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Tommee Tippee Electronic Steam Steriliser
by scooch12
Before my daughter was born, I bought a variety of items for her bottle feeding, most of which were Tommee Tippee products. The main item being their steam steriliser which I purchased at a bargain price in Tesco of £24.99. I remember seeing it at the time in other stores at £44.99 so was made up with my purchase and felt like I had ... grabbed a great buy. After a quick internet check today, it's on sale for £39.99 from a few major retailers but can be found in special offers too.
In the box comes a white and grey steriliser with a clear lid measuring approximately 34cm x 27cm x 19cm, a teat tong, a small 150ml tommee tippee closer to nature bottle, a dummy suitable for newborns up to three months and the instruction manual. The steriliser is quite slim so fits in my kitchen well and doesn't look too out of place. I would say my kitchen worktops are average sized compared to others and it leaves plenty of room width wise to make bottles up in front of the steriliser. The little bottle that came with it still gets used a lot now when we're out and about and was really useful when she was smaller and didn't drink as much milk.
The steriliser holds six of their own brand bottles with a rack at the bottom to hold the main bottle and then a rack on the top to place the teats and bottle lids in. The one thing I have noticed is that it is a bit trickier to fit other products into it like feeding bowls - even tommee tippee bowls. I did buy boots own brand bottles to use when away from home and they are a nightmare to fit in the steriliser so it is only ideal really for use with their own bottles.
The rack on the top slots onto the rack on the bottom so the bottom one has to be filled before you can place the top rack inside the steriliser. There's little grooves that you can place the six bottles and six teats into so that they are spaced properly and a little clip on the top rack to rest each of the lids in so that they just hover over the teats. The water for the steriliser is added by lifting the two racks out so that it's empty and then pouring the recommended amount of 80ml inside over the element at the bottom. Then voila - all you need to do is place the two racks back in with all your rinsed, milk free bottles, teats and lids, plug in, switch on and wait!
The steriliser has an orange light that appears when it's busy sterilising and once it's completed it's job the light turns off. The instructions tell you to wait for at least three minutes and this I definitely recommend to do - I stupidly in a panic (needing a bottle for a very hungry baby!) opened it as soon as it had finished and it was so hot to touch the bottles inside and it burnt my fingers. Hence, I've learnt my lesson and not done that again!
Tommee Tippee say that the cycle takes 5 minutes although I've noticed mine seems to take longer sometimes - it might be though that I've been lazy and not measured the water correctly and maybe put too much in. I'm a bit paranoid about it because I accidently switched it on for a few seconds a couple of months ago without the water not thinking (obviously had little sleep that night!) and it really wasn't happy and made a grumbling, strange noise so now I make an effort to make sure the element at the bottom is covered in water properly.
When you open the steriliser you have to be really careful taking the lid off. Because of the steam it creates, a pool of water gathers in the lid and as there are little vent holes in the top of the lid, it is very easy to spill this water - I usually take the lid off and run to the sink with it to empty as soon as the three minute wait is over and before doing any bottle making - otherwise (and I'm speaking from experience!) you forget the water is there and it ends up spilling all over the place! I would think this happens with steam sterilisers in general though because the water has to go somewhere I assume?!
The Tommee Tippee steriliser came with a big orange sticker on to remind me that it needs descaling once every 4 weeks - I think it depends on what your water is like at home as to how often but I've noticed that mine seems to need it doing once every 2-3 weeks because after 2 weeks it starts to build up this browny coloured residue at the bottom and over parts of the racks. I use boots steam steriliser sachets and they always bring it up looking a treat but it soon needs descaling again, as far as I know Tommee Tippee don't sell their own descaling sachets for use in it. It is easy to dismantle the bottom rack (that has a handle on it that the top rack attaches to) so that all of the little nooks and crannies can be reached when descaling.
This steriliser has been used hundreds of times in our house and quite honestly I don't know what I'd have done without it it's been one of the star purchases we made in preparation for our baby. I really do recommend it to everyone who decides to use their branded bottles because it's perfect.
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Avent Microwave Steriliser
by rhianjo
I chose this steriliser when pregnant with my first child. I had looked at the usual steam sterilisers but they seemed bulky and took, what I considered, a long time to sterilise. Most sat on the worktop and I didn't have a lot of worktop space in my kitchen.
This steriliser used in the microwave. There are several advantages ... to this. After use it can be 'stored' in the microwave until the bottles have cooled, or until you need to use the microwave. This frees up your worktop space. It is quicker, taking only 6 minutes to run a steam cycle on full power. It is much more portable than other sterilisers, although not much use if you go somewhere without a microwave! If you are on a water meter like me, it only uses 200ml of water each cycle, keeping your water bills lower than cold water or larger steam sterilisers would, since they use more water.
Contents are considered sterile for 24 hours if the steriliser is unopened, which is advantageous if you run it last thing at night, ready for the morning. Since it is Philips it fits the Avent bottle range, but the Avent breast pump can also be sterilised. The instruction sheet gives you guidance on how to place the items to ensure efficient sterilisation.
What are its disadvantages? It can be easy to knock over the contents if you don't carry it carefully, which is very irritating if you then need to reload them. We all forget to sterilise sometimes and although it is quick, you need to factor in cooling time to avoid getting burnt by the steam.
I managed to lose the instructions between having my two children, but found it easy to google and download another free copy of the instruction booklet. There is a sticker on the front stating the volume of liquid to be used, so that information at least, is always available.
I have used it for two children and consider it one of my best purchases. It is quick, easy to use and portable. I don't know if any other makes of bottle fit it since I have only used Philips Avent for both of my children. Keep an eye out at baby events in the major supermarkets you can often find this steriliser on offer.
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Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature BPA-free Travel Steam Steriliser
by SkateyKaty71
Well well well! I never thought I would be using a steriliser again until my beautiful sister produced my gorgeous nephew! I agreed to help her out with child care at the weekends when her shifts fell that way. So although I do not look afternoon every weekend I was finding that there were occasions when I ran out of sterilised bottles. ... I purchased this one after a friend recommended it. It just sterilises one at a time but that was all that I needed. This is a neat compact piece of equipment as I did not want something that took up space.
It is very easy to use but I suspect that you would need to check the measurements of your microwave before purchasing as it only just fits in my microwave.
You do have the option to use sterilising tablets and cold water but I haven't used this option!
As you would expect the bottle is very hot to touch when it first comes out!
Personally if I had my time again I don't think I would've purchased a large electric steriliser as I breasted my children only using a bottle once or twice a day.
Product Features
Use in the microwave or with cold water and a sterilisation tablet
Compact for travel
Great for night-time feeds
Safe, quick and simple to use any time, anywhere
BPA-free for total reassurance
So my option for £10 this is a very good buy
Oh yes the twist? I get to hand him back!!!!!!!!!
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