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How to Sterilize Baby Bottles (7 Safe Methods)

Do you ever wonder if your baby’s bottle is really clean?

With babies’ immature digestive tracts and vulnerable immune systems, it’s important to make sure you’re not unknowingly introducing harmful bacteria into their little bodies through their bottles.

Sterilizing your baby’s bottles is a great way to make sure they’re safe, but the process can seem overwhelming or intimidating.

Thankfully, it doesn’t have to be. When it comes to sterilizing bottles, there are lots of ways to go about it.

Having extensively researched this topic, we’ve written this guide to show you how to sterilize baby bottles, explaining the benefits of each method and what you need to know to get started.

Table of Contents

• Why Should I Sterilize Baby Bottles?
• What Can Happen if I Don’t Sterilize Baby Bottles?
• What Are the Different Sterilization Methods?
• Which Sterilization Method Is Best?
• How Often Should I Sterilize Baby Bottles?
• Are Bottles the Only Thing That Needs Sterilizing?
• Things to Avoid While Sterilizing Bottles
• How Do I Sterilize Baby Bottles?

Why Should I Sterilize Baby Bottles?

When babies are born, their brand new digestive and immune systems are unaccustomed to the millions of bacteria we come into contact with every day. While some immunity passes from mother to baby during pregnancy and breastfeeding, babies’ immature systems are still considerably more susceptible to infection from new and unfamiliar germs ⁽¹⁾.

For this reason, some experts recommend that parents sterilize baby bottles for the first few months of life. This will kill any germs, bacteria, or viruses that may be lurking in a bottle’s nooks and crannies, and keep your baby from getting sick.

Sterilizing your baby’s bottles is especially important if:

• You’re using secondhand or hand-me-down bottles for the first time.
• Your baby was born prematurely or has health problems.
• Your baby has been ill.
• Your home does not have safe, clean drinking water.

What Can Happen if I Don’t Sterilize Baby Bottles?

If bottles are not properly sterilized, your baby can be exposed to bacteria and germs that can cause:

• Gastroenteritis (stomach flu).
• Food poisoning.
• Diarrhea.
• Vomiting.
• Hepatitis A.
• Rotavirus.

Even if your baby can fight off the germs or bacteria associated with these illnesses, common side effects of the symptoms of vomiting and diarrhea include dehydration, which can be very dangerous for babies ⁽²⁾.

What Are the Different Sterilization Methods?

There are several ways to sterilize your bottles. These include:

• Microwaving the bottles.
• Boiling them in water.
• Sterilizing in cold water.
• Using an electric steam baby bottle sterilizer.
• Using a UV sterilizer.
• Washing in the dishwasher.
• Using a diluted bleach solution (make sure you follow proper instructions for this method to avoid causing harm to your baby).

Bottles should always be washed to remove any food particles before sterilizing.

Which Sterilization Method Is Best?

The result of all sterilization methods is a healthy, sterilized bottle. Aside from that, your optimal choice will depend on your lifestyle.

If you prefer the cheapest option

You might want to consider:

• The microwave method.
• The boiling water method.
• A diluted bleach soak.
• The dishwasher method.

If you prefer chemical-free options

You might want to avoid:

• A diluted bleach soak.
• Sterilizing in cold water with a sterilization tablet.

If you want ease and convenience

You might want to consider:

• The UV sterilizer.
• An electric steam sterilizer.
• A microwave steam container.

If you have limited counter and storage space

You might want to avoid:

• The UV sterilizer.
• The electric steam sterilizer.
• The microwave steamer.

If you are traveling

You might want to consider:

• The cold water method.
• A travel-sized UV sterilizer.

How Often Should I Sterilize Baby Bottles?

You don’t have to sterilize your baby’s bottles after each use. A good, thorough cleaning should keep them safe for your baby. However, it’s a good idea to occasionally sterilize your bottles in these situations:

• When they’re brand-new — before you use them for the first time.
• If your baby has been sick (especially with an oral illness like thrush).
• If you notice build-up inside the bottles or nipples.
• If you live or are traveling in an area where tap water is not regulated.
• If you get your water from a well, it may be a good idea to sterilize with every use ⁽³⁾.

Are Bottles the Only Thing That Needs Sterilizing?

