not the best! (Tommee Tippee Electronic Steam Steriliser)

Member Name: lorriellah1

Product:	Tommee Tippee Electronic Steam Steriliser
Date:	20/07/09 (115 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: large

Disadvantages: takes too long!

I bought this steriliser before I had my baby as I didn't have a clue about which was the best to buy and a few reviews on this product were good so I bought it from mothercare for £35

This steriliser came with 2 free closer to nature bottles and a tommee tippee beaker which have come in very useful as these are the bottles which a lot of midwives recommend.
The steriliser is quite large, larger than those which pop in the microwave but it is easy to take apart so if you need to take it away with you or store away for a while then it is good.

It comes in three parts- the base which you put 80 ml of water in before using it (80ml is handily marked on the bottles too so you can easily measure it), the main body of the machine in which you place your bottles and then a tray which slots on top of this where you put smaller items like dummies, teets, bottle brushes etc.
It is plugged into the mains, not battery or microwave operated.

Bottles are placed upside down so that the steam easily rises into the bottles to clean them and make them sterile.
All you have to do is put your bottles inside, close the lid and then press the button.

The display above the button informs you of where you are in the cycle thes einclude:
E- Error- not enough water.
H- Heating up
S- Sterilising
C- Cooling down
3- 3 hours left
2-2 hours left
1- 1 hour left
0- no hours left, start again.
Once sterilised the bottles remain sterilised inside the steriliser for 3 hours. Once the steriliser has been opened bottles only have an hour in which you need to use them before sterilising them again.

The whole H, S and C cycle should take 'a unique 5 minutes' which I have realised means- a five minutes which doesn't actually mean five minutes but means more like fifteen and fifteen minutes can seem like a lifetime when you have a screaming baby!!
The machine needs cleaning every month as it easily gets limescale built up in the lower level especially if bottles aren't cleaned properly.

What frustrates me about this machine is that I feel it is constantly on. I worry that I have opened it once and so need to start sterilisng again almost right away. You are also unable to sterilise befor eit's counted down to 0 unless you turn it on and off at the plug... there doesn't seem to be the ability to start heating up unless you've gone down all the steps which would take over 3 hours so obviously not very practical!
The body of the steriliser holds 4 bottles with ease and I know of people who have managed to get 6 bottles in although I am not too sure how his happened as it would be quite tight!

I would recommend this for people who need osmething which is easy to use and very light so easy to transport.
I wouldnt recommend it for people who want to use bottles right away, perhaps a microwavable pod steriliser is faster.

You can purchase this from boots, mothercare and other baby related shops for around £35.
(also on ciao under same name)

Summary: not the best produc to buy