Do I really need a bottle drying rack?

RachelEric · August 2012

I'm trying to decide if I really need to put this item on my registry or not. We do not have a dishwasher in our apartment. Unfortunately, I am the dishwasher, and we have a dish drying rack. Can't I just put the bottles in there to dry with the rest of the dishes? I'm planning on breastfeeding, with an occasional bottle to pump for DH to feed LO, so hopefully there won't be too many bottles and parts.

nikip6454 · August 2012

I used a dish drying rack. I dried my pump pieces on that rack too.

avalovesart · August 2012

We don't have a dishwasher and we also have a dish drying rack, however we use our bottle drying rack all the time! I find it very useful. I like to keep her bottles and accessories separate from the other things. I also use a separate sponge. Maybe that's just me...

I EBF, but even still we do a bottle once at night and then more if she goes to a babysitter for the day. I also use the drying rack for her pacifiers and plastic-type toys, pump parts and plastic freezer bottles.

CrazyToast · August 2012

With the amount of baby dishes we have, we still don't use our drying rack for DD's cups (and back in the day - bottles). We actually prefer her stuff to be separate. We love our Dr. Browns Drying rack (we took the 2 levels apart to make one big drying rack and it is on the shelf above the sink, unlike our drying rack next to the sink).

drpayne · August 2012

We don't have one. I've never missed it. It just seems like one more thing cluttering the counter. I don't see any reason at all to keep baby stuff separate assuming everything is clean.

g8trkim · August 2012

If you already have a rack I would just use that. We got a bottle drying rack but I BF/pumped then eventually we went to formula. We used the bottle rack for all the pump parts, then eventually for bottles.

dragon_chica · August 2012

When we had #1 I thought they were a waste of space and money too. And then our rack started not only holding bottles but then sippy cups and all their little straws and parts, etc. We have a regular drying rack for our other dishes but the slats are way too big. Too many times the sippy straw part has fallen through. I much prefer to just throw it on the baby drying rack where the holes are much smaller so nothing falls through.

If you have very little counter space I wouldn't recommend it. We have a decent amount of space so it doesn't overwhelm our kitchen.

SunAndRain · August 2012

We wound up with a zillion of those 2 and 2.5 oz bottles from the hospital so we use the drying rack all the time for those and the tops and the nipples and such. Could we get by without it? Sure. But we're using it.

Ours was what, $30? If we had not received it as a gift I might not have bothered buying it.

BabyKsMommy · August 2012

avalovesart:
We don't have a dishwasher and we also have a dish drying rack, however we use our bottle drying rack all the time! I find it very useful. I like to keep her bottles and accessories separate from the other things. I also use a separate sponge. Maybe that's just me...
I EBF, but even still we do a bottle once at night and then more if she goes to a babysitter for the day. I also use the drying rack for her pacifiers and plastic-type toys, pump parts and plastic freezer bottles.

This! The pumping membranes are very small and would get lost if not on the bottle drying rack. I also like to keep everything baby related separate from adult related objects.

PinkPeony6210 · August 2012

I use my bottle drying rack everyday.

PotomacSt · August 2012

I didn't have the counter space for crap like that - plus I don't like my counters looking cluttered. I rigged up my own in the pantry with one of these: https://www.containerstore.com/shop/kitchen/pantryOrganizers/shelfOrganizers?productId=10006868&N=74108

tiffanybird · August 2012

I didn't think I would need one, but after about two weeks I broke done and bought one, and I love it. It keeps everything nicely contained and away from the regular dishes.

LolaBelle515 · August 2012

It surprised me how much I love having one---all of the parts of the bottle fit better on a bottle drying rack than a typical rack. Ours is always full...but we use one bottle every night for an overnight feeding, so you might not use it as often.

At the same time, I know what it means to be super overwhelmed with every single item on the registry. If you're not sure you'll use it, just wait until baby is here to see if you really want one. If you do, use a gift card that you're bound to get from one shower or another!

MCookie816 · August 2012

According to my 16-year old who does the dishes, no.

chulita425 · August 2012

We do have a dishwasher but I hand wash LO's bottles. We do have a normal drying rack but I have the Dr.Browns drying rack for his bottles. I like to keep his stuff separately.

shootingstars00 · August 2012

Estwd2:
Waste of money if you already have a dish rack. Just use that. We do.

This.

Teach1982 · August 2012

I like LO's stuff to be separated from ours as well. We use it constantly!

ipookie8 · August 2012

avalovesart:
We don't have a dishwasher and we also have a dish drying rack, however we use our bottle drying rack all the time! I find it very useful. I like to keep her bottles and accessories separate from the other things. I also use a separate sponge. Maybe that's just me...
I EBF, but even still we do a bottle once at night and then more if she goes to a babysitter for the day. I also use the drying rack for her pacifiers and plastic-type toys, pump parts and plastic freezer bottles.

This. I have the "grass" by Boon from Target, I love it! I only wish I had gotten the "lawn" as its bigger than the grass.

aeh72 · August 2012

We have one and I could not live without it. Even though we have a dishwasher, I still I handwash bottles and parts (and breast pump parts when I was pumping) and I don't want to put the clean parts that are going to go in the baby's mouth among the pots/pans/plates, etc. that are on our regular dish drying rack. Maybe I'm overly paranoid, but it makes me more comfortable to have them separate. Aside from that, I don't even think I would have room for all the bottles, etc. on my regular drying rack. Depending on how many bottles you end up using, those combined with breast pump parts can take up a lot of space on a drying rack.

Klikina · August 2012

I just used our dish drying rack. In fact, I put all of the bottle and breast pump parts in the dishwasher baskets (THOSE THINGS are a godsend), and then after the dishes run, I stick the basket, with the parts still in it, in the dish drying rack until everything is dry. Super easy!

penguingrrl · August 2012

Definitely skip the bottle drying rack! Waste of money.

lulu8109 · August 2012

I also thought the bottle drying rack was unnecessary and used the regular dish drying rack for DS' bottles. I thought it would be unnecessary added clutter. However, I ended buying a bottle drying rack several months later and love it. I still use it and DS is 19 months.

I don't think it's necessary, but it is nice and convenient. I have the Munchkin sprout drying rack. It has spokes to hang the bottles and sippy cups. It has a little cup at the top that I use for DS' spoons. And it has a little tray at the bottom, that I use for things like valves and membranes.

I know you said you are BFing, so you don't expect to use bottles often. But will you be going back to work? If so, you're going to end up using bottles often for daycare.

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