Simple But Highly Effective (Lindam Universal Steam Steriliser)

Member Name: juliet_bravo

Product:	Lindam Universal Steam Steriliser
Date:	21/10/06 (126 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cheap and effective

Disadvantages: Element gets dirty

When our eldest son was a baby, we had a microwavable steriliser. It was flawed for a few reasons; 1, after being used for a few months, the plastic started to warp, the lid didn't fit well and excess steam could escape during sterilisation, therefore making the process less effective. 2. As the plastic softened, it became scratched and unhygienic. 3. You had to physically handle it to get it out of the microwave after it had finished- I lost count of the number of times I was scalded by steam.

So when we were pregnant this time round, we opted for a stand alone steam steriliser. We chose the Lindam Universal Steriliser, basically because it was on offer (19.99).

The Lindam Universal is cleverley designed. In the bottom of the unit is an element. Water is added to the receptacle which houses the element and, when switched on, heats the water much the same as a kettle would. There is a blue rack which fits neatly above this, which can easily hold 6 of our B-Free (Dr Brown) bottles. Another blue rack goes in the top of the unit onto which you put your teats, dummies, and in the case of anti-colic bottles, the internal anti-colic system. The lid fits snugly ontop of the unit and has a small vent to release excess steam.

Included with the steriliser is a measuring cup (fill with water up to the line, 85ml, and pour into the unit before switching on) a set of plastic tongs (for removing hot items from the unit) and a detailed instruction manual & guarantee.

The only minor downsides are these;
once switched on, you can't switch it off unless you turn the power off at the wall. You'd rarely need to switch it off once the cycle has started though.

I live in the Lake District and our water is very soft but those of you further South, where water tends to be harder, may experience scaling of the element. This can be solved with a standard descaling solution. I clean our element once a week as it tends to get a bit dirty and can burn when hot. The steriliser might not be suitable for all items as it does get very hot. Latex dummy teats can harden and become unusable so I'd recommend only using silicon dummies.

We've been very pleased with our steriliser, it's extremely simple to use and completes its' cycle in 8minutes. You can reuse it about 10 minutes later.
Some sterilisers on the market are almost £50, however I don't think it is worth it. Our steriliser was less than twenty quid, looks clean and does the job simply and efficiently.

Summary: Don't get ripped off buying an expensive steriliser- this one is great