Once you’ve decided on how you’ll wash, sterilise and dry feeding bottles, you may be left wondering what is the safest way to store them?
After all that hard work to clean & sterilise, you don’t want to be reintroducing bacteria!
In this guide we’ll walk you through your best options & everything you need to know when it comes to choosing how store bottles & pump parts after sterilising and keep them safe.
How do you store sterilised bottles?
Store within the steriliser
Most brands will suggest you to leave the feeding bottles in the steriliser equipment until ready to use. This keeps your bottles sterile of course, but it generally won’t allow them to dry, meaning they are not ready to store or pack up to go out & travel.
Wet parts is fine if you don’t mind shaking water off the parts just before use, but allowing water to sit on parts for long-term storage risks becoming a breeding ground for bacteria. The presence of water can also risk for breaking air seals on breast pump parts.
Six Sterilisation methods that don’t dry are:
1) Cold Water Steriliser - like Milton or Dr. Johnson's.
2) Microwave Bag Sterilisers - like Munchkin, Ardo, Vital Baby or Haakaa.
3) Microwave Steam Sterilisers - like Tommee Tippee, Nuk or MAM.
4) Electric Steam Sterilisers - like Tommee Tippee Supersteam
5) UV steriliser without dryer function - like Nuby or Tommee Tippee Ultra UV
6) Boiling water - store in the pan after boiling :)
Three Sterilisation methods that do dry automatically:
1) UV steriliser-dryers*
2) Electric Steam Steriliser-dryers
3) Baby Bottle Washer, Steriliser, Dryer - like Bebello Washer
In addition - Bebello Washer also has an automatic 72 hour protect function that cycles HEPA filtered air through the washer cavity to remove any stale air and keep parts fresh to use.
* there are debates on whether UV sterilisers are effective as it is easy to block the path of UV light to surfaces requiring sterilisation. One NHS trust recommends avoiding UV sterilisation altogether.
Store bottles & pump parts in a defined storage space
It’s common that parents will have more bottles and pump parts than a steriliser will accommodate, meaning a storage space is an essential.
A cool, clean and dry place out of sunlight is the best place to store parts. It can also help to make this storage place near to where you will make formula, or express milk.
If you want to store bottles in a kitchen cupboard, near the kettle is generally a good idea! Make sure the cupboard space is kept clean and free from other products that may leak onto your sterilised bottles. You could also store your baby’s preferred milk alongside the bottles with any other weaning bits you may have.
A box or tub can be a good idea for organisation and quick access multiple parts quickly. It will also keep them shielded from other objects in the cupboard.
Storing parts for on-the-go & travelling
If going out and about, it can be a good idea to store parts in a protective space before putting in the day bag.
Large lunch boxes, Tupperware tubs and sandwich bags make good protective environments that keep your bottles and pump parts separate from dust, hair and debris that exist inside most bags.
Milk prep caddy - for moving around the home
Another great idea if you’re making a lot of feeds per day is to create a caddy of all your formula milk or breast pumping essentials. Take a plastic, cleanable basket and load it up with your baby’s milk container, your sterilised bottles, plus any other formula making or breast pumping essentials you use daily. Leave this caddy next to the kettle and aim to replenish it each morning so you’re set for the day ahead. You can even make a nighttime caddy to take to bed with you for any night feeds.
Safety recommendations
The NHS recommends sterilising your baby’s feeding bottles until they’re at least 12 months old to protect their immature immune systems from infection. Here are some quick and easy safety tips to keep your baby’s bottles sterile when storing them.
Check everything is spotless
It’s easily done when you’re half asleep, but before storing your bottles, make sure there is no residue of dried, unwashed milk that’s been missed. Breast-milk can cleave a greasy residue thats hard to remove without exposure to high-temperature water.
Check your baby bottle teats
Your baby’s bottle teats are easily damaged and should be replaced every 2-3 months. You’ll probably find your newborn will move to higher teat flow rates in-line with this replacement schedule, but it’s still a good idea to check for cracks and any other visible damage. If UV sterilisation has been used, degradation and yellowing of teats may occur faster than this.
Practice good hygiene when touching and assembling parts
Whenever touching your baby’s sterilised bottles, it goes without saying, make sure you wash your hands beforehand and avoid touching parts. When touching parts, its best to touch parts that won’t contact the milk such as the tip of the teat, the insides of bottles and the milk path on pump parts when assembling. Always keep the lids on your sterilised feeding bottles to protect the teat from contact with non-sterile objects.
Safety of drying solutions
Parts need to be dried before longer term storage. Removing parts from the steriliser will break the sterility seal, but risk can be minimised by ensuring hands are clean before touching, and the safest drying space is selected.
Tea-towel drying space: Make sure the tea-towel is fresh & dry.
Paper-towel drying space: Make sure the paper towel is fresh & dry.
Drying rack: if needed, try to choose a drying rack that allows good air circulation around parts, is easy to wipe clean and does not allow easy pooling of water.
In steriliser drying: the safest way to dry parts is in Baby Bottle Washers or steriliser-dryer. This is because the drying environment is sterile, and hand-contamination wet parts is avoided. Dry parts can be left inside the sterile environment until needed.
How the baby bottle washer from Bebello can help with storing sterilised baby bottles
If you’re looking for the safest, smartest way to store your baby bottles and pump parts this bottle steriliser and dryer really simplifies the process. It will wash, sterilise, dry and store all your baby’s feeding bottles in one machine, taking this chore off your hands for good.