Medela pump tubing?

[♥ms.pacman♥]

first off all, how are you supposed to clean the tubing on the Pump In Style?? for the past couple weeks, i've tried and tried to get the tubing clean and nothing works. i've tried rinsing in warm soapy water, doesn't do anything plus makes it dirtier since the water leaves behind mineral residue inside it. i tried using DI water, but it doesn't do a thing. I do leave the pump running for a minute or two after pumping to flush out any condensation, but after ~2 months of use, there is still stuff dried inside it, and once it's there, can't figure out a way to remove it.

Second of all, this morning i happened to (accidentally) ruin the tubing, as i tried this morning to boil the tubes in DI water. only boiled a few mins, but when i got them out i realized the tubing went all flimsy and opaque. oops. any suggestions on where to get replacement tubing for the pump in style? I believe i've seen local baby store have Medela tubing for $10 but was wondering if i can get them anywhere cheaper, if i have to be replacing tubes every couple months (probably easier than trying to clean them!) I tried looking at BRU but i didn't see any there, they just have replacements for other Medela pump parts (valves, shields) but not the tubing.

[pb&j]

Flimsy and opaque is okay - it is normal for it to turn cloudy after boiling, and doesn't affect its function.

Since milk doesn't touch the tubing, as long as there's no visible mold growing in it, I wouldn't worry about it too much. You can boil it or microwave w/the medela microwave bags. Any bit of minerals in your water will leave a residue when the water dries, but again, not a big deal.

I got replacement tubing at breakoutbras.com

ETA: Medela has some FAQs about tubing that can answer your questions:
http://www.medelabreastfeedingus.com...mothers/tubing

[♥ms.pacman♥]

Flimsy and opaque is okay - it is normal for it to turn cloudy after boiling, and doesn't affect its function.

Since milk doesn't touch the tubing, as long as there's no visible mold growing in it, I wouldn't worry about it too much. You can boil it or microwave w/the medela microwave bags. Any bit of minerals in your water will leave a residue when the water dries, but again, not a big deal.

I got replacement tubing at breakoutbras.com

ETA: Medela has some FAQs about tubing that can answer your questions:
http://www.medelabreastfeedingus.com...mothers/tubing

oh thanks, i didn't know! and yeah, no mold wasn't growing in it, just looked like drops of condensation that had gotten in there and dried. and thanks for the links, i will check them out!

[Andi98989]

I EP and have only ever sterilized my tubing once, when I first got my pump.

I did get a replacement set of tubes from addalittlelove.com to have on hand in case a tube gets punctured or something. They have it for $4.20/tube.

[Melbel]

Medela provided me with free replacement tubing for my PISA. It is definitely worth a call. I also purchased on amazon.com. I only replaced tubing for each new child.

[♥ms.pacman♥]

thanks for the responses everyone. i guess i was just being kinda OCD about the tubing, as soon as any small droplets were inside i wanted to clean it, thought i could get it looking like new. but i guess since it doesn't touch the milk at all it shouldn't be a big deal. i will continue to use my original ones and will probably just get another set of tubing and make sure i leave the pump on for several minutes on high to make sure any condensation doesn't get in there.

[happyturtles]

On the Medela community board, the method recommended is to flush isopropyl alcohol down the tubing and then hang the tubing straight and let it drip dry. I haven't tried it yet, as since the milk didn't touch, I didn't act on it.

I found extra tubing for $4.50 per tube at the pharmacy in my OB's medical office building (they also sold medela PIS). You could try callng a few pharmacy in med. office buildings.