electric steriliser vs microwave steriliser, which is better?

[addictedisinthesecondtrimester]

right i'm lookig at buying an Avent sterriliser (the bottles i have already bought are Avent so thats the one were going for)

but was wondering which is better an electric or a microwave.

bit of background for you - we have a big kitchen with lots and lots of work space so having one out all the time wouldnt be a problem, our microwave tends to be slightly unrliable on cooking times, but to off set this when ever we turn it on we put on our oven timer and add a few minutes to the microwave to make sure it has been in there for the right amount of time.

now i've been talking ot my mum who said that her electric steriliser (which she bought when my 19yo brother was born) used to gather limescale at the bottom and was a pain to clean, but the microwave steriliser (which she for my 2yo brother was a baby) is really easy to clean but you just have to make sure its in the microwave for the right amount of time.

so which one do you have and which one is better?

sorry i'm asking because as you can see her knowledge of electric sterilisers is 19 years out of date!

We did ours in the dishwasher

microwave
if you want to take it anywhere with you, the microwave one is light and you can pack stuff into it. If you are going somewhere without a microwave you use it with cold water and sterilising tablets.

five can you do it in the dishwasher? i heard that it wasnt as hygenic.

this is my first and i'm finding i'm slightly PFB, i neverr thought i would be!

I won't personally do in a dishwasher due to the chemicals involved.

Both need cleaning to remove limescale dependent on water harshness.

Microwave. I've had both, and the electric ones need to be descaled and de-limescaled every few weeks, whereas the microwave ones can be washed in the sink/dishwasher.

if you go for a microwave one, then make sure you change your microwave for a reliable one.
and that the steriliser you choose will fit.

Microwaves are a fair bit smaller than they used to be, but the sterilisers still need to be the same size to do the job properly.

oo didnt think off the size diff, my microwave is quite small.

if you have the workspace, as you say you do, i would go for the electric one. great place to store all the feeding paraphenalia, not just for the actual sterilising process.

i never bothered descaling mine, but then again it broke when DD was 4 months old, probably why it broke, but by then i just used the dishwasher.

Addicted if the odd bottle then Tesco and Boots do a 2 bottle microwave / cold water steriliser box, tis quite handy.

Sorry, but you do know that the consensus among doctors now is that you don't need to sterilise? Seperate brush and hot soapy water will do. Really.

Mind you, I just looked and it seems NHS didn't caught up yet with the news.

True Winny, that has been the case for 20 + yrs now but most new parents feel more secure in sterilising and just you tell a midwife/HV your not sterilising and wait for the gasp/cat's bum face/shock and veiled threats that follow!!

Oh, really? I wasn't aware of the mws' mindset about it.I had dd in Paris and they told me in the hospital it's totally unecessary. I do understand that parents feel safer in starilising. DD was bf but we did use the bottle few times. I always sterilised everything after I bought it in a pot of boiling water and then just washed it really well after each use. But, yes, of course it won't do any harm, I was just trying to save OP some time

I get that Winny and I remember going to the States eons ago and being amazed at the lack of sterilisers there.

winney i couldnt cope not sterilising!

i think the electric on may be better for what i need then as i think it may be on alot to begin with.

thanks for your opinions

I went with good old fashioned cold water sterlising. I tried both electric and microwave but the bottles, as far as I remember, only stayed sterile for a few hours after the lid was opened. With cold water sterilising I popped bottles etc in as they were washed and they stayed sterile till needed. I had to change the water every 24 hours.

As you have the work space and an unreliable microwave I would go for electric. Really they both do the job fine so you would be okay with either.

We have the AVENT one, an electric sterilizer and I love it, so quiet and secure, easy to handle. Plop in and hit the button.

Winny, my mum used to clean my bottles out with boiling water and boiled the teats and that was it. Didn't do me any harm

I guess I'm just more neurotic