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Sterilizing and Cleaning your Pumpin' Pal Breast Pump Parts

One question moms ask is about cleaning their breast pump parts, specifically after-market parts that have been purchased to enhance their pumping experience.  A customers favorite is the Pumpin' Pal Super Shield because this pumping accessory allows for a wider range of breast flange sizes and also allow mom to sit back and pump due to its angled design.  But once the investment has been made in these, you do want to clean them properly to prolong the life of your breast pump parts.

Below are the recommendations from the manufacturer.

"Pumpin’ Pal Super Shields are made of BPA-free medical grade polypropylene and High Grade Platinum Silicone. Both can be boiled (do not let them sit on the bottom of the pan!) and steamed using a steam bag but that should only be done prior to first time use.  Caution: If microwaved too long to the point the water is steamed away, the parts may melt and become deformed. A couple of minutes of steam is plenty. From then on these products should be hand washed like china or a glass because you can easily clean all surfaces, unlike bottles and tubing.

They can be cleaned in a dishwasher on the top rack, but they will last much longer hand washing with warm water and a grease cutting dish soap as most automatic dishwasher detergents can etch the surface causing them to become “foggy”. In other words, you can clean the parts in the dishwasher, but we do not recommend it and we do not replace parts that are damaged in the dishwasher. Do not use any chemicals such as bleach to clean or sanitize the flanges."

In other words, sterilizing for 2-3 minutes in either boiling water or microwave steam sterilizer is appropriate before the first use.  After that, hand wash to prolong the life of your Pumpin' Pal super shield.  The good news is that these are easy to clean and often give you a much more comfortable experience when pumping!

If you are pumping multiple times per day, you can purchase the Pumpin' Pal Super Shields in individual sizes instead of a three size set.  The Pumpin' Pal Spectra Adapter and the Pumpin' Pal Silicone Super Shield Collar can also be purchased as replacement parts for your convenience.  Many moms like to have three sets  for work so they only have to clean them once per day.

Happy Pumpin'

Tanya

www.lactationconnection.com 


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