Philips Avent Express Microwave Sterilizer
by Philips AVENT
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Our Price: $27.75 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Baby Product See more product details |
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Baby Products Reviews of Philips Avent Express Microwave Sterilizer
Customer Review: Just Nuke it with the EXPRESS Microwave Steam Sterilizer
Summary: 5 Stars
I am NOT a clean freak who sterilizes everything my son touches. I bought the EXPRESS Microwave Steam Sterilizer to save time, and money. After a brief, and horrible stint with stovetop sterilizing, I began to use the dishwasher to clean my sons bottles. Oh, and I mean USE. Sometimes I ran the dishwasher 3-times a day JUST to clean bottles. I live in the desert, where water is precious. We pay handsomely for every drop that passes through our pipes. When I saw this sterilizer sitting on the shelf at Target, I snagged it. 1.) It requires a small amount of water, and
2.) It sanitizes in less than 10-minutes.
I thought to myself, How can I go wrong?
This appliance is user friendly, so to speak.
1.) There is NO way to confuse the stacking order: the base, the bottle rack, and the lid. There is no other way to put the thing together.
2.) Loading can be confusing if the instructions are not followed. Keep the manual handy, as the loading order for large bottles, differs from the 4-ounce size.
3.) Add the proper amount of water to the base every time. Do not skimp on the water, as it could cause the unit to burn. Do not over-fill it either, as the unit may not produce enough steam to work.
That said ~ its really quite simple to use. Pour 7-ounces of water in the base, load the rack, and pop it in the microwave. In 4 or 5-minutes its done. Of course, it depends on the wattage of your microwave. Smaller microwaves may require more time, but thats all there is to it. I learned the hard way to wait before taking the sterilizer out of the microwave. Its HOT! VERY hot! Plus, any steam thats emitted can burn. The contents inside the unit will remain sterile for up to 3-hours given that the lid remains closed. Once the cooling time has passed, 2-minutes or so, remove the lid carefully. There will be lots of condensation on the bottles, similar to the dishwasher before the drying cycle begins. Place all the bits and pieces on a drying rack, or hand-dry them.
When my son was a newborn, I used the EXPRESS Microwave Steam Sterilizer at least 4-times a day. I cleaned bottles, nipples, breast pump parts, and pacifiers. Later on, I used the sterilizer on some of his toys. Be careful, not all toys are dishwasher safe. If its top-drawer dishwasher safe, than its probably sterilizer safe. We took many trips when William was an infant, and this unit made traveling easy. It provided a safe place to store the breast pump, and it worked in every hotel microwave we encountered. I dont recall exactly when I stopped using the sterilizer. It was probably soon after Will started solid foods. At any rate, this sterilizer was seriously tested in our home. I never had any problems, except the occasional burn to my hand when I opened the lid too early. Bad mommy, bad!
I can safely say the EXPRESS Microwave Steam Sterilizer was worth its weight in gold. Some might complain about the price of the sterilizer, but considering two, 9-ounce bottles come with the unit, it may seem more reasonable knowing they retail for $4.00 a piece. The EXPRESS Microwave Steam Sterilizer turned out to be one of the BEST purchases I made the year my son was born, and I will happily recommend it to anyone.
Happy Feeding,
Mary :)
Customer Review: Great Product, but not a necessity
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought this item about a year ago and have been happy with it even though I didn't need to use it very often since I was breastfeeding. The primary reason that I bought it was that it was hard to keep track of all of the pieces from my Avent Isis pump when I put them in the dishwasher. Some of the pump pieces wouldn't fit into the silverware basket and some pieces would slip out of it. As a result, I had several items that fell to the bottom of the dishwasher and were damaged by the high temps. With all of the hassle that it took to have the pieces replaced, I figured that this item would be well worth it!
I used this for pacifiers, bottles, pump parts, and now I use it to sterlize small toys that are slobbered on by the kids I babysit as well as my own son. It is very easy to use (once you figure out the wattage info from the back of your micro) and it was nice to get my items sanitized quickly without having to wait for the dishwasher to run its cycle. It can also come in handy when you don't have a full load and don't want to run a practically empty dishwasher.
