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How to decrease breast pump part washing at work

If you use a breast pump, you know that the parts need to be kept scrupulously clean. Sometimes, especially in an office setting, the cleaning routine is sort of awkward, kind of embarrassing, or just plain impossible without a decent sink and countertop. Here are two alternatives you might want to consider.

Calculate how many times you pump per day and buy two times that number of bottles and “horns” (for left and right sides, of course). That will let you pump and store milk without the washing routine - just take it all home at the end of the day and clean it there. Depending on your pump, there may be a valve that is much easier to clean before milk dries, but this part alone might be easy to take to the kitchen or bathroom for a quick rinse.

If you really don’t need that many bottles, you can save money and cleaning by pumping directly into the storage baggie. You can affix the clean baggy around and below the outlet for the milk using a standard clothespin, metal twist tie, or another strong clasping-type device. You’ll still need enough “horns” to last you through the day, but you’ll save money on bottles, do less cleaning, and even eliminate one potential source of contamination (stubborn bacteria clinging to the plastic bottle). - Leigh G.

1. mar [11/10/08]

I’m not working now but pumped at work regularly with my daughter for a year. I used to put the horns and connector pieces (not the tubing) in the cooler with the milk bottles and put the whole thing in the fridge. The milk is fine for days in the fridge. I’d usually wash the horns to warm them up before using them subsequently. This also saved washing (or worrying about it). Then I could clean everything thoroughly at home. The microsteam bags are great too and let you sterilize parts quickly and without showing everything off.

2. Jennifer R. [11/10/08]

The Playtex Drop-Ins line has these great connector/adaptor pieces you can buy so that you can pump directly into a drop-in bag and then store the milk in the bag. http://tinyurl.com/4977xo I did this regularly, to keep a drop-in or two of fresh milk on hand. I always kept a drop-in and connector set in my pump bag, in case I ran out of plastic containers in a day, which can happen if you are particularly prolific.
You technically can freeze the drop-ins with these lid things, but that would take up a lot of freezer real estate and would get pricey for the plastic pieces.

3. Jennifer R. [11/10/08]

Also, Medela makes storage bags that are designed for directly pumping into. Samples are often included with their pumps. http://tinyurl.com/49ux8w

4. Nutmeg [2/04/09]

Yes, I’m with mar… I just would stick the horns in the fridge. They then did not need to be cleaned between pumping. I usually just left them attached to the bottles which were never full, made sure the whole thing stayed upright (so no spilling would occur) and put the whole shebang in the fridge. I didn’t mind strapping on cold horns when I pumped, so I didn’t even rinse them before I pumped again. This way I could pump whenever I had ANY time, not just when I knew I would have time to FINISH, and I wouldn’t need to take time wash parts/or worry about having enough extra parts.

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