Stupid question: how do you clean a breast pump? oh and a funny

Daisy22 · April 2009

I got an accessory kit with my breast pump. It has wipes and also these microwavable bags. After each use, do you put all the tubes, etc in the microwable bags? Do you have to use those bags? If not how do you clean it?

I was telling dh about starting to pump when Bailey is 3-4 wks old. He kindof looked at me with a confused look. I told him if I didn't start then Bailey wouldn't have enough for when he starts daycare. Dh said "what do you mean? Can't you just pump in the morning and get enough for him to have the couple of bottles he needs that day?" I couldn't help but laugh. He couldn't believe that you just couldn't pump and get a ton of milk anytime you wanted too. gotta love him.

Daisygirl613 · April 2009

forgive me, i have drawn a blank on the names of the parts, but I only washed the parts that touched my breast or the milk. i did not wash the tubes or anything as they didn't touch me or get milk in them.

I just washed them in warm soapy water and let them sit on my bottle rack to dry.

Kerrin · April 2009

The wipes are for wiping down the breast shields, valves and membranes to quickly disinfect.

You throw the shields, valves and membranes in the bag with a bit of water and microwave to fully disinfect.

I never used either. I washed the shields and valves with soap & water at work and then put them in the dishwasher every night. Never washed the tubes. I'd put some rubbing alcohol in them from time to time to help clear up condensation and that's it.

I'd always hand wash the membranes, since i felt they were more fragile and you hae to replace them more often.

So no, you don't have to use either.

slwprincess · April 2009

I never washed the tubes. Only the parts that touched me or milk. I usually just used warm soapy water and then set them on a drying rack to dry. I will say that it is nice to have 2 sets of parts so that you can sort of swap them out. Leave one set to dry and go ahead and set up the pump with the clean parts so that it's all ready to go when you need it. You will have to figure out what works best for you. LOL at your DH's comment- sounds about like my DH before we started this little adventure. He needs to brace himself- he's about to enter a whole new world!

care99 · April 2009

I'm assuming you mean the Medela steam bags?

I was super anal about sterilizing my pump parts. I washed everything (except tubing) after each pump session and then sterilized them in the microwave bags at night. I hand washed everything, bottles included. I would sterilize the tubing every few days or so in the microwave.

It was easier for me to be this anal because I worked from home....I only went into the office a few times when I was pumping and on those occassions I would use the wipes between pump sessions and then wash when I got home.

AugustaBride04 · April 2009

Looks like I am in the minority here, but I loved the wipes and microwave bags. I used the microwave bags all the time to sterilize the parts. I would do the same with the tubing about once every 2 weeks. With that said, you don't have to use the microwave bags. Soap and water works just as good. Ditto pp - 2 sets of pumping parts is a great idea esp if you will be pumping a lot. It just made things easier in general for me.

Daisy22 · April 2009

Thanks yall. You can tell I have no clue what I'm doing. It's all so new. And I hate the feeling of not knowing what to do. Thankfully I work from 90% of the time so it'll be a little less stressful to pump.

UGAbride · April 2009

I never use the bags to sterilize after the initial cleaning when everything was brand new, just warm soapy water. And I have FOUR sets of shields/collection bottles, I hate to clean

With Jack, I pumped once per day, so I collected all the pump parts in the little pink plastic tub from Northside and washed everything by hand twice a week (just rinsed it off when I was done before tossing in the tub). I pump even less with Ethan, so I just have to wash once a week!

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Stupid question: how do you clean a breast pump? oh and a funny

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