Cleaning Your Baby's Bottles

Cleaning your baby’s bottles is very important to his/her health. Your baby’s bottles should be free from chemical or gel residue. The following steps are necessary to make sure your baby’s bottles are clean and ready for use.

What you will need:

·         All of the bottles that you are going to sterilize

·         A large pot filled ½ to ¼ of the way with water

·         Dish soap

·         Warm water

·         A bottle brush

·         A set of tongs to remove the bottles from the boiling water

·         Dish strainer

What to do

First, place the large pot of water on the stove to boil. While you are waiting for the water to boil, gather all the bottles that you are going to wash.

Put some dish soap in your kitchen sink. Do not use just any dish soap to wash your baby’s bottles. Consider using a dish soap that is safe for your child like natural dishwashing detergents.. It is made of natural water softeners, naturally derived water conditioners, natural hydrogen peroxide source, natural salts, non toxic polymer and rinse aid and non animal derived enzymes. It will not leave any residue that could harm your baby.

Next, run some warm water in your sink until there is enough to wash all your bottles in. Wash each one thoroughly using the bottle brush. Do not forget to wash the nipples, collars and all caps. You can also wash your baby’s bottles in a dishwasher, but it still better to do all this with your hands.

When you are done washing the bottles, check the water pot to see if the water is boiling. If it is, you are now ready to sterilize the bottles. Put two or three bottles, nipples and collars into the water at a time. Let them boil for about 5 to 10 minutes. After that, take the bottles out of the boiling water using a pair of thongs. Place them in your dish strainer to dry.

Things to remember

·        After your baby has finished with his/her bottle, rinse it out immediately with cool water. Fill it up to soak if you will be cleaning it right away.

·         Make sure to get in all the nooks and crannies of each bottle, nipple and collar. Use your bottle brush to reach the bottom. Clean collars thoroughly since they tend to collect a lot of bacteria where they thread onto the bottle.

·         Avoid heating your bottles in the microwave. Milk heats unevenly in a microwave, creating “hot spots” that could scald your baby’s mouth. Run it under tap water or let it sit in a pan of hot water until it is the right temperature. Test the milk on your wrist before handing the bottle to your baby.

·         Most parents sometimes forget to rinse baby bottles immediately, causing a layer of sticky formula to remain at the bottom. To remove this, simply put two teaspoons of uncooked rice in the bottle. Fill it about ¼ to ½ of the way full with soapy water. Shake it vigorously until the formula is gone and then rinse thoroughly.