July 16, 2026
Bottle Sterilizer vs. Dishwasher vs. Handwashing: Which Do You Actually Need?
Reddit parents break down the pros and cons of each bottle cleaning method - and why the drying function matters more than you think.
Do I really need a dedicated sterilizer, or can I just throw everything in the dishwasher? Should I handwash bottles separately?
I dug through thousands of comments across Reddit's parenting communities to find out what parents recommend.
The Short Answer: What Doctors Actually Recommend
The American Academy of Pediatrics and the CDC say that for healthy, full-term babies, washing bottles with hot soapy water (or running them through the dishwasher) is sufficient. Sterilization is only specifically recommended before first use, and for babies who are premature, immunocompromised, or have specific health concerns.
It's not necessary to sterilize your bottles unless you have a NICU or immunocompromised baby. Other than that soap and hot water is perfectly fine and is what is recommended by our pediatrician and AAP. It was honestly more work to go through the steps of renting all the stuff and then putting it in this giant cumbersome device. We have a little bottle brush I'm washed most of the bottles by hand and if I'm going to run the dishwasher I throw them in there.
One important caveat: guidelines vary by country. In the UK, the NHS recommends sterilizing until 12 months. In Australia, it's similar. This is a cultural and regulatory difference.
The American CDC has no problem cleaning bottles in a dishwasher. The Nemour's Kids' Health website and the American Pediatrics Association's Healthy Children website similarly recommend dishwashers (though to be fair not all health authorities do—the NHS in the UK and the Australia Raising Healthy Kids websites don't, see my other comment in this thread).
Option 1: The Dishwasher
The dishwasher is the most popular method among North American parents on Reddit - it washes and sanitizes in one step, with almost zero active effort on your part.
The strategy
Buy enough bottles to last a full day (most parents recommend 6-10), load them all up at the end of the day, and run the dishwasher overnight. Wake up to clean bottles.
We use the dishwasher. We have enough bottles to last a full day, load everything up, and run it overnight. Super quick and easy. Our dishwasher even has a sanitize setting on it.
My life got so much easier when I stopped hand washing and just ran the dishwasher every night. Dishwasher 100%!
The fine print
The dishwasher approach isn't perfect. Parents flagged a few common issues:
- Long cycle times: Many dishwashers take 3-4 hours on the sanitize setting — a problem if you need bottles NOW
- Drying: Bottles often come out wet, especially nipples and narrow parts
- Smell/taste transfer: Some parents noticed bottles picking up soap residue or food smells from other dishes
- Narrow bottles: Some dishwashers don't spray water adequately into narrow-neck bottles
I have a sterilizer but honestly feel like the dishwasher cleans bottles and parts way better. Don't forget even with a sterilizer you have to hand wash first. So with the dishwasher I can do a quick rinse of everything instead of straight up washing and then throw them in.
Best for
Parents who run their dishwasher daily anyway, own enough bottles to batch-wash, and have a dishwasher with a sanitize or steam setting.
Option 2: Handwashing
Some parents just handwash their bottles.
The strategy
Wash each bottle and its parts immediately after use (or batch them a few times per day) with hot soapy water and a dedicated bottle brush. Air dry on a rack.
No. We've had two mostly bottlefed babies. We sterilize new bottles/pacifiers with boiling water. We mostly use the dishwasher to clean which does a good job and gets pretty hot, but when we travel we just handwash (often with whatever random soap we can find) and it's always been fine. By the time baby starts crawling, they're filthy anyway and there's no point in sterilizing regularly.
I never sterilized my bottles with my singleton except for when I first bought them. Hand washed with soap and water after. We lived in an 800 sqft apt with a teensy kitchen so space was at a premium. Never had an issue, however if the babies are preemie I think guidance is different.
The fine print
- Time adds up fast: If you're exclusively pumping or formula feeding, you could be washing 8-16 bottles per day. Multiple parents described cracked, dry hands and hours spent at the sink.
- Drying is still the bottleneck: Air drying take longer and clutters up counter space.
- Late-night struggle: When you need a bottle in the middle of the night and nothing is clean.
Bottle washing and sterilizing has been the worst part of my motherhood journey (hands dried and cracked from meticulously scrubbing each piece, hunched over the sink, for an hour at a time).
Best for
Parents who breastfeed primarily and only use a bottle occasionally, those without a dishwasher who want the simplest setup, or anyone with limited counter space.
Option 3: A Dedicated Sterilizer (or Washer/Sterilizer Combo)
The real selling point
A sterilizer with a drying function takes bottles from washed to bone-dry and ready to use in about 40-60 minutes. Compare that to air drying (hours) or opening a dishwasher to find everything still wet.
I use mine just for the dryer function. Baby is 11mo so we don't need things to be sterile but I do need them to be dry!
We've been using our combo sterilizer/dryer for a year now. We found it was much easier to hand wash and pop them in the machine to sanitize and dry, than wait to fill the dishwasher every night. Also means we could have clean and dry bottles ready much quicker than waiting to air dry.
The fine print
- You still have to wash first: A sterilizer-only unit does NOT clean your bottles. You need to hand wash or dishwasher first, then sterilize.
- Counter space: These machines are roughly the size of a Keurig, and they live on your counter for months.
- Hard water buildup: Multiple parents mentioned needing to descale regularly with vinegar.
- Washer combos exist now: The newer all-in-one machines (Baby Brezza Washer Pro, Momcozy KleanPal) actually wash, sterilize, AND dry - eliminating the hand-washing step entirely. These are pricier ($200-300) but parents of multiples and exclusive pumpers call them life-changing.
A sterilizer is something that's always on the "you don't need this" lists but once I started bottle feeding I got one ASAP! Just keep in mind that a lot of sterilizers don't actually wash the bottles. You still have to have wash and then put them in to dry or sterilize. I think there's a baby brezza that actually washes them, as well (which I will be getting for next baby!) We have gotten into a routine of hand washing once per day + sterilizer to dry and then putting the rest in the dishwasher...
For baby #1, we used a combo of handwashing and the dishwasher with one of those little baskets. Between bottles and pump parts I felt like I had stuff drying all over the counter - I had both the bottle rack that looks like grass and the oxo one to contain it all, and felt like all I did all day was wash bottles and pump parts! For baby #2 we got the Baby Brezza, since we use Dr. Brown's narrow bottles and that thing is basically designed for those. Honestly my wife and I feel like it was one o...
Best for
Exclusive pumpers, formula feeders going through 6+ bottles daily, parents of multiples, anyone whose dishwasher takes forever or doesn't dry well, and parents who value the speed of a 45-minute turnaround.
Follow your local health authority guideline
I used to think they were ridiculous and unnecessary but then my baby was hospitalized for a terrible stomach bug and my tune changed. Now I'm just thinking about how she's in daycare and getting exposed to sooo much and I wanna do all I can to mitigate that and protect her. So we ordered a Dr Brown's bottle sterilizer before we left the hospital and I now use it religiously.