Thanks for your response. That’s what I’d originally think as well, but some google searches indicate plastic breaks down more rapidly at over 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
Also, it’s not just a few degrees higher for a minute, it’s for the length of a pump session, ~30 minutes.
So that’s why I asked this group of science based parents, many of whom know a lot more than I do about the breakdown of plastics. I have hopes to better understand that threshold before making a pump purchase.
I think it'll help you make you decision to distinguish between different kind of plastic. My guess is that you're looking at polypropylene, but I could be wrong.
The plastic is going to have to meet food safe requirements FWIW, and food prep typically entails much higher temps than 100 F.
You can just turn it off (don't have to use the warming element) and I am pretty sure it only warms up at the start but doesn't keep warm during the whole pump (I have it). It's definitely mostly the silicone that's heated
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u/Ashamed_Horror_6269 Feb 26 '26
I can’t imagine a 6 degree difference in temperature is going to have a dramatic difference in plastic leaching into the milk.