More capacious than a travel steriliser, less bulky than an electric one and only requiring water to work, microwave sterilisers occupy an often-useful middle ground for many parents. Baby plates and bowls, cutlery and sippy cups will also need to be sterilised if they’re used before six months but, after that, washing in hot soapy water should be sufficient.

We used BabyCenter's community of 4 million caregivers to find a consensus on the best baby bottle sterilizers. Clean bottles one of two ways: In the dishwasher using hot water and a heated drying cycle or sanitizing setting.The Philips Avent Steriliser uses the hospital method of steam sterilisation, which is quick, easy and efficient, with no chemicals involved. While it is a personal choice for your family, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends sterilizing bottles and parts once a day, especially for babies younger than three months, born prematurely, or have a weakened immune system. As the steriliser didn’t come with a measuring jug, you’ll need to measure that accurately yourself. Items inside stay sterile for 24 hours and the lid is designed with a flat lip so it can be laid horizontally in a smaller microwave – a useful feature we didn’t find in any other travel steriliser.

MAM’s contribution to the steriliser market is this all-singing, all-dancing multi-part steriliser with six functions: microwave sterilising, electric sterilising, express bottle warming, gentle bottle warming, a defrost and warming option for milk and food, and, finally, a keep-warm function.They're not exactly a sterilizer in and of themselves, but these handy plastic bags go into the microwave and sterilize pump parts or bottles in as little as three minutes. As a parent to an eight-, six- and two-year-old, all of whom were combination-fed as babies, Rachel has years of experience using a wide variety of baby equipment, including sterilisers. While the Nuby UV steriliser has a relatively small capacity, it takes such a short time that doing an extra load isn't as much bother as with other types of steriliser.

They're affordable (each steamer bag can be reused up to 20 times) and can be compactly stashed in your diaper bag if you need to sterilize while of the house. To find the best baby bottle sterilizers, our engineers in the Little Lab considered how easy they were to use, how long they took to operate, how easy they were to clean, and the number of bottles they can hold. It offers three different functions with the simple touch of a button: Sterilizing in as little as eight minutes, drying that leaves bottles condensation-free and ready for use from 30 minutes to 60 minutes, and descaling to take care of hard water and calcium deposits, a common issue with steam bottle sterilizers. Parents can also sanitize bottles by boiling in a pot, or using bleach; use the CDC's instructions if that's your plan. It's proving a winner with parents who want to take bottles out of the steriliser ready to go without the need to wipe them dry.I wash the bottles and let them air dry and then put them in there dry for three minutes and it's done! After your baby's first birthday, you can start phasing our sterilising as their immune system will be strong enough. Once the cycle is complete, the items inside will stay sterile for 24 hours if the lid is kept in place. The sterilisation cycle is just five minutes, one of the shortest from an electric steriliser we tested. The CDC recommends sanitizing all items that come in contact with your baby's feeding supplies, including the dedicated bottle brush and wash basin.

The BPA-free bottles also promise to be anti-colic and offer a ‘SkinSoftTM' teat in different flows, to help your baby accept a bottle – which can be difficult if they've been exclusively breastfed. The genius design means you don't need an actual steriliser, but you do still need a microwave, so may not be quite so ideal if you're away and there isn't one available. I was also boiling bottles and parts to sterilize initially but now using avent microwave sterilizer (me also using avent bottles) and I would say its time saving and in love with that. You just fill the bucket with cold water and add a sterilising tablet or capful of liquid and it's good for 24 hours! She noted how many bottles or breast pump parts could fit comfortably into the steriliser, how long the cycle was, how loud the unit was in use (if appropriate), and how big the product’s footprint was on the kitchen counter.While you don't need a dedicated machine to sanitize, having a bottle sterilizer on hand certainly provides convenience, kills germs, and adds some peace of mind. According to the manufacturer, you can sterilize up to eight bottles, plus accessories, and kill 99.