10 of the best sterilisers for baby bottles and breast pumps
Are you looking into buying a microwave, steam, cold water, UV or electric steriliser to clean your baby’s bottles and feeding equipment, your breast pump or other baby feeding accessories? Here is our expert pick of the top ten baby sterilisers.
When you have a new baby in your home, you want everything to be super clean. Sterilisers kill all the bacteria that cling to baby bottles and all their accessories such as teats and locking rings. They can also be used for breast pumps, dummies and even toys.
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Why do I need a baby bottle steriliser?
Breast or formula milk can be the perfect place for germs to breed, as it’s warm. When you couple this with the fact that babies have very immature immune systems and can get very sick, very quickly, you’ll see how easy it is for them to get stomach problems such as diarrhoea and vomiting or gastroenteritis or food poisoning.
The NHS says you should sterilise all your baby’s feeding bottles and gadgets up to 12 months.
What types of baby steriliser are there?
Electric or microwave steam sterilisers: Either mains powered or popped into the microwave, they use water to make steam, which kills all the harmful bacteria.
Cold water sterilisers: An antibacterial tablet or liquid put into cold water cleans your equipment. Great for travelling and it’s energy saving, too!
UV sterilisers: Using ultraviolet light, this method is also used by dentists and beauty salons. As there’s no water, it can be used for lots of items, even books, toys and your phone!
What should I know about when buying a baby steriliser?
How will you use it? – If you’re using it mainly at home, a model that plugs in is ideal. You may also wish to use it in your microwave – check the dimensions to make sure it fits. If you travel a lot, a travel steriliser or tablets may be your best bet.
Where will you keep it? If you have a decent sized kitchen, you can choose a large model as you’ll usually leave it on the countertop. If you want to put it away after you use it, a smaller model is best.
Starter Kit: Many sterilisers come as an all-in-one starter kit that comes with bottle, tongs and other accessories. This is a great way to buy but check you’ll be able to add more accessories as you need them.
Do you need to replace parts? Some models use a HEPA filter that will need replacing. Check the price of extra ones and whether the steriliser comes with a couple of replacements when you but.
What kind of bottle do they take? Some sterilisers come with their own-brand bottles but do check if they can be used with other brands.
Travelling with baby? A travel steriliser, or sterilising bags and tablets are great for trips with your little one.
Here are our favourite sterilisers
Vital Baby Nurture Advanced pro UV Steriliser & Dryer, £139.99
This is easy to use and is very versatile, so you can use it after the baby stage or any item small enough to fit inside including baby plates and bowls, toys and even your phone. It uses UV light rather than any water or steam to thoroughly destroy 99.9% of bacteria in just seven minutes. It does not use much electricity, so it’s a great energy-saving device. A display on the top tells you how long the programme has left to run, and items come out cold, not hot as when you use steam, so they can be used immediately. If you put wet items in, such a freshly washed bottles, they can also be dried in a cycle that lasts 29 minutes. It has an accessories basket that come as part of the price that holds small items like locking rings and teats.
Available from: Amazon
Milton Professional Cold Water Steriliser, £18
A traditional way to lean your baby’s feeding items is cold water sterilisation, a field in which Milton has been an expert for over 70 years.
This is a large, five litre receptable taking six bottles or breast pump parts, soothers and teethers that you fill with cold water and add either Milton fluid or a Milton tablet. You pop all your items inside, making sure there are no air bubbles and weigh it all down with the grid – and that’s it! In just 15 minutes the items are clean and ready to use (wash your hands before removing items from the fluid). The fluid can be used for a 24-hour period before you renew it and the fluid can also be used to wipe down surfaces in your home or clean the floor with
Available from: Amazon
MAM 6-in-1 Electric Steriliser and Express Bottle Warmer £115
Many of us love a multi-function gadget like a slow cooker that’s also an air fryer, or a food processor that’s also a smoothie maker and this gadget is also versatile. It is a steriliser that can be used plugged into the mains or in the microwave and it keeps bottles sterile for up for 48 hours, too. and a bottle warmer in bottle warmer mode, there are four functions; gentle warming, express warming, defrosting (great for frozen breastmilk) and keep-warm. It works swiftly and efficiently and has lots of extras included in the price such as a bottle, teat tongs and a soother. As a steriliser, it has an easy open lid and two levels used for putting all your bottles and accessories into. The warmer sits inside the steriliser when not in use, so it saves space in your kitchen.
