How do you wash bottles?

FlyHigh37 · February 2012

I am confused as far as how you are supposed to wash bottles.. it seems that most people I know have talked about bottle brushes and bottle drying racks, but they sell dishwasher baskets for bottles at the store. I received one of those dishwasher baskets as a gift. I was curious if it is something I want to keep and use or if there is a reason that most people seem to wash them by hand?

dixee.deluxe · February 2012

My sister used the dishwasher. I tried to, but I thought the bottles came out slimey.

But then I switched to Playtex Drop Ins and we just wash those by hand.

kkfeb04 · February 2012

I wash by hand because I don't have a dishwasher. I also sterilize after each use because again I don't have a dishwasher.

Some people do use the dishwasher and don't need to sterilize because of the heat generated in the drying process. My brother has had a dishwasher for the past 10 years and I think finally after #4 (#2 and #3 are twins and he still handwashed everything) they just started using it, we didn't grow up with one and he was always the dishwasher. I think some people wash by hand when they have a dishwasher because they may not have a full dishwasher and need the bottles sooner.

shannm · February 2012

I wash by hand because there is no way my dishwasher can effectively clean the nipples. Also, the dishwasher tends to beat up things and I wanted to be more gentle with the plastic to prevent chemicals from leaching out.

biblionerd · February 2012

I use the dishwasher baskets and wash in their. I hand washed at first and it took forever. Plus, the dishwasher sterilizes because of how hot it gets. We pull them out and put them on the bottle drying rack though just because it's the easiest way for us to store/use them.

marriedsisterofbride · February 2012

When I was a nanny I always did it by hand. I never trusted the dishwasher as much as physically doing it myself. I boiled the bottles and nipples (we have Avent) for the suggested 2 minutes, otherwise you risk damaging the nipples. Once they need to be used we will wash and use the Avent microwave sterilzer that we recieved at our shower. I am planning on EBing for the first few weeks anyway but not sure if I will be able to so figured it would be good to have the bottles handy.

tessatewks · February 2012

We have a dishwasher, but we do not use it, not even for normal dishes. I PREFER to wash by hand. We do not have any drying rack, just a small segment of counter space we place down kitchen towels and set things to dry. I had a bottle drying rack for DS1, and I think it was over-rated. But then again, I'm sure it saved space since they could be stacked. We may or may not get one, based on how we think it goes without one. If we find the bottles taking up too much space, we'll purchase one.

Oh, and we don't sterilize/steam or whatever. I'm not much of a germophobe, and besides I think minor germies are GOOD for babies because it strengthens their immune systems. We wash them with normal warm water and dish soap along with dishes. Sometimes we might boil them if its difficult to get milk out of small places - only happens with bottles like Dr. Browns. We are getting a very simple bottle this time, glass or Avent that don't have lots of extra pieces to wash.

WildcatPrincess · February 2012

We washed by hand because we didn't have a dishwasher at the time, but even when we did they came out streaky and, like someone said, kind of greasy. It's just easier to do soap and hot water real quick. We only sterilized before first use, never boiled anything after that.

BabyMakes6 · February 2012

We used the dishwasher with our other 3 kids so we are planning on the same for this LO.

staceyk110 · February 2012

We hand washed bottles/bottle parts (we use glass Dr. Brown's) and hand wash sippy cups now that my son is older. We'll do the same for this little one. I don't feel like they come out as clean when using the dishwasher.

MaryYVR · February 2012

We use the dishwasher (no special rack) and everything seems to come out clean. When DS was really young, I pumped and fed him by bottle every few days but not often. I would use the Medela steam sterilizer bags in the microwave to sterilize the bottles. I still use the bags once in a while with DS to make sure things are quite clean but our dishwasher seems to work quite well.

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