How To Clean Old Bottles
Have you ever wondered how to clean old bottles and restore them back to their original beauty? Well, I am sharing my tips below!
Have you ever walked into an antique store and spotted a shelf full of old bottles? Maybe there were brown ones, blue ones, green ones, purple ones or maybe there were only clear ones? But if I were to guess I bet you would absolutely see one that needed some cleaning. You know, one that obviously needed a little TLC in order to be restored back to its original full beauty. I seem to always find a bottle or two that has a little dirt and grime still attached down inside!
Have you ever wondered how to get that mess out of there? Last year I shared a few of my bottle cleaning tricks on instagram and today I thought I would share them with you here on the blog. You would be amazed to see how easy it really is to clean them up and my hope is that you could use some of these tricks to help you restore YOUR bottles to their full original beauty.
Do I Need To Sterilize My Baby’s Bottles
Before the first use, sterilize nipples and bottles in boiling water for 5 minutes.
After that, you dont have to sterilize your baby’s bottles and supplies each time you feed your baby. Do wash bottles and nipples in hot, soapy water after every use. You can get a store-bought countertop or microwaveable sterilizer, but its not necessary.
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Shake hot water and a tablespoon of white vinegar in the bottles before your normal cleaning process. Ensure that theyre totally rinsed, then wash them with a natural dish soap.
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Smart Products To Make It Easier
My eldest daughter transitioned from breast milk to formula when she was around six months old. At the time, we were paranoid, first-time parents and wanted to do whatever it took to ensure the bottles were sterile before they touched her lips. But we didn’t have any fancy gadgets or tools, so we found a method that worked well for us. We’d boil a big pot of water on the stove, throw the bottles in, let them boil, then carefully remove them and fill with formula.
It was working just fine until one fateful night when we learned just how dangerous our system really was. We were cleaning up from a dinner party and as we finished washing the dishes we put the bottles on the stove to boil. We both went upstairs to bed. At 3 a.m. I was awoken by the ear piercing sound of the smoke detector.
The bottles!!!
Thankfully, our element is one that automatically shuts off when it senses something has been on it for a long time. Or, what waited for us in the kitchen may have been a lot worse…
I bolted out of bed, grabbed our baby from her crib, and headed straight for the front door. The kitchen was full of smoke.
It burned my lungs and stung my eyes.
My husband ran to the stove, shut it off, and threw the pot filled with smoking, melting bottles outside. Thank God we hadn’t started a fire…
Thankfully, a few hours later we’d managed to air out the house and put the baby back to sleep.
I was totally shaken up. And, obviously, we had to ditch that bottle-cleaning method!
Got It So How Do I Sterilize Baby Bottles
If you bottle-feed your babe, there will be a time when you need to do more than suds up your supplies. The following sanitizing methods are all equally effective at destroying bacteria and germs that like to hang around on baby bottles, so pick one and rest assured that your little one will be fed from a sterile source. Note: Remember to always wash your hands before handling baby bottles.
How to Sterilize Bottles in the Dishwasher
If you own a dishwasher, youre in luck: Sanitizing will be a cinch. According to the CDC, If you use a dishwasher with hot water and a heating drying cycle to clean infant feeding items, a separate sanitizing step is not necessary. In other words, pop your babys dishwasher-safe bottles in your trusty kitchen helper and they will emerge washed, sterilized, and totally ready to meet the needs of your hungry baby. Heres what you do.
1. Give used bottles a quick rinse. If the bottles have been sitting around in the sink for a while be extra thorough with this step.2. Place rinsed bottles in the dishwasher and make sure it is set to run on a hot water wash and heat/sanitize dry cycle.3. Press Start and youre done. When the dishwasher is done working its magic, the bottles will be good to go.
How to Sterilize Bottles by Boiling
If the only dishwashers in your home are the human kind, dont fretsterilizing bottles is actually much easier than scrubbing dinner dishes and it requires no elbow grease. Heres how to do it, per the CDC.
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The Best Natural Way To Clean Baby Bottles
Learning how to feed your baby is just as important as understanding what to feed her. Babies need to get their food and formula from extra-clean bottles and feeding implements. If you’re practicing a “green” lifestyle, you may wonder how to create these conditions without resorting to chemical cleaners or running an almost-empty dishwasher for the sake of a few clean bottles. But hot water and baking soda can help you achieve germ-free feeding. It’s important to clean and sterilize bottle tops as well, along with anything else that touches the bottles.
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Scour your sink or basin and pot with baking soda or table salt and hot water. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the vessel in which you wash the bottles may itself pose contamination risks if it’s not clean .
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Add all of the components of the baby bottles to a large, clean bowl or basin filled with hot water and 1/2 box baking soda.
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Soak the bottles and pieces overnight.
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Wash your hands with soap and water before handling the bottles the next morning. Dry your hands thoroughly with a clean cloth.
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Scrub the bottles with a clean bottle brush. Use hot water and either baking soda or low-residue soap. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization recommends soap to clean bottles . The Environmental Protection Agency notes that baking soda eliminates any chance that babies might ingest soapy residue .
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Rinse bottles with hot water.
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Sterilizing Baby Bottles With Bleach
If youre in a pinch and dont have access to boiling water, steam or a dishwasher, the CDC condones the use of bleach to clean baby bottles. Heres how to sterilize baby bottles with this method:
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The Chemical Sterilisation Method
Be careful when using chemical sterilisation. Many methods use bleach, which can also bleach clothing and surfaces, and irritate the skin, if spilt.
