Do babies steam sterilers use lots of electric?

pinkparrott

Hi I am new to the money saving site but as I am maternity leave and on no pay at the moment , every little helps.
I have been trying to save electric, but just wondering if anyone knows how much electric a babies stem steriliser unit uses, as i run it at least twice a day.
thanks:D

beeniemac

Anything that heats up will generally use a lot of electricity, so yes, I sould imagine it does use quite a lot.

Sting_2

Could you put twice as many bottles in, then you would only use it once a day.

Having said that I am not sure how long they remain sterile for once you turn the steriliser off.

masonic

I would guestimate somewhere between 5-10p per hour.

angeluk69_2

why not cold sterilise much cheaper????

black-saturn

It works out the same to cold sterilise because you have to keep buying the fluid.

The steam steriliser uses the same amount of electricity as a kettle does as it's basically the same object.

How old is the baby? After 6 months you don't have to sterilise them anymore.

masonic

black-saturn wrote:

The steam steriliser uses the same amount of electricity as a kettle does as it's basically the same object.

A lot less, I would hope! I think a kettle would erupt to dryness pretty quickly if it didn't turn itself off.

Queenie

You can sterilise baby's bottles the old fashioned way in a pan on the hob.

You can use the chemical sterilising fluid and recycle an old (large) ice-cream tub to put the bottles in.

Using an electrical appliance (IMHO) isn't just about cost, for me, it's an environmental issue too. But I respect that not everyone feels that way Have you given any thought as to what you'll do with it after 6-12mths? If you're relying on an electrical appliance to sterilise your equipment, have you considered what you will do if you have a power failure? Do you have a back up plan?

I wonder if new parents are being bamboozled into thinking/believing that they must splurge on these appliances as a necessity rather than an option? Bit like many things in life really :rotfl:

Good luck in finding a solution (no pun intended ) which fits your particular needs and ....

... :hello: Welcome to MSE :hello: ... plus ...

... CongratUlations on your new baby :beer:

Edinburghlass_2

Lots of suggestions on this page here....

http://www.babycentre.co.uk/baby/formula/sterilising/

Does it save you time using this unit, as personally I would have used anything that gave me a bit more time and would happily trade that for a bit extra on the electric bill

BexTech

A 1 litre bottle of sterilising fluid only costs us 69p, so I would say that works out cheaper that steam sterilising.

We were given a steam steriliser, by someone who had tried it but decided fluid was an easier way, we decided the same and gave it away too.

black-saturn

The good thing about cold sterilising is that as long as the items are left in the solution they are still sterile. With the steam steriliser they only stay sterile for a few hours.

A friend of mine used hers to cook fish though when she had finished using it to sterilise bottles.