RTKangaMummy's original (legendary ) thread on this is here
This is the email that she sent/received from the microbiologist at UCH re: sterilising :-
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"THIS IS A COPY OF THE EMAIL I SENT TO UCH THE MICROBIOLOGY CONSULTANT {I have deleted my RL name and the microbiology consultant's name also my DS name and dob and DS consultant's name at UCH}
Hello
Our twins were born in 1995, and twin 1 died but twin 2 survived and was in NNU for 3 months. He is now 10 years old.
We were told when he came home that we did NOT need to sterilize the bottles or dummies.
We were told that the microbiology dept advised that the correct way to clean everything was to wash EVERYTHING in very HOT soapy water and put on kitchen roll to AIR DRY.
I was wondering if this was still the advice that was given to parents when they leave the NNU.
Thank you for your time
This is the reply that I received this afternoon. So this is the advice given as of September 2005.
Thank you for your email. Yes you are right about the bottles. However I cannot emphasize enough the importance of cleaning the bottles so that there is no dried or caked milk at the bottom of the bottle as this will encourage bacterial growth. Clean and dry are the operative words. Bacteria thrive in warm moist environments. In addition the greatest attention needs to be paid to hand hygiene before preparing feeds. A bottle steriliser is not a substitute for proper hand hygiene and may even give a false sense of security. For those lucky enough to have a dishwasher, the hot cycle in the washer after removing milk debris mechanically is good and sufficient cleaning method for bottles, provided they are then stored clean and dry.
This advice obviously applies to this country only as we are confident that there is no faecal contamination of piped/ mains water supply. I cannot comment on the state of the water supply out of the UK.
Consultant Microbiologist
Department of Clinical Microbiology
Health Protection Agency Collaborating Centre
University College London Hospitals