Sterilised bottles - How long do they stay sterile?

[Aubergenie]

I'm Bfing but occasionally express milk so that DP can give DS a bottle. If I'm not using the bottles every day. Can they be stored once I've sterilised them? If so, how and for how long? Or do I have to sterilise them immediately before I use them?

A friend gave me a steriliser which is basically a big container with a lid. Should I use tongs or something for handling the bottles, teats etc?

If you are cold water sterilising you can leave them in the solution until required but you should change it every 24 hours. If steam then they cease to be sterile once you open the lid btu you can seal the empty bottle and cover teats with a lid for use later that day. Don't think I bothered with special tongs etc.

The instructions on my (steam) steriliser say that bottles are sterile for 8 hours or something. BUT, I make them up with cooled boiled water and leave them in the fridge and add formula powder when needed. I can not work out how on earth they would become unsterile if they are left sterile in the fridge. I use the tongs that came with the steriliser to put the bottle together.

DS has been ff since he was a week old, and is 14 weeks old now. Never had any probs.

Apparently it's not even necessary to sterilise bottles - washing them in hot, soapy water and leaving them to air dry is enough. So I wouldn't worry about it.

be wary of sealing / making up an empty bottle as they can get a black mold due to the dampness.

Best is to wash and (then sterilising if you wish to) leaving them to air dry before making them into complete bottles and storing.

You can sit them under a mesh umbrella if your worried about insects/cats.

A quick drying tip is to warm the oven to 50'C and put them in on a baking tray once it is turned off.

Electra, different people have different views. I follow the instructions of my paed and sterilised up to six months religiously. Most medical types seem to say to sterilise up to a year but I slackened off when DD started sticking everything she could find in her mouth.

Aunbergenie, if you are only using bottles occasionally, then I would sterilise just before you use it. Not too much fuss. Those of us using six bottles a day sterilise once a day and stick the lids on, as LIZS says. I do handle the teat with a tong, yes. Though the sky probably won't fall in if you don't, it's easy to do and lowers the risk of nasties even more. And always wash your hands properly before doing things with bottles- apparently that is even more important than sterilising.

If you leave a sterilised bottle with the sealed lid on for a while (a few days say), I find it starts to go musty if it is not completely dry inside.

domesticslattern - I thought that too when mine were little but then I read this and found it very interesting.

I used to worry about tongs, how long something was 'safe' when weaning etc but next time I certainly won't bother! I know some people will prefer to anyway but I have changed my view.

Thanks for the replies. I was very interested in that thread too Electra. We've got a dishwasher so I may well ditch the steriliser altogether.