If you’ve got your baby drinking its milk or formula from a baby bottle, you might be using a bottle warmer to warm up the liquid to the breast milk temperature.
It’s important, however, to keep your bottle warmer as safe and hygienic as possible.
This not only helps to keep the appliance running smoothly but also because you want your baby not to be subjected to any germs or muck.
Especially because babies are so young and under-developed, it’s important to protect them from unhygienic and unsafe things.
But how do you clean a Dr Brown Bottle Warmer? They’re one of the most popular brands on the market, so it’s handy to know how to clean them.
Well, we’ve got all the answers for you!
In the guide below, you’ll find a detailed and thorough breakdown of how to clean out your Dr Brown Bottle Warmer. Read on!
Cleaning Your Dr Brown Bottle Warmer
There are a couple of ways you can go about cleaning your Dr Brown Bottle Warmer, which we’re going to go into in a moment.
However, here’s a broad overview of things to keep in mind before you get started.
- Make sure that you unplug the appliance before cleaning! On top of that, give it time to cool down before you even begin wiping it. Hot appliances can be dangerous.
- Removable baskets can be put in the dishwasher, as long as it’s on the top rack
- DO NOT use scouring pads for cleaning, or abrasive materials. Additionally, DO NOT use bleach or solvents, as they could be harmful to the milk you’ll be using around it.
- DO NOT disassemble the appliance either, it will only damage it.
Now that you’ve taken that on board, let’s get on with the first round of cleaning. You should clean your warmer ONCE A WEEK.
Cleaning and sanitizing all of your equipment is essential, especially if your baby is younger than 3 months, has a weakened immune system, or was born prematurely.
In all those cases, you should definitely be sanitizing and cleaning the bottle ONCE A DAY.
Cleaning The Bottle Warmer
Step 1
First, you need to unplug the appliance. We mentioned this just earlier, so hopefully, you’ve taken it to heart!
It’s a very important step, because leaving the appliance plugged in while cleaning would be hazardous and dangerous.
As we all know, water and electricity don’t mix.
On top of unplugging it, you also need to make sure that it has cooled down before you clean it either, for the same reasons.
If you’ve used the bottle warmer recently, then you’ll need to wait about a half-hour for it to cool down properly.
This will allow the water that’s inside it to cool to a temperature that's safe for you to handle.
Step 2
Once you’ve done that very important step, you can remove the water reservoir.
This is a kidney bean-shaped container that holds the water that helps to heat up your bottle.
To locate it, look at the right-hand side of the appliance for a mostly see-through container of that shape. It should be cold by now.
Pour any water that’s already in the reservoir out, and then fill it with warm and soapy water.
You don’t want to use solvents or harsher chemicals, just a mild soap.
Leave it for five minutes, preferably laid down on a towel, to stop any spillages and mess.
Step 3
Now pick up the warmer unit and open up its cover.
Tilt the entire appliance over your sink, which will allow any water that’s sitting in the heating chamber to spill out and wash away down the sink hole.
Make sure that the entire unit is now empty of water.
Step 4
Now remove the basket that holds the bottle, and put it on the top rack of your dishwasher.
Wash it along with your dishes, just make sure not to use the bottom rack, where it could be damaged.
Alternatively, you can just wash the basket by hand with some soapy water.
Either way, once it’s clean, leave it to dry on a towel.
Step 5
Next, get a soft sponge or cloth and wet them with a combination of warm water and soap.
Then use it to wipe down the outside of the bottle warmer appliance, making sure to gently scrub every inch free of germs.
Do the inside too.
Step 6
Your reservoir should be soaked by now, so take it and pour out the water.
After that, get two tablespoons of uncooked rice (non-instant), followed by a tablespoon of water.
Now hold a finger over the top hole, to stop spillage, and shake the reservoir up and down for half a minute – washing every inside inch.
Then pour the water and rice away, before rinsing the reservoir clean (and soap-free) a few times.
Step 7
Leave the reservoir next to the still-drying appliance.
After an hour, both should be dry, so assemble them all together, ready for use.
Descaling The Bottle Warmer
Descaling will reduce the buildup of limescale, and should be done once a month.
Step 1
Again, unplug the unit and leave 30 minutes for it to cool down. Do not try to wash it while it’s still got electrical power, it is fatal.
Step 2
Now remove the reservoir and empty its water, then tip the unit over a sink so that its heating unit can also be rid of water.
Step 3
Now pour 2oz (50ml) of vinegar into the reservoir, followed by 4oz (100ml) of water.
This combination will be a great cleaner. Shake the reservoir softly, combining the liquids.
Step 4
Put the reservoir back into the unit, and plug it in.
Use the keypad to initiate a heating cycle, and keep doing this until the reservoir has been emptied of its vinegar-water.
Step 5
Unplug the warmer and let it cool down for a half-hour.
Step 6
Now remove the reservoir and rinse it over and over, until all the vinegar is gone. Leave to dry for an hour.
Then fill the reservoir with water, like usual, and insert it into the warmer.
You should see a few bubbles, which means that the limescale is gone.
Final Thoughts
And there you have it! You need to clean your Dr Brown Bottle Warmer regularly to keep it safe and working, so follow our instructions carefully.
Now that you know how simple it is to keep your Dr Brown Bottle Warmer clean, head over to our guide on How to use Dr Brown Bottle Warmer
Remember, always let it cool down before handling or washing!
