look there.

Ellen
Mom to Laura 6/9/03