Blog Layout

Sterilising - Everything You Need to Know!

Whether you breastfeed, formula feed, exclusively pump or combination feed, chances are you have questioned yourself over sterilising; what needs to be sterilised, how often and until when?!

When our babies are little, it’s our natural instinct to want to do everything we can to protect them! So… here’s a run down of what you NEED TO KNOW when it comes to protecting them from germs and bacteria when it comes to their own feeding equipment! 


BUT… Before we get into the detail of the ‘what, how and when’s’ of sterilising, I’ll start by answering the simple question of Why do we need to Sterilise?!

The most important factor to point out here is that babies under 1 don’t have the same immune systems as us adults, or even older children. Sterilising will help kill any bacteria present in your baby’s feeding equipment, ultimately helping to protect your baby from infections that may cause your baby to suffer symptoms of sickness and diarrhoea. 


But don’t be daunted by the need to sterilise equipment! It really is straightforward once you get the hang of it and hopefully this blog will help you to answer some of your questions covering EVERYTHING you need to know about sterilising…


What needs to be sterilised?

Regardless of whether you are breast feeding or formula feeding, there is typically always something that needs sterilising! 

If you’re formula feeding…… 
Before every feed, you will need to make sure that all parts of your baby’s bottle have been sterilised; including the bottle, teat, lid and any internal parts of the bottle such as anti-colic venting tubes.  

If you’re breast feeding……
If expressing breast milk, the NHS advise that you should store expressed breast milk in sterilised containers or in special breast milk storage bags (which are pre-sterilised and ready to use straight away). 

When it comes to sterilising breast pump equipment, this isn’t an area where there is a lot of research so often advice regarding sterilising breast pumps can differ between professionals. 

In the UK, the NHS recommends that all equipment which comes into contact with your baby’s milk (including equipment used to collect, store or feed expressed breast milk) is sterile. However, the Association of Breastfeeding Mothers, along with the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine, advise that after sterilising before first use, subsequently washing breast pump parts with hot soapy water is sufficient for healthy babies . 

Ultimately, how often you choose to sterilise your breast pump equipment will be your own personal decision taking into account the health of your baby, what you feel comfortable with and are able to realistically sustain on a daily basis. It’s important to remember though that sterilising will always help to add an extra layer of protection for your baby; which may be particularly important if your baby is less than 3 months old, was born prematurely or has a weakened immune system.

If you haven’t used your pumping equipment in a while though, it’s always best to sterilise before using. 


Anything else you need to sterilise?
As well as baby’s feeding equipment (such as bottles), it is also a good idea to sterilise other items which regularly go into baby’s mouth like dummies for the first six months of baby’s life - especially as these items seem to always end up on the floor! 



Is it Necessary to Sterilise Weaning Equipment?

Once you’ve finally mastered sterilising baby bottles, it is then time for weaning! Along with a whole raft of questions you may have about weaning, in those early days you might wonder…. “Do I need to sterilise weaning equipment?!”

Rest assured… if you’re weaning around the recommended age of 6 months, then there is no need to sterilise the equipment you use for food such as bowls, spoons or cups and washing in hot soapy water or using a dishwasher will be sufficient for these weaning essentials. 

However, if you decide to wean before 6 months, it is recommended by the NHS that you do sterilise baby’s feeding equipment until they reach 6 months.


Don’t forget though that it is always important to follow good food hygiene practices at any age! Check out some of my other blogs about preparing first foods as well as tips on storing, defrosting and reheating your baby’s food here.

How to Sterilise


Before you start… 


There are a few different methods to choose from when it comes to sterilising, but regardless of what method you choose, there are a few things you need to do first! 


First things first; you need to physically clean all parts of the baby’s bottles or feeding equipment first using either hot soapy water or using the dishwasher. If using the dishwasher, make sure all of the hard-to-reach places; particularly inside teats, are thoroughly clean before sterilising! 


Once you’re happy all parts are clean, rinse using cold running water and you’re ready to go…



TOP TIP: Remember to sterilise all the parts of the bottle separately! Don’t assemble bottles until after sterilisation has taken place.

Sterilising Methods


There are lots of devices on the market to help you when it comes to sterilising your baby’s feeding equipment either at home or on the go. Essentially, there are 3 main methods for sterilising:


  • Using steam
  • Using boiling water
  • Using a cold-water sterilising solution


Providing each method is done correctly, all are deemed to be effective so the method you choose is likely to come down to personal preference as well as how often you need to sterilise items, the price of sterilising equipment as well as the room you have in your kitchen!

After Sterilising


Always wash your hands before handling any sterilised equipment! 


If you can, leave your bottles and teats in the unopened steriliser until you need them. However, once you have opened the lid to the steriliser, even if it is just to remove one bottle, always assemble all the remaining bottles inside the steriliser, being careful not to touch the teats and always ensuring any surface used to assemble the bottles is clean.