Anything that goes in your baby’s mouth or is used to feed your baby should be sterilized. This includes:

• Bottles.
• Nipples.
• Bottle rings or accessories.
• Pacifiers.
• Feeding accessories.
• Breast pump parts (check with your manufacturer about recommended sterilization methods).

The good news is that although parents may be advised to sterilize their baby’s bottles for the first few months, it’s not considered necessary after that.

Things to Avoid While Sterilizing Bottles

The process of sanitizing your baby’s bottles is pretty easy and straightforward, so the risk of causing any harm to your baby is minimal. There are a few things to keep in mind, though.

• If sterilizing with steam or boiling water, be careful you don’t burn yourself — and don’t try to hold your baby while doing it. Even though it seems harmless, steam is far hotter than boiling water.
• If you sterilize with a bleach solution, make sure it’s appropriately diluted. Never sterilize your baby’s bottles in undiluted bleach. Bleach is a potent chemical that can be fatal if ingested.
• If your baby’s bottles contain BPA, you may want to consider using a no-heat method of sterilization or switching to BPA-free bottles. When plastic containing BPA is heated, the chemicals can leach into the milk ⁽⁴⁾.

How Do I Sterilize Baby Bottles?

Regardless of the sterilization method you choose, the first step is always to clean your bottles in hot, soapy water to remove milk residue. After your bottles are cleaned and rinsed, you can move on to sterilizing them.

1. Use the Microwave

• Make sure your microwave is clean.
• Fill your baby’s bottles halfway with water.
• Set them in the microwave.
• Place nipples, rings, and accessories in a glass bowl filled with water deep enough to cover them.
• Microwave on high for a minute and a half.
• Allow bottles to cool sufficiently before removing them from the microwave.

You can also purchase products (like this one) designed specifically for sterilizing baby bottles and other accessories in the microwave. Microwave sterilizing bags are also available.

2. Boil Them in Water

• Place your bottles in a large pot of water.
• Push down any bottles floating on the surface that are not submerged — placing a spoon on them should work fine.
• Place the pot on the stove, and turn on the burner.
• Once the water is boiling, set a timer for 10 minutes.
• After 10 minutes, remove the bottles and accessories using tongs.
• Place on a bottle drying rack.

When using this method, check with your bottle’s manufacturer to ensure the boiling-water method will not harm your bottles. It could cause plastic bottles to melt or glass bottles to crack if they weren’t manufactured to withstand this level of heat. The heat can also cause nipples and pacifiers to break down more quickly.

3. Use Cold Water

If you’re traveling, a lightweight and convenient option is a sterilization tablet. This is a product manufactured specifically for bottles, allowing you to sterilize them using cold tap water when microwave and boiling water are not available.

• Fill a container with enough water to cover your bottles.
• Add your sterilization tablet and allow to sit according to the manufacturer’s directions.

This method can be done using either a sterilization solution (liquid) or tablet (solid). If you’re traveling by air, consider the tablet over the solution due to restrictions on liquids during air travel.

4. Use an Electric Steam Sterilizer

If you’ve got countertop space, an electric steam sterilizer may be an easy solution for you.

• Place your bottles in the sterilizer.
• Add water according to the device’s instructions.
• Press the start button.

5. Use a UV Sterilizer

This may be one of the simplest options of all. Germs, bacteria, and viruses are eliminated using the power of ultraviolet light.

• Place your bottle in the sterilizer.
• Press the start button.

If you’re traveling, there are portable, single-bottle UV sterilizers available that could give you peace of mind on your travels.

6. Run Them Through the Dishwasher

This method has a caveat: not all dishwashers are capable of producing heat high enough to sterilize bottles.

Check if yours has a sanitize cycle and NSF/ANSI Standard 184 Certification ⁽⁵⁾. You’ll need to check with your manufacturer or your owner’s manual to see if your dishwasher has this certification. If it does, you can use it to sanitize your baby’s bottles by doing the following:

• Place the bottles in the top rack.
• Place any nipples, rings, pacifiers, and other accessories in a dishwasher basket.
• Run a sanitize cycle.

7. Soak Them in a Diluted Bleach Solution

• Fill a container with one gallon of water.
• Add two teaspoons of bleach.
• Mix well.
• Place bottles, nipples, and accessories into the solution.
• Allow the bottles to soak for two minutes.
• Run the bleach solution through the nipples.
• Scrub using a baby bottle brush.
• Air dry.

