How to safely clean your baby’s bottle
Bottle feeding equipment
The components of a bottle include a teat, a ring/cap, and the bottle itself. There are no rigid guidelines about choosing a bottle other than to ensure that it’s size-appropriate for your baby and they can feed without difficulty from the teat.
One of the most important elements of bottle feeding safety is the cleaning and sterilising of bottle feeding equipment. This is particularly important for babies under 12 months old as their immune systems are still developing.
Bottle cleaning
Make a habit of cleaning and sterilising your bottles after feeds – this reduces the risk of bacteria multiplying and ensures you always have clean and sterilised equipment on hand.
- After each feed, wash and dry your hands.
- Inspect the equipment for any cracks or degradation and dispose of any damaged parts.
- Use hot, soapy water to wash the equipment (in a dishwasher or container), and a bottle brush to clean the inside of the bottles.
- Squirt water through the teat to flush out any milk or formula residue.
- Rinse the equipment thoroughly and allow to air dry if you aren’t sterilising immediately.
Bottle sterilising
Sterilising bottles kills any germs that remain on the equipment’s surfaces. You can sterilise your bottle-feeding equipment in one of several ways:
- Boiling
- Purpose-built sterilisers
- Chemical sterilisers