Philips AVENT Electric Steam Sterilizer

We use the 3-in-1 sterilizer twice a day (morning and evening) for 2 months now.

It is easy to use, specious enough to contain all the bottles, nipples and pump components we use throughout the day. It is also quick and appears to do a good job.

After three weeks of using the product an odd thing happened -my baby rejected a bottle but would accept a different one. The situation repeated the next day. I sniffed the bottle and it had a strange, pretty bad odor. At first I though these were leftovers of soap left in the bottle. But no -it was the sterilizer itself. Since my husband was in charge of cleaning the bottles and setting the sterilizer on it took me a while to figure it out. When I checked the sterilizer I learned that the heating element at the bottom of the apparatus is covered with rust. Moreover, the rust goes through the pores in the white plastic bottom compartment and it would not get off with just a regular dish washing brush. I had to clean these pores with q-tips (this took forever!) taking out the small black pieces. The bad odor is now history. Since then, we carefully wash and drain the heating element and the bottom of the compartment after each use. The rust is still there -just not giving bad taste to the baby bottle. I would, however expect it not to get rusty at the first place! My husband says he followed instructions to the letter in terms of amount of water to pore in etc.

Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program I wouldn't say that this sterilizer takes up "minimal" space in your kitchen, but much needed space. Rather than store one piece elsewhere in the kitchen, I'd recommend storing the whole thing either on the counter or in a cupboard until needed. Most likely you'll be using it every day so I'd just leave in on top of the counter. It does stack and is approximately 10 1/2" tall, 11" wide, and 5 1/2" deep at their widest measurements. For a frequently used item it is not an inconvenient size and is relatively attractive.

Before you sterilize any materials it is best that you run it through one complete cycle. There are several important safeguards outlined in the directions that you should pay attention to and read before using the sterilizer. For example, you should not "use abrasive, antibacterial material or scourers to clean the sterilizer." Periodically, like a coffee maker," you'll want to add some cold water and white vinegar to descale the sterilizer every four weeks to optimize performance. Hard water hastens the buildup on the heating base. There is an FAQ section for those little problems you're sure to encounter if you don't read the directions thoroughly before running the sterilizer.

Yes, it's easy to use a dishwasher to "sterilize" your bottles, but they really don't get sterilized. Ever see spots on your glasses? Do you want them on your baby bottles? No. This is so much easier than sterilizing using boiling water in a pan on top of the stove and much safer. There are certain things you must do such as measure an exact amount of water (3.4 fl. oz.) and things you don't do like put those liquid filled teethers in, but other than that, this is an easy machine to work with. It takes four minutes to heat up and six to sterilize. You can sterilize many different types of items from bottles to sippy cups, making it quite versatile. You can even use an extension cord if you have to (three pronged cord). The instruction booklet, which is in English, Spanish, and French, is marvelously clear and detailed. If you have a baby registry, this is one item that should go on it, especially if you will be bottle feeding.

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Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program The Phillips 4 in 1 sterilizer is a very well thought out device which not only provides a clean, safe, efficient way to sterilize bottles, it is adjustable and has removable components to allow you to clean and sterilize a pretty wide variety of items (just about anything which can tolerate steam cleaning). Love the product, love the brand!

With kid #1 we steriilzed bottles by boiling them... and carefully removing them with tongs; and the pacifiers too (kind of giggling as I think of dad crawling around in the aisle on an airplane to Disney looking under seats for that lost pacifier!). they get dropped all kinds of places, and yes! you want a way to sterilize them. When kid #2 came around we had a dishwasher...BUT i do not like using bleach on things a baby will be putting in his or her mouth (most dishwasher detergents have bleach, or some other equally harsh chemical).

I like to keep things natural, organic if possible and there is nothing as safe as steam; boiled water... as long as you do not have to mess with it on the stove while trying to calm a fussy baby.

This little device does take up some counter space, but if you haven't found out yet, your new addition will be taking over more than just your counter space!

The Phillips steam sterilizer is efficient; takes only 6 minutes and does not leave you with pots, pans, etc to clean up, or a pot of boiling water which will steam up your house and create a possibly hazardous situation (depending on the size of your kitchen). It uses *a lot* less electricity than a dish washer! (because I did not want to use chemicals on baby items, I ran a separate load; costly, time consuming). So the second time around, we had a million bottles because sterilizing required running a second load. This little device eliminates the hazards, the clean-up, is quicker and less costly to use. yes the upfront cost is higher, but balanced against safety, my time, and electric bill (the cost of power here is insane; I suspect for most people it is less of an issue, but still, this uses a lot less power).

The removable basket can be thrown in the dishwasher, but the unit itself (should it require it) has to be cleaned manually with warm water & a damp cloth. I like the efficiency and versatilty. it can be used for most things you have around baby which need sterilizing, and because of the multiple configurations can be repurposed when you are beyond the bottle stage.

I have not had this long enough to say if it will last a year or 2 or 10, but it is backed by a 2 year warranty, which is about the longest I am seeing on any electronic device now. I have several other products from Phillips and have been very happy with the company: well thought out design, high quality components, nice features. I don't think it would make sense to describe my experience with their portable dvd player (e.g.) here, but I have, many times in the past, returned other items and replaced them with Phillips. It is a brand which I personally like and trust because of experience with a pretty broad array of well made products.

In sum, I think it is a great little device: compact, efficient, versatile, safe and natural. It is a little pricy for a more or less single-purpose tool, but everyone has to decide on the trade -offs which make sense to them. Myself, I think it is well worth it to eliminate the hazards of boiling, exposure to chemicals in the dishwasher (which degrade rubber and plastics faster), and for the efficiency both in terms of my time and electric bill. I can not think of much which would recommend against this other than cost and counter space. My only regret is that it did not come along earlier!

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Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program This is a compact sterilizer that is easy to use and easy to clean. It holds a lot for its size. It comes with a dishwasher basket that allows you to clean items first in your dishwasher before sterilizing them. You can also wash them with soap and water if you wish. It also has an automatic shutoff control. Overall this is a good product with nice features.

This is simple to use. All you do is clean the items you want to sterilize first, put water in the base of the sterilizer, put the items in the sterilizer and then press the on button. It automatically shuts off when done.

The process takes about 10 minutes from when you put items in the sterilizer. If you take them out right way they are hot and there is some steam. As with a dishwasher, the longer you wait to take out items, the less steam and heat. You can leave items in the sterilizer up to 24 hours before they have to be sterilized again.

The sterilizer (as opposed to the dishwasher basket) is not dishwasher safe so it needs to be cleaned with mild soap and water. Since the items you put in it need to be cleaned first there is not much cleaning to be done. I have hard water in my area so descaling the reservoir every month to prevent scaling is recommended. The alternative would be using distilled water.

This holds up to six bottles. I have also used it for spoons and small plates.

This comes with a 2 year warranty. I had a question regarding the descaling process and customer service was knowledgeable and friendly.

This is a compact, easy to use product that holds a lot for its size.

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Works well. Make sure you keep the steamer level when steaming or the water won't be completely covering the heating unit and it will burn itself a little and everything you steam the next 3 months will smell like the burnt heating unit. 100% my fault. After buying this product I wish I would have just bought a rice or vegetable steamer at Costco or Target for $30.00. It's exactly the same concept and will save you some money.

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