Cleaning and Sanitizing Your Pumping Parts

Cleaning your breast pump for first time use

Before you use your breast pump for the first time, you’ll need to prepare by sterilizing all parts that come in contact with your baby’s milk. This includes the breast shield, diaphragm, valve, bottle, bottle cap, and nipple. Make sure you remove the valve from the breast shield prior to sterilization. Do not sterilize the tubing or pump motor.

REMEMBER

Parts that come in contact with breast milk

  • Breast Shield

  • Silicone Massager

  • Breast Shield Body

  • Diaphragm

  • Valve

  • Membrane

  • Bottle

Parts that NOT come in contact with breast milk

  • Breast Pump Motor / Base
  • Tubes
  • Tubing Dock / Side Selector
  • Diaphragm Cover Cap

Using boiling water to sterilize your breast pump parts

There are a few different methods you can use to sterilize your breast pump parts. We recommend the boiling water method.
  1. Select a pot large enough to fit all the parts without them rubbing together, such as a stock pot.
  2. Fill it with plenty of water to fully saturate the parts and leave plenty of room for a rolling boil.
  3. Make sure parts have plenty of room to move around and aren’t nestled together as this can cause irreparable warping.
  4. Place on a stove top and bring to a rolling boil. Boil for 5 minutes, then remove from heat.
  5. Allow to cool to a manageable temperature, then use a a pair of tongues to carefully remove parts.
  6. Set them on a clean paper towel away from a high traffic area (don’t use a cloth towel as cloth can harbor bacteria).
  7. Allow to completely air dry prior to assembly.
Note: frequent sterilization can cause your parts to deteriorate faster. If you follow a regular wash routine you shouldn’t need to sterilize more than just once. If your care provider has instructed you to sterilize your pump parts more frequently, you should do so. You may need to replace your parts more frequently.

 How to wash your breast pump parts

We recommend hand-washing your parts whenever possible.
To hand-wash parts in the sink, you’ll need a separate wash basin, a dedicated sponge or bottle brush, clean paper towels, standard dish soap, and access to warm water.
  1. Fill up a wash basin with warm, soapy water.
  2. Add your pump parts and move them around.
  3. Wash each part part thoroughly; be careful with the membranes.
  4. Rinse thoroughly in cool water.
  5. Set to air dry on a clean paper towel away from high traffic areas.
  6. Allow to completely dry prior to assembling.

Using a dishwasher, microwave, and cleaning solutions

All Zomee breast shields, bottles, and other hard plastic accessories are BPA-Free and can go through the dishwasher without worry of harmful residue. Keep in mind that this will cause them to wear down more quickly. We recommend you to hand wash all parts whenever possible
Do not wash silicone parts like valves, membranes, and diaphragms in the dishwasher. These parts are delicate and should be hand washed whenever possible.

For microwave steam cleaners or cleaning solutions, follow the manufacturer’s instructions.