I have just returned from a mum & baby group run by health visitors. I was shocked to learn that apparently no feeding equipment for babies should be cleaned in the dishwasher. Including bottles, teats and weaning equipment. Apparently it is not safe to use the dishwasher as salt gets left on the feeding equipment and the babies shouldn't consume this much salt. This has sent me into panic mode as my little girl is now 4 months old and I have always cleaned her bottles, teats & lids in the dishwasher before sterlising them. The packaging on the bottles clearly stated that everything was dishwasher safe. I even bought a special dishwasher basket for the feeding equipment. Any thoughts from anyone please?...has anyone else had similar chats with their health visitors or read that it isn't safe to do this? Am I the only one using a dishwasher that didn't know this rule? Thanks.

Hi Alex
Many many babies have been fed with equipment that has been through the dishwasher and survived!
It is probably latest 'best practice' advice that health visitors are meant to give out, and perhaps in some areas or some washing products do leave more salty residue, but dishwashers rinse and in the past, some mums have used this super-hot way of cleaning bottles instead of even sterilising.
I found that when I washed the bottles in our dishwasher, they never really got completely clean – the 8floz bottles were too tall for the water to really get all around the inside of the bottle thoroughly, but if you find yours are gleaming, then I think you'll be fine.
Do you sterilise your bottles afterwards? If so I am sure you are fine. If not, you might want to start rinsing them quickly with new water after they've been cleaning in the machine, then sterilising them.
Even people who hand wash their bottles sometimes miss a spot, so you are in no way a criminal for what you have been doing!

Hi Alex

since you are sterilising the bottles afterwards you should not have anything to worry about as the solution would have rinsed of any residue salt on the bottles and teats.

For peace of mind, rinse them after they come out of the washer, before putting them in the steriliser.


Suzie