How often do you clean your breast pump?

[HannahBerry]

I have a Medela electric swing pump. I want to start expressing every morning but was wondering how often to sterilse the inner parts (pump, funnel). Should it be daily?

Hi, I used the same pump and sterilised all the parts after every use.

I remember tiktok explaining on this thread that the guidance is that you only need to clean with hot soapy water, not sterilise. (tiktok always knows!)

I do it once a day. In between goes, I keep it in the fridge. I figure that if milk can be kept in the fridge for a few days, any milk left in the pump will also be just fine in the fridge for a few hours. After the last use of the day, I wash it up and put it in the steriliser. If I was only expressing once a day rather than the two or three times I am doing at the moment, I would clean it after each use.

Thanks for this. There are just no shortcuts with babies

I was an exclusive pumper, I washed after each use. I found it easiest to have a bucket of Milton for my steriliser, then I could just wash and drop them in. I had been told in hospital that I needed to wash and sterilise after each use. Though I would definitely follow tiktok's guidance if I was in the situation now!

As baby got older, I did like KatAndKit especially for the night pump sessions, I just wanted to get back to bed after that, not faff around washing the pump.

I was told when I hired my electric hospital pump to rinse with hot water after each use, and wash/sterilise properly once a day.

I used to stick it in the dishwasher to wash and sterilise in one go.

How do you sterilise the inner parts..? Do you mean the bits in the round yellow bit, or do you mean the bottle /collection funnel etc...

I have this pump so I am worried I am not doing it properly now.

Also, is there anyway to stop condensation getting into the tubing..?

:)

Washed in hot soapy water after every use. I wasn't a sterilizer though...

I sterilize any part that gets touched by milk once a day - the little white valve, the funnel, the diaphragm, and the collection bottle.