And remember…. Condensation in the bottles is completely normal! This is nothing to be worried about as the water inside the bottles is sterile… just don’t be tempted to dry the bottles as you may inadvertently transfer bacteria from the cloth into your freshly sterilised bottles!



How Long do items stay Sterile for?


Bottles and teats should stay sterile for approximately 24 hours if they have been assembled or left in an unopened steriliser.


When storing expressed breast milk, if you have used a sterile container to store your breastmilk in the fridge or freezer, there is no need to change the container or re-sterilise once milk is inside the bottle. 



When is it okay to stop Sterilising?


To put it simply, it's important to sterilise all your baby's feeding equipment such as bottles teats and breast pumps, until they are at least 12 months old.


Once your baby starts crawling and decides to start putting EVERYTHING in their mouth… you might be tempted to stop sterilising earlier than recommended - But it’s important you don’t! As I mentioned earlier, milk residues are breeding grounds for potentially harmful bacteria so during the first year of their life it is important to protect their health as much as possible.


By the time your baby has reached 12 months old, their immune systems will generally be much more resilient. 


Although you may be counting down the days until you can stop sterilising, remember that there is no harm if you continue to sterilise bottles and feeding equipment for as long as your baby is using them, and sterilising will always add that extra layer of protection for your little one…. Just make sure you continue sterilising until they are at least 12 months old.



TOP TIP: Once you do decide to stop sterilising after this time; make sure you always wear rubber gloves when washing up any feeding equipment so you can get the water nice and hot!





Hopefully this blog has answered all of your sterilising related questions... and more! 




References:




  • NHS, 2014. A Guide to Weaning. Accessed 7th February 2021 [https://nhsforthvalley.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/A-guide-to-weaning-April2014.pdf]


  • NHS, 2019. Sterilising Baby Bottles. Accessed 7th February 2021 [https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/baby/breastfeeding-and-bottle-feeding/bottle-feeding/sterilising-baby-bottles/]

