How to sterilise a baby bottle?
Sounds like this question would be easy to answer doesn't it? But there are actually numerous ways for sterilising a baby bottle, all of which come with their own advantages and disadvantages. If you asked a group of mothers you would probably get a slightly different answer, with each one having their preferred way of sterilising baby bottles.
So what are the options?
Electric steam sterilisers, cold water sterilisers and boiling in a pan are the typical ways to sterilise babies bottles. However, the most convenient and quickest was to sterilise your baby bottle would have to be Microwave Steriliser bags. This is now a brilliant alternative to the traditional type of sterilisers that have been available.
So what are the advantages of using microwave steriliser bags? First of all it is fast! While you could be waiting around for anything up to 12 minutes with an electric steam steriliser you could be placing a microwave steriliser bag with all your baby bottles, teats and any other items which need to be sterilised into the microwave for anything as little as 90 seconds and, hey presto, all sterilised and ready for baby.
Second, it is convenient. Microwave bags are easy to carry and are reuseable. When you are on the move these bags are a convenient solution for baby bottle sterilisation. The individual bags are light and are easy to carry. All you need to do is find a microwave where ever you are going, and have a small amount water (100ml) on hand. Some of these types of bags can also be used up to 20 times, so not only do they prove convenient they are extremely cost effective.
While I see microwave steriliser bags as one of the best and most convenient ways of sterilising your baby bottles, there are of course other alternatives.
There is cold water sterilisation which involves dissolving a non-toxic tablet in a cold water solution which stays sterile for up to 24 hours, after which you need to change the solution. This method is also convenient, but I feel that it would be way too easy for a busy mother (and lets face it is what mother isn't a busy one?) to easily forget to change the water which could in turn lead to your baby getting sick from unsterilised baby bottles, teats or pacifiers.
You could of course always go the old fashioned route and boil up some water in a pan and boil your baby bottles for about 10 minutes. Apart from the inconvenience of such a method you will also find that the teats can become rapidly unusable and a bit sticky. You can quickly work out that it will cost you more money as you buy more teats over a shorter period of time than if were to use one of the other methods.
Electric steam sterilisers look great and do a good job. This is the most expensive method initially with the largest upfront cost. Electric steam sterilisers often take more time than other methods and take up valuable bench space. I feel these are not ideal for a mum on the go.
The conclusion: while all these methods work, when compared side by side, nothing works as quickly, effectively or cheaply as the microwave steriliser bag.
