Cleaning baby bottles is not as arduous as it used to be.
Once upon a time, nervous new parents were told they had to sterilise their new-borns’ bottles by boiling them in water on the stove.
That regimen has relaxed.
As soon as the baby has finished their bottle, rinse it out under running water so that bacteria are less likely to develop and the bottle will come clean more readily.
Wash the bottle and teat in hot water with dishwashing liquid, taking special care to remove any caked-on milk in the interior corners and the underside of the teat. (A bottle-brush will help with this.)
Force soapy water through the hole in the teat and rinse thoroughly with running water.
Position bottle and teat in a clean dish drainer or on paper towels to drain and air-dry.
An alternative is to put the separated bottles and teats in the dish-washer, positioning the bottles upside down and the teats pointing up so that water does not collect inside.
Use high heat and the drying cycle. You can store the clean bottles in a cupboard, but in most house-holds with babies, the bottles don’t sit still long enough to gather dust.
In the absence of adequate cleaning facilities, rinsed bottles, teats and caps should be sterilised in a commercial chlorine-based antibacterial solution, such as Milton.