Antibacterial chemical sterilisation solutions are available in liquid and tablet form. They need to be prepared exactly as directed on the container.
When To Stop Sterilizing Baby Bottles
If you do decide to sterilize babys bottles regularly, its okay to stop once baby is older than 3 months, according to CDC guidelines, since babys immune system isnt quite so fragile anymore.
You should also stop sterilizing baby bottles and accessories if you notice any damage, Ganjian says. Glass bottles with cracks or chips should be tossed out, as should plastic bottles with splits, cracks, strong odors or any warping. Bottle nipples that have sustained noticeable wear and tear should always be replaced, since they can be a choking hazard.
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Why Is Sterilisation Important
Sterilizing all bottles and nipples is incredibly important in order to keep your baby safe from harmful bacteria, viruses, parasites and other pathogens that can make them sick. When a baby is born they’re especially vulnerable. Their newly formed immune systems arent yet strong enough to fight off certain infections, so making sure all bottles and feeding equipment are properly sterilized is one way to help ensure baby doesn’t become ill. For instance, a 12-month-old still only has 15-17% of an adult level of the IgA immunoglobulin, which is important for fighting the bacteria that causes gastroenteritis.
As your baby gets older, it can seem silly to be sterilizing bottles and nipples when everything else they get their hands on goes straight into their mouth! However, milk is particularly good at growing some of the nastiest pathogens so unsterilized bottles really do have the potential to make your baby much more sick than the pacifier on the sofa.
Cleaning, disinfecting and sterilizing are very different processes. Cleaning removes foreign particles like formula, milk and dirt whilst disinfecting destroys pathogenic microorganisms and removes most organisms from the surface of an item.
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The Top 4 Ways To Sterilize Your Baby’s Bottles
It goes without saying, your main priority is to keep your children safe and healthy. Sterilizing your baby’s bottles and accessories is one key way you can protect your little ones from harmful bacteria and germs.
Naturally, we recommend Minbie’s Sterilizer, but it’s important to remember that however you choose to sterilize your baby’s bottles & nipples, it’s crucial you pick a way that won’t degrade the material or damage it in any way.
When you invest in Minbie to help you feed and care for your children, you are choosing award winning design, great quality, and peace of mind for your journey.
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How Often Should I Sterilize Baby Bottles
You dont have to sterilize your babys bottles after each use. A good, thorough cleaning should keep them safe for your baby. However, its a good idea to occasionally sterilize your bottles in these situations:
- When theyre brand-new before you use them for the first time.
- If your baby has been sick .
- If you notice build-up inside the bottles or nipples.
- If you live or are traveling in an area where tap water is not regulated.
- If you get your water from a well, it may be a good idea to sterilize with every use .
Sterilizing Babys Bottles With Bleach
If you cant boil, steam, or use a dishwasher to sterilize babys bottles, the CDC does say that you can sterilize with bleach as a last resort.
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Best Dish Soap For Baby Bottles
When it comes to ensuring your baby is getting the best, we understand that same notion extends to the dish soap you use as well. Here are our recommendations for top dishwashing liquids to use when cleaning baby bottles, bottle attachments, and first utensils:
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For Soaking: Before sterilizing or running your babys bottles through a dishwasher, use a foaming dish soap like Dawn® Platinum Dishwashing Foam. Just one pump creates more than enough soapy foam to penetrate leftover formula and milk residue.
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For Everyday Handwashing: Dawn® Free & Clear is powerful enough to tackle any leftover messes, including baby food and milk residue, and gentle enough to use on delicate items, while also being free of dyes and phosphates.
With Dawn® dish soap its So Dawn Easy to keep all your baby items clean, so you can feel more confident when feeding your cooing little duckling!
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After You’ve Finished Sterilising
- It’s best to leave bottles and teats in the steriliser or pan until you need them.
- If you do take them out, put the teats and lids on the bottles straightaway.
- Wash and dry your hands before handling sterilised equipment. Better still, use some sterile tongs.
- Assemble the bottles on a clean, disinfected surface or the upturned lid of the steriliser.
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Are Bottles The Only Thing That Needs Sterilizing
Anything that goes in your babys mouth or is used to feed your baby should be sterilized. This includes:
- Feeding accessories.
- Breast pump parts .
The good news is that although parents may be advised to sterilize their babys bottles for the first few months, its not considered necessary after that.
How Often Should Bottles Be Sterilized
In the days before dishwashers and reliably safe water, manually sterilizing baby bottles, nipples, and pacifiers after every use was essential. This was the only way to protect bottle-fed infants from feeding-related illness or even death.
In today’s world, access to hot, soapy water and/or a dishwasher makes bottle cleaning much less of a chore. This doesn’t mean sterilization isn’t necessary, though, according to Rebecca Agi, MS, IBCLC, founder of Best Milk LA, a private lactation consulting practice based in Los Angeles.
It is important to sterilize your babys bottles before using them for the first time. Sterilizing all infant feeding items helps prevent germs from contaminating the milk you feed your baby.
Unless you live in an area with well water or have a contaminated city water supply, you only need to sterilize new bottles and nipples before the first use. After the first sterilization, a good cleaning in hot, soapy water is sufficient. If the bottles and nipples are labeled “dishwasher safe,” you can also run them through the dishwasher.
The caveat to this rule applies to babies with certain health considerations. Agi notes, “Sterilizing feeding items at least once per day is recommended for babies under 3 months, babies born premature, or those with a weakened immune system.”
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