When I was growing up the house always smelled like vinegar because we had a Tupperware container for soaking my nebs. I hated even putting the nebulizer in there, let alone to take it out, rinse it, and lay it out to dry. I don’t handle strong smells of any kind very well.
I’ve been on my own now for… 13 years… and I didn’t sterilize my nebs, probably to my downfall a time or two that I’m not even aware of. I usually got new ones when they got nasty. It wasn’t until I got onto a new drug study last year that I was introduced to real sterilization: the Avent bottle sterilizer. I was initially taken back, “WHAT!?” by having to lug home a bottle cleaner from clinic, but this thing is da bomb!
After a week of running sticky meds through the nebs, despite rinsing with hot water immediately after the treatment is done (I’m really annoying to watch TV with while I do my nebs because of all the pausing to run to the kitchen), they get a bit gooey to the touch. That’s when I pull out the Avent from under the counter.
Here is how easy it is:
- Fill the little pre-measured cup to 90mL with distilled water and pour it in.
- Put the nebs, heads, and anything else you really want sterilized on the flat racks.
- Press the power button to display “1” on the LED.
- Hold down the button and release.
- It’s done in 6 minutes and keeps it sterile for 6 hours.
I take them out and put them back on the paper towel to dry and put it back away for another week. Ask your clinic to get you one for free of through insurance, otherwise, that image up above is a link to Amazon where it’s about $75-$85. Moms buy it for their babies, so you might as well have one handy, just in case you start a family like we’re planning on anyway.
