Baby steriliser

RaiderHammer

Hi We are expecting our first baby in the Autumn and was wondering about sterilizers.

Electric or microwave what is best?

Also do they come in different sizes with regards to the bottle size that fits inside. Obviously don't want to buy one and then find we need to buy another to hold bigger bottles later.

Any advice is much appreciated.

Thank you.

MrsBillious

Neither... (But that is personal opinion) we used the cold water steriliser, with Milton tablets. We also used the Milton steriliser container, which held 5litres of water, and held 6, 9oz tommy tippee bottles. It was about £15 from Mothercare about 3years ago. The tablets cost about £2.50 for 28, (just under a months supply) and all you do is fill up your container with water, and pop in a tablet, put your clean bottles in and after 15 minutes the bottles are sterilised! You can keep them in there all day, and just bring out a bottle as required! Or pop one in when it's been used and washed...
Change the water solution every 24hours, (we found it easier to do it as bed time, so if baby, by some miracle slept in, I was in no rush or against the clock to change the solution in time for breakfast bottle)
As with anything with babies though, it's what's easier for you. I tried a microwave steriliser for my first baby, and within a month it was binned and I was using the cold water method.
Which ever you choose, enjoy your new baby, and best wishes... Xx

kernewek

Cold water = Best
Microwave = 2nd
Electric Steam = 3rd

However, Milton have recently released a Combi Steriliser than can either be used using cold water or in the microwave and either sterilisation method gives superior results to the likes of Tommee Tippee or Avent due to pressure valve meaning they can build up a higher heat in the microwave.

dizziblonde

Check microwave ones actually fit in your microwave... bitter experience speaking here!

We use a cold water one (tend to re-stock tablets when they're on 3 for 2 fairly regularly), but have the MAM self-sterilising bottles that you can do in the microwave without actually needing a microwave steriliser - handy to have the option if you're going away.

Gillyx

Another one to say MAM bottles, by far the best bottles we tried and they self sterilise in the micro, brilliant

jwil

Cold water here too, I just use a cheapy plastic container. I found the microwave sterilisers a faff really.

dizziblonde

Gillyx wrote: »

Another one to say MAM bottles, by far the best bottles we tried and they self sterilise in the micro, brilliant

I've found ours have melted at the bottom ever so slightly so I wouldn't want to use the microwave full-time to do them. They're pretty colours though and the markings haven't worn off them like Avent ones did with our first baby - so they're better anyway.

I just like the cold-water steriliser as it's not an actual act of sterilising (hubby changes the fluid as he does tea), more just systematic bottle abandonment in the right place - and I'm lazy!

Avent seem to be the ones that are iffy fitting in the more compact microwaves btw. It just-say fitted in ours but wouldn't have been safe forcing it out again full of boiling hot water.

Gillyx

I used ours for almost a year and they're in brilliant condition. Our micro is only a 800W though so maybe higher ones would melt.

Cate1976

We used Milton steriliser with our twin girls (born 01/12/09), the reason being that we were told the electric ones use a lot of lecky and we were on pre pay meters (cheapest way in Northern Ireland). Ditto with microwave ones. The only minor downside was that when both were using the 9oz bottles, we couldn't get everything in the Milton so we spend the money on the Boots travel sterilser. Bottles & domes went in the Milton with teats & rings going in the Boots sterilser using half a Milton tablet.

I'm now 35 weeks pregnant and have gone for a Milton sterilser again even though we're now living in Norfolk and have credit meters.

The big advantage of the cold water steriliser is that it'll keep everything sterile for up to 24 hours and you don't have to empty water out and start again each time you take a bottle out. We used to empty and refill steriliser at the same time each day, (think we did it after girls 'bedtime' feed).

shortdog

Another vote for a cold water steriliser. Cheaper to buy, cheaper to "run", much easier to use. Wash the bottles and shove them in, then forget about them. Dummies can be popped in too, so you've always got a fresh one.
I was given an electric steriliser when I had my son, and ended up using a cold water one, as the electric one only kept things sterile until you opened it.

Northern78

Another vote for cold water!! Milton tablets are cheap, doesn't take any time to fill a container, once the tablet is in it lasts for 24 hours and as someone else said, throughout the day you can chuck the dummies in that end up here there and everywhere.