Steam Clean (Lindham Steam Steriliser)

Member Name: AliB

Product:	Lindham Steam Steriliser
Date:	03/02/01 (380 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: No chemicals just bacteria banishing heat!

Disadvantages: Not suitable for EVERYTHING

I was given the Lindam Universal Steam Steriliser by a friend ready for the birth of my first child (Oct 2000). The friend had already used it on one, maybe two of her children, but despite this it is still in perfect working order.
It costs £24.99 in Argos at the moment, which is not much more than your average cold-water steriliser, and you won't end up paying for any extras, for example, steriliser tablets or fluid - or new clothes ruined by the solution, from what I've been reading here! - but you don't get any free bottles (which you do with most cold water sterilisers).
It fits up to 8 standard feeding bottles, and probably about 5 wide ones (like the Maws heat sensitive ones). It has an accessory tray which sits at the top of the steriliser chamber, above the bottles, for all the small objects (e.g. dummies, caps, teats, lids, etc.) It comes complete with a measuring cup (it takes 85ml of tap water for a cycle), and if you buy it in Argos (I haven't checked anywhere else) you get a free travel steriliser bag!
Sterilisation takes approximately 14 minutes but the unit gets very hot, and you need to let it cool a bit before removing any objects. You can use it again after about ten minutes. You know it's on because it makes a noise a bit like a kettle (but quieter) and steam streams out of a little hole in the top! I sit mine beside the cooker and turn the fan on; it sucks up all the steam! Other than that there is a little light on the front which is lit when on.

Possibly a negative aspect of this steriliser (or any steam steriliser) is that not everything can be steam sterilised - some dummies, for example. I'm trying to get myself an old-fashioned cold-water steriliser just for such items (e.g. the container I keep equipment in and bottles brushes) but I can't find one anywhere! I'll have to use the washing up bowl for now! Also, the steam steriliser has to be cleaned occasionally; the element in the bo
ttom (as with a kettle) gets a bit mucky. You can buy steam steriliser de-scaling tablets though, but ordinary kettle or multi-purpose de-scalers work fine.


Some of the differences between this steriliser and a cold-water steriliser: It costs more; no smelly, bleaching solution; it takes 15 instead of 30 minutes; it uses electricity so is difficult to use for travel.

Despite any negatives, however, I definitely prefer to use this steriliser for my baby's feeding equipment because you know they are extremely clean (they've just been subjected to 100 degree heat) and there are no chemicals involved - the same reason I buy organic baby food!

Summary: