Should I Throw Away a Baby Bottle With Mold or Try to Clean It

Sippy cups are dandy for preventing spills, but all their little parts tin can make them difficult to clean thoroughly. They ofttimes end upwards misplaced, and by the time they're plant, they're growing mold.

Nosotros accept years of combined experience cleaning sippy cups, and nosotros've washed boosted research to create this handy guide to assist you protect your children by keeping your cups make clean and free of mold.

Why Mold Grows In Sippy Cups
What Should You Know Nigh Mold?
What If My Child Ingests Mold?
Can I Eliminate Mold Completely?
How to Clean a Sippy Cup
Clean Sippy Cups Are Possible!

Why Mold Grows In Sippy Cups

Sippy cups come in many different designs, but they all have a mutual purpose: to keep liquids within the cup and prevent spills.

This is most commonly accomplished with a design that includes a cup, a spout, and some type of leak-proof valve.

While this ingenious engineering solves one trouble, information technology creates another. Sippy cups take minor parts and difficult-to-reach corners that can easily trap particles of milk or juice and harbor harmful moisture, creating a perfect place for mold to grow.

Take Note

The most mutual place yous will find mold on a sippy cup is in the spout, valve, or harbinger since they are the well-nigh hard areas to make clean thoroughly.

These small parts tin can sometimes be difficult to remove, leaving parents to believe that the valve is a permanent fixture on the chapeau. If this happens, the valve may never be removed, and over time, balance builds up and mold will grow.

What Should Yous Know Well-nigh Mold?

Mold is a fungus that grows from tiny, microscopic spores. Mold spores are all around u.s.a. and are relatively harmless in the small amounts we live with on a daily basis. All the same, mold becomes problematic when information technology grows.

The three things mold needs to grow are moisture, food, and warmth. In an environment with these iii elements, the mold spores thrive and reproduce rapidly.

When mold grows in homes, the biggest threat to a family's health is animate in the spores. The larger the patch of mold, the more spores can break off and be carried through the air, which the abode occupants then inhale.

Take Note

Mold inhalation tin cause the symptoms we commonly associate with mold: coughing, wheezing, asthma, nasal drainage, or other respiratory illnesses ^(ane).

The dangers from mold growth in sippy cups, however, are different. If mold grows in a cup, the master threat is an disease from ingesting the mold rather than inhaling it.

What If My Kid Ingests Mold?

Don't panic if you lot observe that your child has used a sippy cup with mold or mildew. Not all molds are toxic, and non all children will react to mold ⁽²⁾.

However, you should try to be vigilant about cleaning your child's cups properly to reduce their chances of mold exposure, as some are indeed toxic and can have harmful effects on health.

Some symptoms children may experience afterward ingesting mold are:

Abdominal cramps.
Vomiting.
Diarrhea.
Aridity.
Nausea.

If a child has an allergy to mold, they could experience more acute symptoms ordinarily associated with food allergies, such equally:

Rashes.
Breathing difficulties.
Swelling of the face up, lips, or tongue.
Tingling sensation.
Sneezing.
Running nose.
Nasal congestion.
Coughing.
Wheezing.
Flu-similar symptoms.

Can I Eliminate Mold Completely?

Substances that kill mold include bleach, vinegar, and tea tree oil ⁽³⁾. All the same, if you use these substances, make sure to dilute them well and wash your child'south sippy cups to remove any chemical balance after disinfecting them.

High heat besides kills mold, which ways steam sterilizers or boiling water can be used to kill mold spores.

Keep In Listen

It's not possible to eliminate mold entirely from your life as the spores are always present in the air. All the same, it is possible to clean your babe'due south sippy cup thoroughly to remove the fungus and make it rubber for your piffling ane to apply again.

Information technology's also possible to reduce the chances of mold growth in the first place.

How to Clean a Sippy Cup

By taking these steps when cleaning your sippy cups, you can prevent mold growth.

how to clean a sippy cup

i. Rinse Immediately After Use

Even if you lot don't programme to wash your child'south loving cup right away, it's a good idea to rinse it immediately. This removes some of the milk/juice particles, leaving less nutrient residue in the cup for mold spores to consume and abound.

2. Completely Disassemble Sippy Cup

When you're ready to wash your child'due south sippy loving cup, make sure you lot disassemble every office. Food, milk, and juice particles become wedged in the tightest of spaces, and this is where parents most ordinarily find mold. To make clean a sippy cup thoroughly, all parts must be attainable.

If your sippy cup has a pop-upwards straw, remove it. Typically inside the lid, there is a safety stopper or other mechanism; remove this from the cup likewise equally any rubber rings around the border.

three. Soak In Hot Water And Soap

Make sure that the water is deep enough to submerge your sippy cups and accessories fully. Soak them for 15 minutes in hot, soapy h2o. This will soften dried-on or stubborn gunk, assuasive you to make clean it off easily. Alternatively, y'all can deliquesce denture tablets in water before soaking sippy cup parts. This helps get rid of stubborn gunk in the loving cup as well.

4. Clean Your Cups

Avoid using a sponge as they have been shown to harbor bacteria ⁽⁴⁾. Use a clean dishrag or bottle castor instead for the insides of the sippy cups.

If your sippy cup has a spout, a nipple brush can help you become into the minor spaces. If information technology has a straw, you tin buy a straw brush to clean it. Inspect the stopper and valve for visible mold, and clean it with a nipple or straw brush.

To access the inside of the valve or closed spout, compression the plastic together, and y'all should gain access.

Finally, wash the lid of the sippy cup. Carefully inspect and launder all the crevices to ensure there are no remaining nutrient particles or mold.

Pro Tip

You can use a toothpick, Q-tip, pipe cleaner, or toothbrush to go into the tiny, difficult-to-clean spaces in the lids or valves.

five. Sanitize Your Cups (Optional)

While non completely necessary, occasionally sanitizing your sippy cups tin can contribute to your peace of heed. Y'all can practise this by using the same steps you use for sanitizing babe bottles. Here are three quick options:

Sanitize With Bleach: Mix 2 teaspoons of bleach with a gallon of water. Allow cups to soak for ii minutes, then drip dry ^(v).
Sanitize With a Steam Sterilizer: Steam sterilizers are fabricated for the microwave or are available every bit a counter-top accessory. They emit high-temperature steam that volition kill bacteria and mold spores.
Boil Your Cups: Identify your sippy cups and accessories into a pot of boiling water. Allow to boil for 10 minutes.

6. Dry Cups Thoroughly

Never reassemble or put away cups while they still have moisture. Moisture is i of the core components of mold growth, and if you re-gather your cups before they're dry, that moisture can get trapped in small spaces and encourage mold growth. And then, allow your sippy cups to sit on a drying rack for good airflow.

Never dry sippy cups on a towel as fabrics can harbor bacteria.

7. Throw Abroad Stained Cups

If you have a particularly moldy cup that continues to remain stained after a thorough washing, information technology's better to be safety than sorry — toss it in the trash. While there may not be live mold spores still present, it's impossible to tell for sure. Consider switching to new sippy cups every three months to preclude mold growth.

Clean Sippy Cups Are Possible!

Because of all the nooks and crannies located within sippy cups, they can, unfortunately, trap small nutrient particles and grow mold quickly.

By completely taking them apart, washing all pieces thoroughly, and allowing them to dry before reassembling, you reduce the risk of providing the 3 elements mold needs to grow: food, h2o, and warmth.

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Source: https://momlovesbest.com/feeding/sippy-cups/clean-sippy-cups