Hi Ladies,
I bought a used Medela pump from a friend. I bought all replacement parts for it, the tubes being the main concern. Even though I bought new ones, I think they should be sterilized. How should I do it? Im afraid boiling them will melt it and Im afraid to put it in the dishwasher with detergent and get soap chemicals stuck in them. I realllllly dont want to go buy a sterilizer. And do you sterilize them often? I dont know! Any thoughts?
they sell reusable bags that go in the microwave, each bag is good for 20 times. I use them and then I can take them to work too.
The tubes do not touch the milk, they just provide the suction
You can buy baggies that are made to sterilize breast pump parts. You just throw it in the microwave, and it steams them. I'm not sure where they are sold, but I imagine that you could find them at Babies R Us...
The only things I ever really sterilized were the parts that came in contact with me or the milk, and I sterilized those about once a week. The rest of the time I just washed in hot soapy water. The tubing and such I got from the hospital, and they came in pre-sterilized packages, so I never had to worry about that.
I bought the Medela sterilizing bags at Target and put the tubes in those. Worked great!
Boiling them will NOT melt them. THAT's how you sterilize - by by boiling it.
My new Medela pump came with some sterilizing bags. I put 2 tablespoons of water in them and microwave for 2 minutes. The bag is good for 20 uses. Maybe you can search on Medela's website or on Amazon.com.
I boiled all the parts, there was no problem. Probably didn't do it nearly as often as I should have, but my kids weren't complaining, nor did they get sick.
It is recommended that the tubes don't get sterlized you can't take out 100% of the water once they are emerged in water causing damages to the breastpump because the tubes only provides the suction, the milk doesn't go through the tubes.Medela has bags for the morcrwave that are wonderful you can find them where ever Medela products are sold
get the Medela microwave bags/sterilizer. They are GREAT! a pack of 5 (I think) costs about $5 and each bag last for 20 sterilizations! You can give the the left over bags with the gift... wonderful invention... so much easier/simpler!
the medela microwavable bags are amazing. When my sister had her baby a year ago tomorrow:) she took my pump. She bought all the replacement parts and I had some bags left over. She had asked me for them and sadly that was the one thing i told her she was going to have to go buy for herself. I wouldnt part with mine. You can buy a big box of them and you are good for a LONG time cause each bag can be used up to ten times. And since they know new mommas have more important things to do then count how many times they have used there bags you can mark it off each time on the side! I use mine still ofr everything and I am still on the first box i ever bought!! not a good marketing tool for them to advertise on but thy are worth there $$.
I've boiled my Medela parts and they did not melt. I also used the Medela sterilizing microwavable bags every week or so.
I have used the medela steam clean bag to sterilize bottles and nipples. The instructions say you can also do tubes in it, although it shouldn't be necessary as in all ordinary situations no milk should ever touch the tubes. Mine came free when I bought a 3 bottle set at Target. I've only sterilized my tubes once in the last 4 months. Good luck!
Medela sells sterilizer bags. They are for sterilizing all the parts in between pumping, and there are certain instructions on the bag for the tubing. I bought mine at the Mommy and Me store at Shawnee Mission Medical Center, but I am sure you could find them at Babies. R Us or Target. They told me to sterilize every time, but I pump 7 or 8 times a day, so I use the bag a couple times a day and wash the parts with soap and water in between. Each bag can be used 20 times and I believe there are 5 bags in a box for about 6 dollars. Hope this all helps!