Available from: Amazon
Tommee Tippee Ultra UV 3-in-1 Steriliser, Dryer and Storage £149.99
A generously sized steriliser, this comes in both black and white and employs UV light to thoroughly kill germs and bacteria, using no chemicals or water. So, although it may take up more space in your kitchen, it does hold six bottles and all their accessories. The run time for a cleaning cycle is 35 minutes in UV steriliser mode and 60 minutes to both sterilise and dry. Like some other brands, it has different modes. The first is sterilise only, then there’s dry only, an automatic mode (sterilises and dries and finally a storage mode, which blasts UV light every two hours to keep your items sterile. It can be used for lots of items, not just feeding equipment and it’s easy to see what’s going on through its glass panel.
Available from: Amazon
Babymoov 3-in-1 Turbo Pure £89.95
This has a unique shape and it offers three functions; sterilise, dry and purify. The sterilise and dry mode takes 38 minutes, there’s a fast mode that takes just eight minutes and it fits two bottles plus all their accessories inside on a rack with prongs that can be adjusted to fill the container in the most effective configuration way. It is a steam steriliser, sending steam at 950C up from the base and through steam arms to reach every little nook and cranny. It will also dry your items, using HEPA filters to ensure there is no dust or mould and to eliminate smells and bacteria. It’s simple to use and good value for, with clear instructions. The machine helps prevent the build-up of calcium and limescale and it can be used for bottles, soothers and breast pumps too. It’s easy to use and to clean though it is quite chunky, so make sure you have room on your countertop.
Available from: Amazon
Babybrezza Steriliser Dryer Advanced £129.99
A great way to keep all your feeding items clean, sterilised and dry, this large capacity machine plugs into the mains and uses steam to clean all your baby’s gear. It holds an amazing eight bottles or the parts of two breast pumps and it kills 99% of germs. Leave the lid closed and it will keep everything sterile for up to 24 hours. There’s a HEPA filter to assist with drying, so the air inside the machine is 95% germ-free too. It has four modes – sterilise and dry, sterilise only, dry only or store. Racks inside allow you to place your bottles and accessories in the most efficient configuration and it is easy to use, with a clean LCD control panel on the front.
Available from: Amazon
Tommee Tippee Micro-Steam Microwave Steriliser £35
A simple to use microwave steriliser, you simply fill with bottles, teats and some water and turn it on. It takes just four minutes and the steam created inside kills over 99% of bacteria and viruses, so you have peace of mind. It holds four bottles and their accessories at the same time and it’s small enough for most kitchens. You can use the lid as a bottle prep surface and it’s good for travel when visiting a location with a microwave. Several types of bottle fit in this and stay sterilised for 24 hours with the lid closed. It comes with a set of tongs and a soother.
Available from: Amazon
Philips Avent steriliser Model SCF293/01 £114.99
From one of the most reliable brands comes this long-lasting and trusted models that uses steam. It cleans your bottles and accessories and dries them in a mere 40 minutes, then turns itself off, so you don’t need to do anything else until you’re ready to go and get a clean bottle. The drip tray inside keeps dirt and milk residue apart from the heating elements, thus eliminating smells. It holds up to six bottles, is roomy and will also take a breast pump, too and has a smaller section that can be used for items like teats and soothers. It keeps items sterilised for up to 24 hours with the lid closed.
Available from: Amazon
Medela steriliser baby bags £13.47 for 5
Travelling, or want a clean bottle quickly? These clever bags are ideal. Simply put the bottle and its accessories, a breast pump or soothers inside the bag, add some water and then place it in the microwave for three minutes to kill all the bacteria and viruses. BPA-free, the bags can each be used up to 20 times.
Available from: Amazon
Nanobebe Microwave Steam Steriliser £26.95
This is an easy to use and simple microwave steam steriliser that will look great in any kitchen. Killing 99.9% of all germs and bacteria in the swift time of just four minutes (for a 1000W machine), it also keeps the contents sterile for 24 hours when the lid remains closed. It saves quite a bit of energy compared to plug-in steam sterilisers and it is BPA and Phthalate free. It will hold several bottles, accessories, soothers and breast pump parts and once you have cooled them for 10 minutes, they are good to go.
Available from: Amazon