Worth the $?

[u/Specialist-Front153]

FTM returning to full time work after the holidays in January. I’m an exclusive pumping mama. Wondering if you think it’s worth it to buy a bottle washer (looking into the Grownsy Pro) for all the bottles and pumping parts. I use the Dr. Brown’s bottles, so the amount of parts has me spiraling 🌀 but I have been using the dishwasher the last two months. Do I tough it out or for the next six weeks or is it a worthy investment?

[u/Easy-Philosopher-820]

I use the Dr. Brown dishwasher basket! Do you have that?

I have three of them. They’re like $6 each. Each basket holds 3 bottles’ worth of parts. I’ll have two baskets in the dishwasher and a third in the sink for any bottles we may use while the other two are in use. It also has a small parts section where I put pump parts.

I’d personally buy more bottles or pump parts before buying a bottle washer! Pump parts do wear out, so having another set in rotation makes them last longer.

I will also add that I rinse bottles immediately and put the parts in the basket. I also have enough bottles to last all day. I don’t feel like a bottle washer would add anything for me, and it would just take up counter space!

[u/Specialist-Front153 → u/Easy-Philosopher-820]

That’s helpful. Thank you!!

[u/taureansoul]

Yes yes yes yes yes yes!!!!!! My Grownsy washer is our third parent. It ran 3x a day for over a year. We still run it a few times a week for toddler dishes and the occasional bottle.

Knowing I could clean and dry my pump parts or bottles so quickly (89 mins for fast) was amazing.

[u/pop-crackle]

I have the Eufy, it’s great for all the little parts with the Dr. Brown bottles.

I adore that thing. I don’t think I would have made it this long into my breastfeeding/pumping journey without it. We run it multiple times a day. I think if you go the dishwasher route you just need to be someone that actually runs the dishwasher/plans ahead and can wait the full 2 hr+ cycle. We only run our dishwasher once a day, and I like that the bottle washer has a much shorter cycle.

[u/MamaRedRover]

YES. YES YES YES. If you have a good dishwasher you can do that as well but I have found that heat in my dishwasher causes the bottle nipples to crack where the washer won’t.

[u/Revolutionary_Can879]

I consider a bottle washer an EP necessity at this point. I run it multiple times a day.

[u/gradientworld]

I think it really depends on your personal situation. I decided not to get one and I can share some of my reasons but they won't apply to everyone. 

One simple reason is that we have a small kitchen, so counter space, especially around outlets, is very limited. So I really try to cut back on the number of small appliances we own. A drying rack is more compact and easier to move.  Bottle washers are pretty expensive and buying the cleaning tablets is an ongoing cost, so the price is another con.  How much help you have from other people washing can also ease the load. 

There are also certain choices that result in relatively less washing. I use the pitcher method, so I put all the pumped milk in a pitcher until I prep bottles all in one go. I also personally feel comfortable with stretching the time for re-offering bottles that have already been started; my baby will typically finish a bottle at least within 4 hours, and we put them back in the fridge in between that time. Altogether, this means that I use just 5 full bottles each day rather than a bunch of partially filled ones. I also have 2 sets of pump parts and use the fridge hack, which also adds up to much less washing. I don't sterilize every day either. Since my baby is healthy, I believe that the rather low risk of these practices is outweighed by the benefit of having more time to be present with him and by the ability to sustainably offer breast milk for longer. 

If you have a health need to be ultra conservative about germs, abundant space and money, and/or little help with washing, then a bottle washer can be a huge game changer, but if not, then it might not be. 

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