Breast pump - can it go in the fridge instead of being washed?

[anchovies]

That's it really, currently wash everytime after use and sterilise once a day but am wondering whether it would be ok to keep it in the fridge for 24 hours after sterilising?

[TheProvincialLady]

Yes it is absolutely fine. If you keep it in one of those freezer bags with a seal it will be fine

[MoonlightMcKenzie]

Do you mean

a)that you wash it, sterilise it and then want to put it in the fridge, - and then use it straight from the fridge rather than sterilise it right before pumping?

or

b)Sterilise it, use it and put it in the fridge all milky and then re-use it 24 hours later STILL milky, un-washed and un-sterelised

[TheProvincialLady]

You don't need to wash between the uses. EBM is remarkable stuff. But you would treat the milk that you collect as if it is the oldest milk, so for example if you started expressing at 7am and went on until 9pm, the 9pm milk would be as old as the 7am milk IYSWIM? Not that it makes much difference in practical terms for most purposes.

[theyoungvisiter]

but I was told you're not supposed to express warm milk into cold stored milk are you? As it has the effect of heating up the stored milk each time and making it "older" than milk that was just left in the fridge.

Therefore you would have to express into a new container each time anyway - so is it saving any labour?

[anchovies]

Thanks, it has a lid that seals it and put it in a tupperware box so I have decided to go for it. Usually express into those avent pots so I just put a new sterile one on every time I've finished expressing ready for next time.