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HOW TO STERILIZE PHILIPS AVENT BOTTLES

Teats and bottles harbor millions of microbes. They are not afraid of boiling water, soda and detergents. The only thing that kills them is hot steam, which literally dissolves bacilli with a probability of up to 99.9%. Porridge and milk keep longer. A formula-fed baby is less likely to get sick.

So, mums, end your feeding with poorly washed bottles and learn how to disinfect them the way our grandmothers did. Only in a new way.

How to sterilize baby bottles

Washing with a brush or sponge is a must after every feeding. And it is better to sterilize in the evening or in the morning, in order to get rid of all pathogenic bacteria and not worry about the cleanliness of children's accessories.

When doing this, you must follow the safety rules: otherwise you can inadvertently scald or deform plastic dishes.

Below are three general guidelines for sterilizing baby bottles.

• The utensil must not be immersed in boiling water, otherwise it will soften and melt.
• Glasses and bottles are placed with their neck down: so that the steam cleans the inside, and the condensate flows down the walls into a bowl.
• Bottles must not touch the sides of the pan as they may melt and stick to them.

After sterilization, it is better not to remove the dishes from the container for about ten minutes. It should cool down to a comfortable temperature. And if you really need it, you should use tongs, oven mitts or a kitchen towel folded in several layers.

By the way: Baby utensils: how to choose - 4 key parameters to help

How to sterilize pacifiers for children?

Teats are sterilized in the same way as bottles, but with the base down - to steam not only the outer, but also the inner walls. And let the moisture drain.

Types of sterilization

Two types of sterilization are used for the treatment of children's utensils - steam and dry heat.

1. In the first case, the vessel is steamed.
2. In the second - washed and still wet bottles are heated in the oven, sterilizer, microwave, multicooker and even in the dishwasher, which supports steam treatment at 80+ ° C.

Life hack: how to steam bottles and other things with sterilization bags (such as Nuvita NV1087)
- Put dishes in food bags.
- Pour 60-70 ml of water into them.
- Microwave for 2-3 minutes.

The sterilization process is as simple as a copper penny. Evaporating moisture destroys pathogenic (and not only) microbes from various surfaces. Materials exposed to hot air and steam do not creak from cleanliness, but are sterile and safe for health.

In this way, not only nipples and bottles are disinfected, but also brushes, bowls, thermoses and cups like Avent SCF796/01 and so on.

Interesting article: When did the first baby stroller appear: 10 facts from history

Microwaveable

The microwave oven offers 3 sterilization options. Not all of them are suitable for processing nipples.

• Place the bottles in a glass or ceramic dish → fill it with water → cover with a lid → put the microwave on maximum power for 5-7 minutes.
• Pour water into the bottle 1-1.5 cm from the bottom → microwave for 3-5 minutes. The nipples will have to be washed separately.
• In the Nuvita type microwave sterilizer (NV1085), it is enough to put the container → pour water → click on the valve → set the device to work for 5-8 minutes.

Picking up a hot dish is easier with tongs or oven mitts.

Sterilization in the microwave gives its advantages and disadvantages, described in the table: the inner bowl of the multicooker. So that the saucepan does not smell like food, otherwise bottles or children's dishes will take over this smell.

The subsequent sterilization process in the multicooker is similar to microwave.

1. Pour ≈ 1-1.5 liters of water into the bowl.
2. Place the steam rack and place the bottles upside down.
3. Seal the steam device hermetically.
4. Set "Steam" mode to 15 minutes or "Sterilize" mode.
5. Remove the dishes and cover with a towel to cool completely.

This method also has its pros and cons.

Sterilizer

Children's sterilizer is an electrical device for processing utensils. Works carefully, the bottle will not crack due to overheating.

Everything is calculated with medical precision in the method of steaming with a sterilizer. The device holds up to 6-8 bottles and the same number of nipples. A great example of such a device is the Philips Avent 3-in-1 steam sterilizer. It is ideal for a family with several kids.

How the device works is as simple as it gets. It consists of step by step actions.