Check out more blogs here

by PH935075 28 March 2025
Breakfast Muffins
by PH935075 28 March 2025
Baked Pancake Sheet
by PH935075 28 March 2025
Super Easy Granola!
by PH935075 28 March 2025
Crispy Sesame Sweet Chilli Chicken
by Jenna Brown 23 February 2025
Trying to feed 16 on a tight budget can be tough, until I realised the perfect solution….. A PIZZA PARTY! Click here for recipes, instructions & more!
by Jenna Brown 13 February 2025
Freezable Fluffy Pancakes!
by Jenna Brown 22 April 2021
There’s no doubt that there are so many exciting things to think about when you begin the weaning journey with your little one like choosing a high chair, shopping for snazzy bibs, debating which cup and cutlery is best and deciding what amazing tastes to expose your baby to first... but it’s important not to forget that amongst all of this, any food you serve needs to be safe! Babies and young children don’t have the same immune system as us adults (or even older children) so we need to make sure we’re extra careful with their little tummies! It is estimated that there are 2.4million cases of food borne illness in the UK every year but it’s not just restaurants that can give you food poisoning – You can also make yourself (or your family) ill whilst cooking at home too. The good news is that there are so many things you can do whilst preparing food to prevent this…. Keep it Clean When preparing food for your little one, keeping clean is so important! In reality, this doesn’t mean having a ‘spotless’ kitchen but instead, a clean environment where you prepare food, with clean hands using clean equipment! Here’s some top tips to help you organise your kitchen to help you safely prepare meals for your baby and the rest of the family…. Wash your hands – Always wash your hands thoroughly before preparing any food, and after handling raw meat Clean work surfaces - Disinfect food preparation surfaces using a clean dishcloth before starting any food preparation. If you can, use a paper towel squirted with anti-bacterial spray to clean surfaces after preparing raw meat and poultry as this will help make sure that you don’t pick up food poisoning germs and spread them around the kitchen! Clean utensils – Make sure equipment is clean before you start using it and if you can, opt for colour coded equipment to reduce the risk of cross contamination between raw and ready to eat foods. Never prepare ready to eat food such as salad on a board that was previously used to prepare raw meat. Wash fruit and Veg – They might be low risk foods, but bacteria can also be found on fruit and veggies too so don’t forget to wash these thoroughly under cold running water before serving to baby. If you’re using frozen veggies in baby’s food, make sure that these are cooked before serving to your baby according to the back of pack information. Don’t be tempted to wash raw chicken! Washing your chicken will not ‘wash off’ the bacteria (only cooking will make it safe to eat!). If you wash chicken, you are instead more likely to cause food poisoning by inadvertently spreading more bacteria around the kitchen. Cooking Cooking veggies by steaming/ boiling or roasting is pretty straightforward, but those first tastes don’t last for long and you’ll soon be branching out to more exciting foods for your baby to try, many of which may include meat or fish. Regardless of how you serve meat to your little one, it’s important to make sure that it is thoroughly cooked. Remember - Just because it’s cooked on the outside, doesn’t mean it is cooked on the inside! Here’s how you can check that meat is safe to eat… Use a food probe – Checking the temperature of the thickest part of meat is the most accurate way (and the way I would recommend) to check food is cooked, whilst also making sure it is not overcooked! If using a probe, make sure the probe is clean and the meat has a core temperature of 75C for at least 30 seconds. Cut into the thickest part of the meat to make sure there is no pink meat visible The meat must be steaming hot throughout Meat juices run clear
by Jenna Brown 21 April 2021
One of the things I ALWAYS get asked is whether it is safe to reheat rice! If you’re anything like me, I can never seem to gauge just how much rice to actually cook so I always seem to have left-overs. But, what’s all the fuss about with leftover rice? It’s important to know that if cooked rice is not handled correctly, it can make you (or your little one) violently ill. Rice contains bacteria called Bacillus cereus. Bacillus cereus is a spore forming bacteria; meaning that it forms protective layers (spores) which survive the heat of cooking. If cooked rice is left at room temperature for too long, then the bacteria can multiply and produce toxins; which can cause food poisoning. It’s important to point out here that once these toxins are present, they will NOT be killed by further reheating; regardless of reheating until piping hot! So, how can you handle leftover rice safely? How quickly you cool rice after cooking is critical in ensuring that your leftover rice will be safe to use. You should always make sure your rice is always cooled down as quickly as possible, but always within an hour and a half! This doesn’t mean just putting cooked rice straight in the fridge though…….. Simply putting hot rice in the fridge may not be enough to help cool it down quickly, especially as this will also raise the temperature of the fridge itself. Instead, I’d recommend stirring rice regularly and helping to speed up the cooling process either by: Running it under cold water (this works great if you’ve not added anything to the rice!) Dividing it into smaller portions Stirring regularly Using a homemade ‘ice bath’ – Like this….
by Jenna Brown 19 April 2021
The prevalence of allergies across Europe has sharply increased over the past 20 years and in the UK, it is estimated that over 2 million people are living with a diagnosed food allergy, excluding those with food intolerances. Whether you have personal experience of living with a food allergy, have dealt with it when weaning or have simply heard some of the tragic stories of others, there’s no doubt that allergies is something we have all become more aware of over the past few years! Dealing with food allergies can be a daunting and overwhelming experience so if you or your little one is diagnosed with an allergy, you may feel anxious. Hopefully this blog will help to give you confidence in understanding food labels by identifying exactly what is required by law, what a food label should look like, may contains as well as busting some common food allergy myths! 🥜 Allergen Labelling What’s required by law? Since 2014, it has been a legal requirement for all food businesses in the UK to declare if any food they provide contains any of the 14 major allergens as an ingredient. Whilst you may have an allergy outside of the 14, these allergens are the only ones that are required to be declared by law: Celery – (May also be listed as celeriac) Cereals containing Gluten (such as barley, wheat, oats, rye, spelt) Crustaceans (such as prawns, crabs and lobsters) Eggs Fish Lupin Milk Molluscs (such as mussels and oysters) Mustard Nuts (tree nuts such as almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, brazil nuts, cashews, pecans, pistachios and macadamia nuts) Peanuts Sesame Soybeans (soya) Sulphites If you or your child is allergic to an allergen outside of the major 14, then you should still be able to identify whether it is present (or not) in pre-packed food by checking the full ingredient list…. It might just take a little longer to spot! How to identify food allergens on packaging? For any pre-packed food, you will always be able to find the allergens within a product by checking the ingredients list on the back of pack. In compliance with European legislation, allergens must be emphasised on the label of prepacked food; which could either be bolded, highlighted or underlined. Just remember to check the food label every time, even if you’ve purchased a food before as ingredients and recipes can change! Here’s an example of how easy it should be to spot any of the 14 major allergens when reading a food label...
by Jenna Brown 19 April 2021
It is really important to embed a good hand washing routine as early on in life as possible. As your baby progresses into a toddler, it’s important to change your hand washing technique as they grow, keeping it fun whilst giving them lots of praise and encouragement! Here’s some ideas how you can start getting your toddler involved in washing their hands and help them to understand that it’s an important part of their daily routine… Get a step stool so they can reach the sink themselves Give them independence – Toddlers LOVE the feeling of being able to do something for themselves, so supervise to make sure they wash their hands properly but let them do the main work themselves. Always communicate with them to tell them it’s time to wash their hands and why (it’s dinner time for example!) Sing a song with them whilst they wash their hands. Hands should be washed for 20 seconds which is enough time to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ twice, but you could always sing along to a nursery rhyme or any other song your child loves to make sure they stay at the sink long enough! Teach them the importance of washing their hands using body paint or glitter every so often so that they have a visual aid of how they need to wash their hands for them to be clean .. And don’t forget to also wash your hands at the same time! Not only will this help keep everyone safe, but seeing you lead by example will be a great learning tool for your little one from any age.
Show More
Share by: