Cleaning pump parts at work

[mbfl450]

Is it necessary to clean/sterilize my pump parts after every pumping session at work?

[MeepyCat]

I never did. I gave them a quick rinse, shook them out, and stored them in one of the Medela Clean and Steam bags (in case something looked funky, I wanted the option to sterilize). I cleaned and sterilized once a day at home.

[BabyBodi]

I never did either. I would rinse with hot water at work and let the parts air dry. When I got home I would wash with hot water and soap.

[Biscuits & Gravy]

I never did either. I didn't even rinse them! I figured that since EBM could stand at room temp for what, 7 hours or so, my pump parts with little drops of it should be fine for that long as well. I pumped every 2 hours at work, so 3x a day, for 14 months and never had a problem.

[curiouscanadian]

I think it's more important the younger your baby is, and how soon you plan on using the pumped milk. I usually sterilized it using the pump and steam bags, but didn't stress too much if I didn't have the chance. But my baby was also 1yr+ when I started pumping, I would be much more careful if my baby was only a few months old.

[groovyem]

I haven't sterilized since I purchased them, someone once told me, you don't sterilize your boobs do you? Just clean with hot soapy water. You can also keep your parts in the fridge that way the milk on them won't go bad and it's a huge time saver! I do sterilize my tubing about once a week, though according to medela there's no need.

[doubledutch]

breastmilk is "safe" at room temperature for 24 hours, so the residual milk from the morning pumping session that gets into the milk at the late afternoon session is no big deal, especially since you're probably putting the bottles into a cooler or the fridge. imo, cleaning once a day is enough.

[jecombs]

I always just stuck my pump parts in the fridge with my milk and then washed them when I got home. I pumped 2-3x a day and it took too much time to wash the parts after every pumping.

[MommyMad]

I don't wash parts while I'm at work either. I pump 3x's while at work & just store the flanges in the bag. The premise is that breastmilk doesn't go bad for hours either, so the droplets should be OK.

Once home, I do strelize the flanges for the day.

[Ruthla]

I used to put mine in the cooler with the pumped milk and wash everything at the end of the day. I never even rinsed pump parts at work, and I returned to work when he was only 7 weeks old.

I washed my breastpump daily, whether I used it once that day or 5 times, it only got washed once. I never sterilized it for the sake of killing germs (why would I need to do that?) but I did boil the silicone parts of my pump (Avent Isis) about once every 2 weeks to keep them in optimal condition- they stretch out with normal use and shrink when boiled.

[mambera]

I rinse the horns with hot water between uses at work.
I pump into plastic bottles and pour immediately into glass for storage. I store the plastic bottles in the cooler and reuse without rinsing usually.
Wash everything with hot soapy water once a day.

I sterilized once a week when she was very small but stopped that around 4 or 5 months.

[desertgirl01]

For the first 4 months, I washed and sterilized with the steam bag every time I pumped! Then I only washed/sterilized once or twice a day, and used the wipes inbetween. Finally, I skipped all that and now I keep the pump parts in the little cooler I have and only wash/sterilize in the evening. So much easier that way!

[2goingon2]

I rinse mine out after each use and let them air dry. I take them home every Friday and run them through the dishwasher over the weekend.

[HappyTomato]

When I had easy access to a bathroom from my pumping room, I would just rinse and air dry once and use a Medela cleaning wipe at least once a day. Now that I don't have sink near by, I use the Medela wipes each time.

[texmati]

Originally Posted by jecombs

I always just stuck my pump parts in the fridge with my milk and then washed them when I got home. I pumped 2-3x a day and it took too much time to wash the parts after every pumping.

I do this.

[Ruby2]

Originally Posted by jecombs

I always just stuck my pump parts in the fridge with my milk and then washed them when I got home. I pumped 2-3x a day and it took too much time to wash the parts after every pumping.

Yay - I just posted a question about this. I can't figure out how to delete it now that I found this thread. I felt like maybe I was being negligent if I just refrigerated my pump parts- I'm glad other people do it too!