Cleaning / sterilising pump

The washing is to keep bacteria from growing in the milk that gets left behind after each pumping that could then contaminate the next sessions milk. It’s like washing your hands. The sterilization is like a deep clean and will get places your quick clean might miss. What I do is wash with hot soapy water and then put it in a Tupperware in the fridge (the cold slows growth of anything I may have missed in the quicker cleaning) then in the evening when I put the milk from the day in my freezer bags I sterilize it in a pot on the stove.

@Aubry Thankyou! After each pumping session I put my milk into an air tight container in the fridge. What I was confused about is, I thought the hot soapy water contains bacteria which is why we sterilise bottles everytime? Because the water we clean them with just removes debris and the steriliser kills bacteria. So it makes me think there will still be bacteria in the pump after washing with soapy water x

I sterilise after every single use. I have 2 cups which I rotate between. I would worry to much about whether or not it had bacteria that could be harmful if I didn't.

@Helen that’s exactly what I think too as all I’ve ever known is you have to sterilise after washing with soapy water because the water isn’t sterile either!

Breast milk itself is not sterile. You only need to sterilise it once a day. I empty the milk after each pump, then place the pump in a self seal bag and place it in the fridge until the next pump. I've been told that you don't actually have to sterilise bottles if they are containing breast milk if your baby was born at term. I still do though

Ooh that makes sense! Putting the whole pump with the leftover drops of milk in the fridge stops the bacteria from growing. I’m going to do this from now on!