I posted before about how I was spending such a loonnngg time washing my bottles and bottle pieces each night.
In addition to some great suggestions given, I also switched from soaking them in Food Lion store brand detergent to soaking them in Dawn. I noticed a huge difference the first day I did that- I still washed the pieces with a little bottle brush before putting them in the dishwasher, but I don't feel like I have to scrub and scrub and scrub to get them fresh. Thanks for the tip about leaving the nipples out of the dishwasher!
I'll usually go for whatever is on sale/ I have coupons for, but I think detergent may be a product where there is a noticable difference between brands. I am probably also germaphobic about bottles.
Re: Update on washing bottles...
Soaps are one of the products I never substitute, regardless of price.
Glad you found a new system that works!
Here is the link: https://community.thebump.com/cs/ks/forums/thread/56494938.aspx.
Basically, don't buy an expensive sterilizer, just buy the $5 basket and put it in your dishwasher, it is the same thing. Don't put the nipples in the dishwasher, they will discolor. Rinse and soak the bottles immediately after use (this is the one that my babysitter wasn't doing and it is making a difference now that I reminded her).
Thanks! I got it for 50 cents this week because it was on sale for $1 and there was a 50 cent coupon. That actually made it cheaper than the store brand.
Glad to hear that this is a frequent deal!!!