1. Pour cold water into the tank (how much is indicated in the instructions).
2. Place pre-cleaned bottles in special niches. This should be done upside down.
3. Close cover.
4. Switch on the sterilizer for 7-15 minutes.
5. Let the device “cool down” for 5-7 minutes. This is necessary so that you do not accidentally burn yourself with steam.

If the use of the bottles "does not burn", then they can be left under a closed lid - so they will be sterile for another 4-5 hours. If you need to get one of the bottles, take only it, and close the rest of the clean bottles with lids.

Before putting the dishes into the sterilizer, make sure they are clean. The device removes germs and odor, but does not cope with pollution.

Read: Top 5 Best Convertible Strollers

Avoid Sterilization Mistakes: 4 Common

Many parents make basic mistakes that are best addressed in advance.

1. Unwashed or poorly washed utensils
Leftover food provokes the reproduction of microflora and can cause stomach problems in a child. And sterilization does not wash out food residues - only cleaning can do this.

2. Pot boiling
You can't boil! The maximum allowable temperature for children's utensils is 110 ° C. And often it is even less. Otherwise, the bottles may melt.

3. Installation in a steamer and microwave without water is contraindicated
The device will burn, and the dishes will melt.

4. Sterilization of dishes with visible chips and cracks
Microbes accumulate and multiply in them, which can cause diseases of the gastrointestinal tract and not only.

Note: TOP-10 strollers with inflatable wheels

Pros and cons of sterilization

Each parent has his own opinion about sterilization, but there are definitely no indifferent to this issue.

Arguments "For" and "Against" are summarized in the final table:

So when choosing "to sterilize or not", everyone decides for himself. However, if the child is often fed in public places where it is impossible to verify the cleanliness of the surfaces, it is advisable to at least wash the dishes thoroughly in very hot water.

Read: TOP 5 baby tricycles

How to sterilize baby dishes | Agu-baby.by

How to sterilize baby dishes

You can argue about the need to sterilize baby dishes, pacifiers and nipples for newborns. Some mothers say that an extra microbe in the body will not hurt, because very soon the baby will have to face bacteria in reality, outside the home. Others believe that cleanliness is above all and carefully process all objects that have fallen on the floor.

To sterilize or not to sterilize?

We are for the golden mean. While the body of a newborn is weak, it is very easy to catch an intestinal infection from a poorly washed bottle, stomatitis or a number of other diseases, and getting sick with these diseases in infancy is much more dangerous than, say, in a year. Therefore, at first, you should protect the child.

There are also circumstances when sterilization is indispensable:

• immediately after purchasing a new bottle or pacifier;

• after an illness of a child;

• if the mixture remains sour. Bacteria multiply very quickly in a dairy environment, so it is impossible to store the finished mixture for a long time. Wash dishes immediately after feeding!

Until what age is sterilization necessary?

Pediatricians consider - up to 4-6 months. Then the decision is made by the parents themselves. Most mothers extend the sterilization procedure up to 1.5 years, gradually reducing it to rinsing a dropped nipple in soapy water or pouring boiling water over a bottle.

How and with what to sterilize?

It is necessary to sterilize clean dishes, so you must first wash it with baby, laundry soap or soda.

• Boiling

Put bottles and pacifiers in a pot of water, cover, boil for 4-10 minutes. Glass bottles can be boiled for up to 10 minutes. On modern plastic products, manufacturers themselves indicate the temperature and method of disinfection.

Then drain the water and wait for the items to cool down.

There is a drawback in this method: not all accessories can withstand boiling. For example, low-quality plastic bottles can be deformed. Quickly become unusable and nipples. Latex and silicone are processed for only 4 minutes, but they are somehow deformed and cracked. More wear-resistant are rubber tips (they can be boiled for 10 minutes).

• Steamer and multicooker

In a double boiler, the destruction of microbes occurs under the influence of hot steam. Putting the bottles upside down, it is enough to process them for 5 - 15 minutes. For this purpose, turn on the multicooker in the “Steamer” or “Cooking” mode.

• Microwave.

Put food items in a regular microwave bowl, pour water and turn on for 7 minutes. You can use bags for sterilization, in which the bottles are folded and sent to the oven. And finally, you can buy a special microwave sterilizer.

• Cold sterilization

In pharmacies, you can buy special tablets, from which it is easy to prepare a solution for disinfecting dishes (treatment 30 minutes).

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