Avent Express Microwave Steam Sterilizer
- Brand: Philips AVENT
- Nursing and Feeding Type: Bottles and Accessories Sterilizers
- Type: Nursing and Feeding
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Indispensable!
Pros
Fast, effective sterilization of nearly everything that goes into baby's mouth.
Cons
Can be hot when it comes out of the microwave (but what wouldn't be?)
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
If I had to make a list of baby products to not be without, this would be near the top of it.
I bought this sterilizer because I had been given the Avent Isis breast pump at my baby shower and the instructions for it said that I needed to sterilize all the pump parts. Honestly I had no idea how to sterilize anything at that time (I was 6 mos. pg with my first child). I dismissed Avent's electric sterilizer because I didn't want to deal w/the hassle of yet another plug-in-able appliance.
This has been one of the most-used "baby items" in our household. Since it's just my husband and I (and we are big on conservation), we don't use our dishwasher much except as a drying rack. So sterilization via dishwasher wasn't a feasible option. Even with a hungry baby we couldn't make enough dirty dishes to fill the dishwasher enough to warrant running it frequently.
I also used this sterilizer a lot for breast pump parts. The blue tray that fits in the bottom has slots made to hold the Avent Isis breast-pump horns, but they also hold Ameda and Medela breast pump horns well. The small holes in the blue tray are ideal for holding the Isis "star valves" and the white membranes from the Medela pumps.
It can be used with all kinds of bottles, not just the Avent, which is nice. We have an assortment of Avent, Ameda, Medela, Gerber and Especially Yours bottles, and all of them fit fine in this sterilizer.
Just recently I used this sterilizer to clean a toy that I'd gotten 2nd-hand off Ebay. I was wondering which wipe to use to get the toy clean but not leave any disinfectant on it when it dawned on me to pop it in the sterilizer. It worked -- clean and teethable toys. :)
The sterilizer itself is sturdy plastic which stands up to repeated use. I am looking forward to using it until it wears out, my microwave breaks or baby grows up whichever comes first.
* What comes with the sterilizer?
* What size is it? (Does it fit in every microwave?)
It comes with a few bottles but it has been so long since I bought it that I can't remember exactly how many. You can see everything that comes with it on amazon.com. You can also check out the stats there on the size of it. It is sort of big, so I reckon that it would not fit in many of the older microwaves. We have a GE 1000 watt model that we bought in 2002 (can't recall exact model #) and it works great in there. If your microwave has more than 1000 watts you might want to adjust the sterilizing time.
* How does it work?
* How long does it take to sterilize?
You pour 200 ml of water into the bottom of it and put the tray in. Then you load all bottles, collars, etc into it and snap the lid on. Put the whole shebang into the microwave and nuke for 4 minutes. I think that they want you to rotate it after 2 minutes if you don't have a turntable, but like I said above it has been a long time since I bought it and read all the instructions.
* How many bottles does it sterilize at one time?
The instruction book says up to 4 Avent bottles. My guess is that they want you to snap the Avent bottles into the area for them in the tray and only use it that way. I've found that you don't have to do it exactly like that, four bottles standing straight upside down in the tray works fine. Also you can load more than 4 standard-sized bottles (small diameter). Use your common sense and don't cover every millimeter of tray space.
When you're done microwaving, be careful taking the unit out of the microwave --- it can be hot! I've found it helpful to use rubber kitchen gloves when taking it out. Oven mitts are OK, but rubber kitchen gloves have a tacky surface and you can keep a good grip. Let the bottles air out first (with open side up) if you don't want condensation on them when you put them away.
This has been one of the most-used "baby items" in our household. Since it's just my husband and I (and we are big on conservation), we don't use our dishwasher much except as a drying rack. So sterilization via dishwasher wasn't a feasible option. Even with a hungry baby we couldn't make enough dirty dishes to fill the dishwasher enough to warrant running it frequently.
I also used this sterilizer a lot for breast pump parts. The blue tray that fits in the bottom has slots made to hold the Avent Isis breast-pump horns, but they also hold Ameda and Medela breast pump horns well. The small holes in the blue tray are ideal for holding the Isis "star valves" and the white membranes from the Medela pumps.
It can be used with all kinds of bottles, not just the Avent, which is nice. We have an assortment of Avent, Ameda, Medela, Gerber and Especially Yours bottles, and all of them fit fine in this sterilizer.
Just recently I used this sterilizer to clean a toy that I'd gotten 2nd-hand off Ebay. I was wondering which wipe to use to get the toy clean but not leave any disinfectant on it when it dawned on me to pop it in the sterilizer. It worked -- clean and teethable toys. :)
The sterilizer itself is sturdy plastic which stands up to repeated use. I am looking forward to using it until it wears out, my microwave breaks or baby grows up whichever comes first.
* What comes with the sterilizer?
* What size is it? (Does it fit in every microwave?)
It comes with a few bottles but it has been so long since I bought it that I can't remember exactly how many. You can see everything that comes with it on amazon.com. You can also check out the stats there on the size of it. It is sort of big, so I reckon that it would not fit in many of the older microwaves. We have a GE 1000 watt model that we bought in 2002 (can't recall exact model #) and it works great in there. If your microwave has more than 1000 watts you might want to adjust the sterilizing time.
* How does it work?
* How long does it take to sterilize?
You pour 200 ml of water into the bottom of it and put the tray in. Then you load all bottles, collars, etc into it and snap the lid on. Put the whole shebang into the microwave and nuke for 4 minutes. I think that they want you to rotate it after 2 minutes if you don't have a turntable, but like I said above it has been a long time since I bought it and read all the instructions.
* How many bottles does it sterilize at one time?
The instruction book says up to 4 Avent bottles. My guess is that they want you to snap the Avent bottles into the area for them in the tray and only use it that way. I've found that you don't have to do it exactly like that, four bottles standing straight upside down in the tray works fine. Also you can load more than 4 standard-sized bottles (small diameter). Use your common sense and don't cover every millimeter of tray space.
When you're done microwaving, be careful taking the unit out of the microwave --- it can be hot! I've found it helpful to use rubber kitchen gloves when taking it out. Oven mitts are OK, but rubber kitchen gloves have a tacky surface and you can keep a good grip. Let the bottles air out first (with open side up) if you don't want condensation on them when you put them away.
