Parents want the best for their children right from the time they are in the womb. You must have noticed how new parents go mad when it comes to their little one’s health. They sterilize everything from toys to steel feeding bottles to ensure their kid stay away from infections.

Sterilizing baby bottles is necessary to keep your baby safe from sickness. It also ensures that everything that goes into their little mouth is healthy, hygienic, and clean. But this doesn’t call for buying a bottle sterilizer to keep things sanitary.

When you buy a steel bottle from a stainless steel feeding bottles manufacturer, ensure that you sterilize it properly before the first use and frequently thereafter. Although, it is not necessary to sterilize the bottles after every use.

This article will talk about the importance of sterilizing baby bottles and the ways to do it.

THE IMPORTANCE OF STERILIZING BABY BOTTLES

A baby’s immune system is not as strong as ours, owing to which it is more prone to infections and illness. Keeping care of the tender digestive tract, parents do everything from researching the most nutritious food and trying healthy recipes at home. But they often forget to sterilize their utensils like stainless steel feeding bottles. Sterilizing your baby’s equipment until they are 12 months old is crucial to help them grow better immunity.

It would be even better if you kept using a baby bottle sterilizer as long as the baby is drinking from the bottle. The sterilizer will remove every trace of bacteria and build that may otherwise spoil your little one’s breastmilk formula.

WAYS TO STERILIZE BABY BOTTLES

Microwave The Bottle: Microwave sterilization utilizes heat (in the form of steam) to sterilize bottles and nipples.

Here are the steps:

• Clean the microwave
• Fill the bottle halfway with water
• Place it in the microwave
• Also, place other equipment like rings, nipples, etc., in a glass bowl filled with enough water to cover them.
• Set the time for a minute and half
• Allow the bottle to cool before taking it out

Boil In Water: It is the most common method to sterilize bottles. It ensures the bottles’ proper cleaning and eliminates harmful bacteria and other contaminants off their surface.

Here are the steps:

• Put the bottle in a big pot of water
• Submerge the bottle and related accessories into it
• Place the pot on the stove, and turn on the heat
• Once the water starts boiling, set a timer for 10 minutes
• After that, remove the bottle and other accessories and put them on the drying rack

Cold Water Sterilization: Use a sterilizing solution dissolved in cold water to sterilize the feeding bottle.

Here are the steps:

• Fill a container with enough water to submerge the bottle
• Add a sterilization tablet and allow it to sit as directed
• Let the bottle sit for a few minutes, and then air dry it

Steam Bottle Sterilizer: Use an electric or steam sterilizer to sterilize the baby’s bottle quickly and easily. The method ensures that the bottles are squeaky clean and free from germs & bacteria.

Here are the steps:

• Place the bottles in a sterilizer
• Add water as instructed in the device manual
• Start the button

UV Sterilizer: The UV sterilization technique is effective against all foodborne pathogens, natural microbiota, yeasts, bacteria, and mold.

Here are the steps:

• Place the bottle in the UV sterilizer
• Start the sterilizer

Dishwasher: The easiest way to sterilize the stainless steel feeding bottles is using the dishwashers. The steel ones are dishwasher safe and can be tossed into the dishwasher for hygienic cleaning.

Here are the steps:

• Put the bottle in the top rack of the dishwasher
• Also, place other equipment like rings, nipples, pacifiers, etc.
• Run a sanitize cycle

Diluted Bleach Solution: For this, you have to mix two teaspoons of bleach into one gallon of water and after mixing it well, place the bottles and all related equipment into the solution. The method will sterilize the bottle effectively.

All the sterilization methods mentioned above are healthy and provide optimum results. Just choose the one depending on your lifestyle. Always remember to remove food particles from the bottles before sterilizing them.

HOW OFTEN YOU SHOULD STERILIZE THE BOTTLES

There is no need to sterilize the bottles after every use. A thorough cleaning will keep the bottle hygienic and clean to use for the baby. However, it will be great if the bottles are sterilized once in a while. If you are confused about when to sterilize the bottle, here is the list of situations:

• Right after you bring them home or before you use them for the first time.
• If your baby has been sick.
• If there is some build-up on the inside portion of the bottles or on the nipples.
• If you are traveling or live in an area where tap water is not regulated.

THINGS TO AVOID BEFORE STERILIZING THE BOTTLES

Sterilizing your baby’s bottles is no difficult task. Therefore, it’s better to sterilize them to avoid the risk of causing any harm to the health of your baby. Although, there are a few things to keep in mind while sterilizing the bottles, which are as follows:

• If sterilizing with boiling water or steam, be cautious that you don’t burn yourself. Also, don’t hold the baby while doing it because steam is way hotter than boiling water.
• If you are using a bleach solution, ensure that it’s appropriately diluted. Never use undiluted bleach for sterilizing as it contains a potent chemical that can harm your child’s health if ingested.
• If the bottles contain BPA (which is highly unlikely in the case of stainless steel bottles), it’s better not to use the heat sterilization method.
• If your baby’s bottles contain BPA, you may consider using a no-heat method of sterilization or switching to BPA-free bottles. Because when plastic bottles are sterilized, the harmful chemicals, including BPA, leach into the water or milk and damage the baby’s immune system.

We hope that the article helped you understand the importance of sterilizing stainless steel feeding bottles. If you have any questions or queries, do let us know in the comments.