How to Clean, Store and Dry Breast Pump Parts

Believe it or not, there is a wrong way and a right way to clean and store your breast pump parts.
Certain practices can actually damage your parts, increase your chances of a yeast infection and
make it difficult to pump comfortably.

Let's start with what NOT to do.

1. Never, ever use a bottle brush on your bottles or breast pump parts. Bristles on bottle brushes
can cause fine scratches and these micro grooves can harbor yeast spores. And you don't want to know how many microbes of bacteria sponges have so using a bottle brush with a sponge tip is not the answer. Your best defense is rinsing immediately after use, but if you did not get to it, use a clean paper or cloth towel and a spoon to push it around at the bottom if necessary.

2. If using boiling water to sterilize, don't boil the breast pump parts as long as you boil the water. The water should come to a boil first and then put the parts you are sterilizing in for just 3-5 minutes.
This not only helps you not to go off and forget them and end up with a melted mess, but it helps to minimize the cloudiness that comes from over-sterilization. When breast shields are cloudy, they are more difficult to center on the nipple which could lead to painful pumping. For your convenience, microwave steam sterilizer bags can minimize your risk of over sterilization.

3. Don't leave the valve on the breast shield aka breast flange when sterilizing. Failure to remove the valve from the breast shield can cause breastmilk to be caught between the two parts which can in turn spoil and later be ingested by your baby. Remove the duckbill valve by the top and not the tip to prevent tearing. If you pump has a two part valve head and valve membrane, you will also need to remove the membrane disc from the valve head in order to get a good cleaning.

4. Assess the barrier. If you are using a pump with a diaphragm or backflow protector, you will need to clean that part if you did not remove the breast shield immediately or the milk reached that part for any reason such as tipping the breast flange. The Ameda Diaphragm is not to be sterilized, but washed in warm water and replaced every six weeks. Three part backflow protectors such as are included with the Spectra S2, Motif and Ameda Mya breast pump will need to be disassembled and sterilized. Make note that the membrane is seated in the part with the tip and then the cap is snapped over the top. See image below.

While it is unnecessary to sterilize your parts with every use, rinsing with hot water and sterilizing once per day is adequate as long as you keep your parts in an air dry bag. Never store wet breast pump parts in a sealed Ziploc bag as the wet warm environment can also grow yeast.

How should you clean, store and dry your breast pump parts?

1. Remove your breast shield from the tubing immediately. This prevents milk from draining into the backflow protector, diaphragm or even into the tubing if you has a non-recommended open instead of closed system.

2. Remove the breast pump valves from the breast shield. As we mentioned before, this allows for the sterile water to reach all parts and prevent trapping bacteria.

3. Rinse with hot water after each use. The CDC does not recommend storing parts in the refrigerator between uses so using an air dry bag that dries while allowing air to circulate is best.

4. Air dry your breast pump parts. If you are doing this at home, you can put your parts on a clean towel and cover with another clean towel or use an air dry bag. The two most common air dry bags on the market are the Pumpin' Pal Air Dry Bag and Breastmilk Bandit Store & Dry Bag. Both work well to air dry, but the Breastmilk Bandit air dry bag is machine washable making it easy to throw in the wash and have a freshly cleaned bag to start your work week. In addition, the Breastmilk Bandit Store & Dry Bag has a hang hook making it easy to hang in your pantry or cabinet.