Can I sterilise bottles in a vegetable steaming basket or dishwasher?

[calpolicella]

Hi everybody, I'm hoping to do combined breast and bottle feeding giving 2-3 bottles a day and don't want to have to buy a steriliser. Can I use a vegetable steamer inside a pan on the hob? If so, how long do I have to steam for? If boiling, it would take 10 minutes, but steam is hotter than water, isn't it, so it should take less time?

If steriling in the dishwasher, what temperature does it need to be and can I put other things in too? (it seems wasteful to run it just for 2-3 bottles). Do I have to rinse the bottles afterwards to remove detergent residues?

For my first baby I used sterilising tablets but it took too long and I didn't like the chemical smell.

Any advice welcome please. Baby is due in 2 weeks.

just run them through the normal wash on the dish washer. no need for a fuss. lots of countries inc. usa don't do sterilisers.

i sterilise DS's bottles in the dishwasher (he is 11 months old now)on the hottest wash but with other stuff - be warned it turns the teats etc an orangey colour. I was steam sterilsing before that - TBH it was dead easy and the steriliser only cost £20 and went in the microwave

Babycentre says this about using dishwashers:

Cleaning your baby's bottles and teats in a dishwasher will not always heat them to the right temperature to kill off all known bugs, so it's generally still advisable to sterilise after washing. If you do want to rely on your dishwasher alone, it needs to be run on a hot programme at a minimum temperature of 80 degrees centigrade. The bottles then need be filled with feed straight away as the dishwasher will not leave them in a completely sterile condition.

I did!

Steam is not hotter than boiling water (unless you use a pressure cooker). I used to steam for at least 10 mins. An upside of steaming, is, if you live in a hard water area, you don't get the limescale deposits on your bottles.

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OK thanks everyone. Dishwasher sterilising sounds a bit unreliable and I can't be sure that I would be able to fill the bottles as soon as the cycle finished. I don't think my machine has an 85 degree cycle anyway! I think the best thing is to sterilise in the vegetable steamer for 10 mins but leave out the broccoli!

I didn't know that NOT sterilising was an option, do many people not sterilise bottles and had no problems? After all if you're breastfeeding you wouldn't sterilise your boobs, would you? For bottle feeding though I'd rather take the trouble and have peace of mind.

its here

"The bottles then need be filled with feed straight away as the dishwasher will not leave them in a completely sterile condition" I'm sorry but that is absolute b*llocks. Your bottles cease to be sterile the minute you remove them from whatever you've sterilised them in be it a "proper" steriliser, a vegetable steamer or a dishwasher and whether you fill them right away or not.

With a steriliser though, you can leave the bottles in there for up to 3 hours after sterilising, if you dont remove the lid, so you wouldnt have to make up feeds immediately. (I think that is the point they are trying to make)