Milk in pump tubing

Finleysmomma

I use a medela lactina select and I now have milk in the tubing (have been told it is from leaning to far forward during pumps?) My question is how doI get the milk out/sterilize the tubes? Do I just boil them and let them dry outor is there a better way to clean them.

biddy53178

Rinse the tubing in warm soapy water and then run water through it- hook it up to the pump without the bf-ing flange at the end so its open at the end of the tubing, put the tubing down, I usually place it on a paper towel so the opening to the tubes are below the pump and then run the pump for 5-10 minutes- it pushes the water out.

ns1

I had the same issue early on...not sure how it got there, and it never happened again!  I tried alcohol through the tubes, water and soap, even the Medela steam clean bags and nothing worked!

Finally, I called Medela and they sent me new tubing, overnight, no charge!  It might be worth it to give them a call! 

kris_kelsey

first boil them just to get the milky film out, then while they are still wet but not too hot grab both tubes in one hand by the end (doesn't really matter which end), stand 4 feet away from anything, and swing the tubing around in circles REALLY FAST.  Don't stand in place and spin yourself, just swing the tubing around until it makes a whoosing/whipping sound in the air.  This will help to get out a lot of the water.  then as someone else said, plug them into the pump (don't even put the flanges on) and let the pump run for 5-10 minutes.  this will push air in and out of the tubes and finish drying them. 

leaning too far forward while pumping could be your problem, but it could also be the little white flaps in the bottles.  If they are not opening properly (because there is crusty dry milk on them) then the milk will back up in your tubing.  Just make sure you see them flapping open and closed during your pumping sessions.

Debra4869

This just happened to me. It was the connecters, not my positioning/leaning too far forward. I called medela and they sent me new connecters and new tubes overnight. Call them!