Here is one thing to note- when you read the directions, you find out that you should not wash the sterilizer or the items you put in the sterilizer with antibacterial dish soap. I am exactly sure why, but I am sure there is a reason.
The bottom line- I gave this item 4 stars instead of 5 because it is not something that I think everyone would need. While it is a nice convenience and can save you from dishwasher damaged parts, if you are on a tight budget- I am sure you can do without it.
Customer Review: Sterilising is important to protect your baby
Summary: 5 Stars
I have used this product with all three of my children and it has been great. Easy to use and quick to sterilise.
With regard to previous comments about not sterlising equipment, I should point out that there is a difference between clean and sterile. All babies are vulnerable to the germs that cause diarrhoea and vomiting, and so it is best to continue sterilising bottles and teats (and breast pump equipment) until your baby is one year old and has built up more resistance to bacteria generally. Cleaning your baby's bottles and teats in a dishwasher will not always heat them to the right temperature to kill off all known bugs, so it's generally still advisable to sterilise after washing. If you do want to rely on your dishwasher alone, it needs to be run on a hot programme at a minimum temperature of 80 degrees centigrade. The bottles then need be filled with feed straight away as the dishwasher will not leave them in a completely sterile condition.
It may seem pointless to sterilise feeding equipment when your baby is crawling around the floor and putting all sorts of things in his mouth, but the bugs that stick to milk curds can be dangerous. Your baby's immune system will grow stronger into the second year and he'll be able to combat infections more easily.
It might seem inconvenient to some, but sterilising reduces your baby's chances of ingesting harmful bacteria and it's about the baby's health, not what the mother's feels she doesnt have time for.
Customer Review: Great product for anyone
Summary: 5 Stars
This product is great and I highly recommend it. Other reviewers said to be careful as the top will seperate when you lift it off. In fact, it will NOT do that if you have it latched on correctly. It is easy to use and we just pop in bottles, nipples, breast pump accessories, pacifiers, etc, whenever we can and sterilize the items so that they are ready to go for the next round. It works for any bottle. I, too, am a mother of preemie twins, and find it immensely helpful. One mother of preemie twins noted that once you sterilize, the bottles accumulate condensation and worried about accumulation of germs in the condensation. As a public health/infectious disease professional, I can say that while it is possible that could happen, it is not likely that germs will accumulate in the condensation. Remember, too, that the world is full of germs, including the beneficial bacteria that live on our skin, in our gut, etc, and that no matter what you do, your baby will always be exposed to germs. Don't worry too much about it, even preemies have some immune ability, especially if you have given them colostrum (initial breast milk). If you are concerned, my recommendation is to take the items out once they are sterilized, dry them with a paper towel, assemble them and put them somewhere easy for you to grab them at 3 am.
Overall, a great product.
Customer Review: Highly recommended!
Summary: 5 Stars
We chose to use Avent bottles because Avent promised an attractively priced anti-colic, BPA-free system. My daughter was two months premature, so sterilizing her bottles and my pumping equipment was a must.
We began by washing bottles and nipples in the sterilize unit of our dishwasher, but that proved to be a major pain. My husband hunted around and found the Avent self-contained sterilizer at a local baby store. It was pricey, but we gulped and bought it, thinking it would be better than this less expensive microwave version.
Boy, were we wrong! The self-contained unit turned toes-up after only a month and before that, kept oozing brown water at the bottom of the unit. Fortunately, we were able to return it.
We decided to give this sterilizer a shot. Are we ever glad we did. Our only regret is that we didn't buy it first.
It's quicker than the self-contained unit, less expensive, easier to clean and easier to use. We absolutely love it. The only and ONLY possible problem with this item is that you can't put the l1 oz Avent bottles in there -- at least not standing up. However, we're just using the 4 and 9 oz sizes, so that poses no problem for us as of now.
If you're using the Avent system, definitely get this product. Thumb's up!