Bottle washing

gldnbearz

I usually lurk this board, but have a bottle washing question. I EP and supplement about 50:50. We use Dr. Brown bottles with the million parts. Currently we hand wash our bottles twice a day, but would like to try the dishwasher.

We were gifted with a Munchkin basket for the dishwasher. We think that the rinse agent leaves an opaque film on the nipples. Do others see this, too?

How many bottles do you have on hand? Right now I have time to hand wash but won't be able to sustain once I go back to work unless we bulk up the number of bottles.

MommyAtty

Yes, I found the dishwasher discolored our nipples. Can you just wash the nipples and throw the rest of the parts in the basket?

gldnbearz

Looks like bottle shopping is in our future if we want to wash less frequently.

Hand washing just the nipples would be a bit less work.

mindfulmama14

Seems like it could be hard water. Do you notice film when you handwash?
I use dishwasher for bottles & pump parts. We have hard water too and had a white chalky film being left on some items. We started adding vinegar to loads and it helped. If ever we hand wash anything we still sometimes get spots because of hard water

gldnbearz

There is no film when we hand wash. Our water is not particularly hard.

ETA - the film wasn't hard. It was slick, almost greasy feeling.

JustGoWithIt

We have those bottles & the munchkin basket. I found it best to have 2 baskets. When the collar & valve pieces are in the bottom of the basket I think the water/soap doesn't get to the nipples as well. So I put the pieces in one basket & the nipples in another. The stems I put in both. The caps I hand rinse.

We have about 12 bottles I think, so we run the dishwasher at night with about 7-8 bottles in it each time. The other bottles are ready for the night feed or packed for daycare the next day. I'm not sure where you are located, but if there is a Babies R Us near you, check their coupons. I have gotten 3 Dr. brown bottles in the last few months for free. They are usually a "limited edition" bottle - one with a pumpkin on it, one with hearts, one with stars, etc. but the coupon gets you the 8oz bottle for free if you spend $15...just a thought.

gldnbearz

@JustGoWithIt - how do you position the blue stems? My Munchkin basket has a sippy cup straw holder on the outside, but the blue stems don't seem to fit there.

JustGoWithIt

@gldnbearz‌ one of my baskets has 4 holes in a tab on the outside for straws and the other has sort of a small basket on the outside. The one with the basket on the outside is the best. I can stick 6-7 straws in there. I'm not sure if that one is even still available...we've had that basket & bottles since DS#1 who is now 4. If they don't fit well, I just stick the straw straight through the basket from the top in the open spaces after I put the nipples in the one basket. Let me know if that didn't make any sense & I will take a picture for you. If your basket with the straw holes has 2 tabs that fold out with the four holes for the straws, try folding one of those tabs back up...then you can stagger the height of the straws so all four fit.

gldnbearz

Can you use the straw holder for the Dr. Brown blue vents? I can't get mine to fit.

JustGoWithIt

Yes. I put the dr. Brown straws in there. If I could figure out how to post a picture I would. If using the tab with the four holes I fold one tab in and one out, so I can then stagger the height of the straws to accommodate that bubble at the top of the straw. I also just stick the straw straight through the top of the closed basket if needed, so the bubble sits in top of the basket.

Trying to put in photos of my baskets. Hoping this works: 

<img src="https://www.dropbox.com/sc/qs9pumsi5rnxhzi/AACVGPBvsPE69CfhzlSPzceKa">

<img src="https://www.dropbox.com/sc/tt1hlmmowcz4dbx/AAB-blpLAQxgQKDLL7CJzqcsa">

<img src="https://www.dropbox.com/sc/dhfetw39qt07gw8/AADIXScIjUlhY3hJdZve2vDSa">

gldnbearz

@JustGoWithIt‌ - Yay for pictures! My basket is like your blue one. I'll give that arrangement a try. Thanks.

lmimms87

We got film on the parts when we used the dishwasher also, so we have about 3-4 days worth of bottles and hand wash most evenings.

fyreandblood

I use the dishwasher for all of my playtex ventaire bottles (lots of parts too!), but i wash the day's worth of bottles (we have seven, my baby is up to 6 ounces every 4 hours with nothing overnight, so we have extra) at night and then put them in the playtex microwave sterilizer to get rid of anything weird. It may be an extra step, but after using the dishwasher and no longer washing by hand, it's super easy and takes five minutes. Our dishwasher nipple holder came with the sterilizer, so i just move it from dishwasher to sterilizer and done!

If you want to continue using the dw, this might help get rid of the residue and food particles, etc.

SerenityAE

JustGoWithIt said:

We have those bottles & the munchkin basket. I found it best to have 2 baskets. When the collar & valve pieces are in the bottom of the basket I think the water/soap doesn't get to the nipples as well. So I put the pieces in one basket & the nipples in another. The stems I put in both. The caps I hand rinse.

We have about 12 bottles I think, so we run the dishwasher at night with about 7-8 bottles in it each time. The other bottles are ready for the night feed or packed for daycare the next day. I'm not sure where you are located, but if there is a Babies R Us near you, check their coupons. I have gotten 3 Dr. brown bottles in the last few months for free. They are usually a "limited edition" bottle - one with a pumpkin on it, one with hearts, one with stars, etc. but the coupon gets you the 8oz bottle for free if you spend $15...just a thought.

Yes yes oh the Babies R Us coupons are the best. I make a list of non-urgent items we need and wait for these coupons to come in the mail. :P 

I usually hand wash my bottles in hot soapy water, its too much trouble getting all those pieces in the dishwasher. Dr Brown should come out with a basket designed specifically for their bottles. I'd buy one!

 

cmarieeee

I found a Dr Brown basket at Babies R Us that has specific places to put all of the parts (because there are a lot!). They hold parts for 4 bottles, so I bought 2! So much easier especially with the straws.