Soothers - do I boil, wash in hot soapy water, or microwave?!

[Saywhatuc]

Because I’ve bought two brands of soother now and on the instructions they both tell me to do all three! Really?! Am I reading it wrong?!

And do you do all three to just the soothers, or the soothers and the box?! It’s really not clear…!

I used to have a pair of mam ones which came in a little box.

Semi regularly I would put them in the box with the correct amount of water (there was a line) and microwave.

Once a week I would wash them in warm soapy water and the box if I felt inclined. Rinse with cold as this gets the bubbles off. Then put in the microwave to sterilise.

The washing part cleans before the microwave part which sterilises. That's what I always thought anyway!

I didn't use the dummies much - only for sleeping so probably didn't sterilise as much as could have been done.

Hope this helps

You boil once at the beginning.
then regularly you clean them w soapy water, wash soap off and put them in microwave to sterilise. I never clean the box to be fair but sterile a lot as I find it disgusting otherwise (it’s in his mouth most of the night, so I don’t want him to suck a dirty dummy)

as pp said put them in box with water up to the line and then put in microwave

You don’t boil the box!

I just used to waft them under a bit of water poured from the kettle once in a while. And yes I'd clean one in an emergency by just sucking it and giving it back.

We would just pop them into a mug with boiling water now and again, a lot of the time they were just rinsed under the tap. Both kids are still alive.

Thanks all!!

You’d think that the boiling would do the same job as the microwave, no?

Anyway thank you for explaining it to me 😊

Boiling is not the same as sterilising.

“Therefore, boiling water is considered as a method of disinfection and not a method of sterilization. In sterilization, even the endospores are destroyed that are present on the surfaces of the materials or objects, and the object is free of microorganisms.”

You don’t need to sterilise dummies like you do bottles. Sterilising bottles is because leftover milk missed during washing can grow really nasty bacteria. That can’t happen with a dummy. Life isn’t sterile. Just give it a good clean however is most convenient. Quick soap and water was my usual.

I used to wash them and chuck them in the bottle sterliser