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Can you wash or put baby bottles in the dishwasher? When parents bring home their brand new baby for the first time, there can be a wide range of concerns all running marathons through their heads at all times. Of course, doing everything you can to make sure your child is happy and healthy is the main concern.
You may even find yourself double-checking information you know you already know, but just need a bit of reassurance on. In fact, many parents find themselves worrying over simple things such as how to clean their infant feeding items properly. Now, while this is certainly a job that you need to take seriously, once you get in the habit of taking a few extra steps, you’ll feel safe and sound every time you pull out one of their bottles.
Here are a few different steps and a bit of information that you may want to keep in mind that can help guarantee that you’re cleaning your baby bottles correctly so that your child can enjoy their warm milk endlessly while you get some much-needed peace of mind.
What Is an Infant Feeding Item?
If you’re unsure of what an infant feeding item is, don’t worry. You’re not alone. When you’re a first time parent, things can quickly start to feel overwhelming and complicated even when you’re sure you know what you’re doing. Generally speaking, an infant feeding item is anything and everything that your child puts in their mouth and drinks from. For the most part, this will include all the different parts of your baby bottles. This means that the bottle itself, the nipple, the ring, and the cap are all considered feeding items.
However, if your child is dealing with special circumstances, the list of what fits into this category may grow and even include things such as syringes, medicine cups, spoons, or anything else that your pediatrician recommends you use to help your child eat.
Can You Wash Or Put Baby Bottles In Dishwasher?
Once you have your bottles all figured out, it will now be time to check if you’re able to put them in the dishwasher. Dishwashers can be an extremely handy tool for new mothers who can use all the help they can get in terms of saving time and energy for the baby. Unfortunately, not all baby bottles are made from dishwasher-safe plastics, and putting your bottles in the appliance can actually end up ruining them completely.
Luckily, determining whether or not your bottles can safely go in the dishwasher is actually fairly easy. What you’ll need to do is simply turn your bottle over, as the marking is often on the bottom of the bottle itself, and check for the phrase “dishwasher safe” or look for the dishwasher safe symbol which will usually show a plate or a cup with water droplets falling down onto it. While it may take up more of your time, if your bottle doesn’t have either one of these markings on it, the safest option will be to wash your bottles by hand.
How to Wash Baby Bottles in the Dishwasher
Now that you’ve determined that your bottles are safe for dishwasher use, you’ll need to make sure that they get as clean as possible while they’re in there. To do this, there are a few steps you’ll need to take ahead of time. First things first, you’ll need to separate the bottle into its different parts. This means taking it completely apart so that you have the bottle, the nipple, the ring, and the cap all separate. Once you’ve done this, you’ll now want to take these different parts and rinse them quickly in the sink to make sure you don’t have any massive stains collecting in the bottles which might be difficult for the dishwasher to completely remove.
After you’ve rinsed off the different pieces, you’ll want to put them safely into the dishwasher. The smaller items such as the ring, nipple, and cap you’ll probably want to place in the utensil basket that has a lid just so you can be sure they’re kept safe and sound throughout the washing process. Also, keep in mind that some dishwashers actually come with a bottle designated area. If your appliance comes with this feature, take advantage of it so that you can be sure every part of that bottle’s interior is being washed. However, if not, you can place your bottles in the same space where you’d place your glassware.
Once the washing is actually done, it will be time to remove your bottles from the dishwasher. At this point, you’ll want to make sure that you thoroughly wash your hands before you touch any of the bottles. Removing them with unwashed hands will result in you getting a wide range of germs into the bottles which could get your child sick. You definitely don’t want to use napkins or washcloths to remove them as the amount of bacteria on these materials can be jaw-dropping. Clean, freshly washed hands are the best way to get your bottles out of the appliance once the cleaning process is done.
Time to Sanitize Your Baby Bottles
Nowadays, many dishwashers come with an extra sanitizing setting which can definitely help make life easier. However, if your dishwasher doesn’t have this convenient option, making sure that you sanitize your bottles after they’ve been cleaned will be essential, especially for younger children.
There are multiple ways that you can accomplish this. First, there are many different developers that have created steaming systems that you can purchase that either work on their own or that you can place in a microwave to get the desired outcome. Check out our review of the best bottle warmers and sterilizers to make cleaning bottles easier.
However, if you’re not looking to invest in another appliance, there’s always the old boiling method. All you’ll need to do is bring a pot of water to a boil. Place your bottles in the water, cover them, and let them boil for approximately five minutes so that you can be sure all the bacteria have been killed off. Once the necessary time has passed, turn off the heat and remove your bottles from the pot with clean tongs so that they can be stored properly.
Keeping your child safe needs to be the priority of any parent. Keep these tips in mind and make sure they can safely drink their milk at any time.