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Sterilizing tubing

babygreen10babygreen10 member
in Breastfeeding

Sorry to be board hog this am!

Someone mentioned in another post that if there is water in your tubing you might not be getting as much suction.  I noticed water in mine this am and am wondering how to a) sterilize it and b) get the water out of it (dry it).  I pump every 3 or 4 hours so I don't have a lot of time to wait.  I know it has been posted on here before but I can't seem to find it and didn't have much luck googling it.

TIA!! 

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Re: Sterilizing tubing

  • cindyhowcindyhow

    if you have just drops in there - you can run the pump with the tubing attached but not hooked to the shields.

    Not sure what ypump you have but I have a freestyle and when I wash the tubing or sterilize in one of the microwave bags, I swing the tubing fast in the air around my head like a lasso, and run the pump on high. and let air dry overnight.

     

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  • lite-brightlite-bright member

    Hang/suspend the tubing to help dry it. I don't know how long it takes, can you try doing it overnight? 

    You can use the Medela steam bags to sterilize the tubing -- however, the bag says you only *need* to do it if you get milk in there. They have special directions on the bag on how to do it, b/c it's slightly different from the rest of the equipment and you have to sterilize the tubes on their own, not with anything else in there.

    However, the steaming may leave your tubes cloudy (it did with my first set with DD1, and I've avoided doing it since.) The cloudiness doesn't change the performance, just the appearance.  

    image

    DD1, 1/5/2008 ~~~ DD2, 3/17/2010
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  • NiniJ55NiniJ55 member

    If it's just a little water i think you can just run the pump for a few minutes and you should be good to go.

    But - I never understand how people get water in their tubing.  Maybe it's just me but I have been EPing for almost 8 months and never had this problem.

    Lilypie Third Birthday tickers Lilypie First Birthday tickers
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  • lite-brightlite-bright member
    imageNiniJ55:

    If it's just a little water i think you can just run the pump for a few minutes and you should be good to go.

    But - I never understand how people get water in their tubing.  Maybe it's just me but I have been EPing for almost 8 months and never had this problem.

    For me, it's b/c I used to not detach the tubes from the flanges when I rinsed them after pumping. If I hold the tubing above the flange/horn, no water gets in -- but sometimes I'm not paying attention and water starts running through the tubes as well. 

    Now I detach the tubes every time and I don't have that problem anymore. :) 

    image

    DD1, 1/5/2008 ~~~ DD2, 3/17/2010
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  • NiniJ55NiniJ55 member
    imagelite-bright:
    imageNiniJ55:

    If it's just a little water i think you can just run the pump for a few minutes and you should be good to go.

    But - I never understand how people get water in their tubing.  Maybe it's just me but I have been EPing for almost 8 months and never had this problem.

    For me, it's b/c I used to not detach the tubes from the flanges when I rinsed them after pumping. If I hold the tubing above the flange/horn, no water gets in -- but sometimes I'm not paying attention and water starts running through the tubes as well. 

    Now I detach the tubes every time and I don't have that problem anymore. :) 

    Gotcha!

    I always detach my tubing and store them in a ziplock bag in between pumping sessions. 

    Lilypie Third Birthday tickers Lilypie First Birthday tickers
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