How Often Do You Wash/Sterilize Sippy Cup?

[not_telling]

Do you wash (hot soapy water) your child's sippy cup every day? Do you sterilize it from time to time?

I'm thinking I'm doing something bad/unhealthy because we only wash DS's sippy 2-3 times a week. For the most part, he only has water in it...only sometimes some diluted juice. We're in the habit of just sticking it in the fridge in the evening and then getting it out the next day when we need it again...without washing in between. I've noticed, though, some dark spots (mildew?) on some of the interior pieces (we use a Born Free cup) that are appearing after a day or two. So, this seems to point to "wash very thoroughly every day." Is this what y'all do?

[Skippy918]

I could be wrong, but I don't think you're supposed to sterilize sippy cups. I just wash them out with warm soapy water or put them in the dishwasher.

[Grace and Granola]

We wash ours in the dishwasher just like all the other cups. I try to get them to use one cup per day and then wash at the end of the day, but usually they misplace them and we end up using 2 per day and they both get washed at the end of the day. I would invest in a couple more cups and make sure they get washed in the dishwasher. Most cups have so many parts and nooks and crannies I would be worried about mildew and backwash dwelling creatures.

[Louisep]

We don't sterilize - just put in the dishwasher each night. I myself might re-use a glass that's just had water in it a couple of days running.

[bubbamummy]

ugh, sippy cups are the bain of my life I wash out with hot soapy water daily and put the main 'cup' part in the dishwasher every couple of days. We have the 'straw' kind and they drive me NUTS. They straws are SO hard to get clean, I notice black stuff in them which worries me. I end up using a q-tip to try and clean them. He has his morning milk in his sippy which i think is the culprit for the black nastiness

[rebecca03]

Originally Posted by bubbamummy

ugh, sippy cups are the bain of my life

ITA! I can't wait till we're done with the sippy cup stage.

Anyway, the cup parts get washed in the dishwasher, all other pieces get washed by hand in hot hot hot water. I have been known to re-use her water sippies for an extra day, I don't think that's bad at all.

[greenbeanmama]

Originally Posted by bubbamummy

ugh, sippy cups are the bain of my life

...We kinda skipped the sippy cup stage. We just gave my son a juice glass (yup, real glass!) to drink out of when he started sipping water, and now he gets one glass at the beginning of the day, and it sits on the counter all day. He asks when he wants a drink (he insists in "fresh" water every single time). He's perfectly capable of getting his own drink from the bathroom, but at least this way, I can make sure he's drinking enough water. The only time he ever gets a cup with a lid is in the car, and then he complains because the flow is way to slow for him.

[JBaxter]

To clean the straw parts... the little brushes that come with the Dr Browns bottles work WONDERFUL

Ours goes in the dishwasher we probably go through 2 or 3 a day

[dachshund mom]

Dishwasher at the end of the day, and only water in it. I add ice cubes all day to keep it cold.

[lifeguard]

We have 3 kleen kanteen water bottles with the sippy lid that are ONLY for water. They get thrown in the dishwasher when they happen to be in the kitchen when I'm cleaning up (so maybe once a week) but I rinse them well everytime I refill them. This is how I treat my own water bottle so I feel it is sufficient.

Milk is put in a proper glass & ds doesn't generally get juice.

[StrawberryFields]

Their nighttime no spill water cups, and their daytime water bottles may go several days (2-3) between complete emptying, washing and refilling. I basically just catch and wash them out with soap and water any time I can get my hands on them! Meaning any time I stumble on one laying on the floor or see a kid walking past me with it.

If I give a sippy of juice or milk, I either hand wash it with soapy water or put it in the dishwasher the same day.

[Latte Mama]

I wash his nuby straw cups every day and I have a method . He has 4 of them so they get rotated, usually ones not in use stay in the fridge with cold water in them.

At the end of the day, I remove the straw pieces and stick them inside the cup. I squirt some dish soap inside and fill with super hot water and let it soak. Then I hand wash the straw and rinse well. Then I use a bottle brush cleaner for the cup part-done! We're silly here and rarely use our dishwasher. We should use it more!

[Drummer's Wife]

Ugh, sippy cups. Hate 'em. They get tossed in the dishwasher when I find them, or tossed in the trash if I find them hidden. . But the ones I tend to buy don't have extra parts, and are cheap (First Years Take and Toss).

I'd think if you are just using them with water and juice and putting in the fridge in between, they would be okay... except that if saliva mixes with the liquid, would it cause bacteria to grow? I've definitely put a cup of milk into the fridge if only a sip or two was taken, and DS doesn't want anymore - but most if the time he chugs it all in seconds (and wants more).

[~cassie~]

They get 2 cups a day--one for milk, one for juice. At the end of the day, it is dumped and washed in the dishwasher. Sometimes I will keep the milk one in the fridge if they didn't finish it off at night, and then they can drink it in the morning and then it goes in the sink as soon as empty.

[Katie T]

We use the same cup all day (as long as it doesn't go MIA) and throw it in the dishwasher every evening. I have never sterilized a sippy I guess I never even thought to do that lol.

I would wash it every day.

[Stitches]

I learned that you can't save through any amount of washing a plastic sippy full of milk that your toddler puts back in the cupboard and you discover as yogurt a few days later. Since then I've been a little obsessive about getting the cup out of her hands and into the sink as soon as she is done. I just wash them in the sink but I take a nipple brush to the mouth piece to get it clean.

[Peony]

I throw them in the dishwasher when I think about it, which isn't that often. Our sippy cups never get anything but water in them so it isn't that big of a deal.

[redvlagrl]

I think I must be the grossest mama here! DD has a Klean Kanteen that is for water only (she doesn't have juice and milk is in a regular glass). I wash it out probably once a week with soapy water. It gets rinsed every few days.

Her other KK which lives in her bed gets a thorough rinsing every second night or so because it gets kinda slimy because the water is touching the valve all the time and it grosses me out.

This is so embarassing. I can't believe I am admitting how disgusting I am!

[MissE]

Originally Posted by ~cassie~

They get 2 cups a day--one for milk, one for juice. At the end of the day, it is dumped and washed in the dishwasher. Sometimes I will keep the milk one in the fridge if they didn't finish it off at night, and then they can drink it in the morning and then it goes in the sink as soon as empty.

Same here.

[mamadelbosque]

Sippy cups get washed everyday just like all the other dishes in the house, at least once, sometimes twice a day if I think of it and its not got something in it besides just water (ie: juice or milk) when I'm doing the dishes.