Customer Reviews

Medela Quick Clean Micro-Steam Bags

5 star:		(67)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I am an exclusive pumper, so every day I pump 6x (and clean the parts every time) and also have to sterilize bottles. It was getting to be a hassle setting up a pot of boiling water every time I wanted to clean pump parts and bottle nipples!! I saw these in the stores and was a little skeptical (also thought they seemed a little pricey) but decided to give them a shot. And I was so happy I did! A little water, two minutes in the microwave, and I have sparkling clean pump parts and bottles. A set of five bags gives you 100 times in the microwave. My son is three months old and I am still on the first set of bags that I bought! Looking back, I feel like I definitely got my money's worth. I would recommend this product for sure.

This product was great for the first two months. Wash off the parts and the bottles in the sink, toss them in the bag, sterilize, and put them on the drying rack for use. Easy as pie.

After a couple months though, this product becomes nearly useless. My 2oz preemie bottles, and 4oz newborn bottles fit perfectly in these bags with no problems, but the bag can't fit the standard 8oz bottle size that most babies will use. What good are sterilized bottle parts if you can't sterilize the bottle at the same time?!# I ended up sterilizing all the parts and throwing the bottles in the dishwasher, basically defeating the purpose of the bags.

A good alternative are the Munchkin bags. Munchkin bags are about half an inch to an inch longer and can fit at least two 8oz bottles and sometimes three bottles if you pack it just right, along with all the bottle parts for those bottles and even some extra pacifiers. Do yourself a favor and get the bigger and far more useful Munchkin bags for the same price, you will be able to continue to use those bags as your baby grows.

I nursed my now 4-year-old daughter for almost a year and pumped daily. I hated always having to boil the pump for 20 minutes, which was also tough on the pump's plastic parts, which would yellow until I replaced them. Now I am nursing my 3-month-old son. I was thrilled to find these micro-steam bags! I use them not only to sterilize the pump after each use, but also for bottles. (Though I pump daily, I only occasionally use bottles, so always boiled them, too - this is sooooooo much easier!) I am so glad they came out with this product - it just makes things a lot easier! And it's so inexpensive, too!

These bags are GREAT! My son had an extended NICU stay so I pump exclusively and have to be very careful with hygiene. With these I can quickly and easily sterilize my pump attachments, his bottles, his pacifiers or even a couple of his toys. All I do is add some water, microwave, drain and done. No boiling water, no timing, no accidentally melting things on the bottom of the pot, no hassle with complicated electronic sterilzers, and almost no storage space! Each bag is good for around 20 uses then you toss it out and get a new one, so a package of them lasts quite a while. Very handy when traveling too, since many hotels and gas stations have microwaves so you can sterilize what you need to on the go without trying to haul a bunch of junk around with you.

Hands down, a terrific time-saving useful item that WORKS! The hospital threw one in w/ the pump we purchased. It took a few days after being home to discover it in our goodie bag, and I wish we had on Day 1. Improved my whole day/night!! Beforehand, I'd stand at the sink, run the water till it got hot (thereby WASTING water), scrub everything by hand with a soapy towel, dry everything off - what a huge hassle that took 20 mins or more!! Why struggle with something like this when there are so many other things to figure out, especially as a new mom?

With these bags, just quickly rinse items to get the milk off, put your bottles, nipples, pump access. or whatever into the bag, dump in 2oz of water and nuke for 1-1/2 min or so (there is a chart on the bag to tell you how long for what wattage microwave - longest is 3 minutes). You CAN'T mess it up! Each bag is good for 20 uses, and there's even a checkbox area to mark each time you've used the bag to help you keep track. Though, I'm guilty of sometimes using one more than 20 times, so far no problems.

1. Takes A LOT less water to clean items, helps conserve.
2. Works quickly & better than washing by hand.
3. Useful for more than pump accessories - nipples, bottles, caps, etc.
4. Items tend to dry faster, air-dry within a minute or so.
5. Leaves you more time to do other things - (enjoy your baby)

These are CHEAP!! Give them a try - if you don't like them, no biggie - but you WILL!

[I would've loved to have gotten these as a shower or new baby gift!]

Which I don't think is a problem, but some people I've talked to and some reviews make it seem like you can just throw the dirty pump parts in and they come out clean. Steam doesn't clean, it just sterilizes. So you do have to first wash with soap and water (or Medela's Quick Clean wipes) and then these bags are very handy for sterilizing. I use these at work because I use two sets of pump parts several times a day and while I do wash them with soap and water, I don't do as good of a job as I would at home. By steam-sterilizing the parts once a day, I feel better at my sub-par washing and the bag folds up nicely in my pump bag to take along. A great product...though I'm a little curious as to what happens after 20 uses. Do they self destruct? Will they start leaching chemicals out? They're just a heavy duty plastic bag and don't seem like they'll fall apart that fast. I wish the manufacturer said WHY not to use them more than 20 times, as I'd be more likely to not just use one until it falls apart.
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Edited to say that seven months later, I am still using the same bag at work which is WELL past 20 uses (probably over 100 uses) and the original bag is still holding up fine. It has no leaks, still keeps steam inside while using, and is doing great! I don't know if I just got a really well-manufactured one, but I'd say you can definitely use these more than 20 uses.

These bags are great to quickly clean breast pump parts... but after having problems with one of my pump membranes (which has been from the beginning so I think it's a manufacturing issue) and breast shields that warped (which I swear happened the ONE time I put them in the dishwasher) I called Medela customer service and they told me not to use the bags every time to clean pump parts because that would add to the wear and tear of them, and to just wash parts in warm soapy water. So now I'm left wondering when to use these great bags... maybe once a week? Not sure...
I've also put bottle nipples in but find you really have to use a nipple brush on them first or else you just get caked on milk... and if I'm going to go to that trouble, I might as well just wash everything by hand.

We were given a few of these bags at the hospital to try and they are fantastic!!! So easy to use and everything dries really fast. All you have to do is wash the pumping/bottle parts in hot soapy water, rinse and put in bag, add 2oz water, seal bag and put in microwave for 2 mins, then put sterilized items out to dry.

Each bag can be used 20 times and there's space to mark off each use on the bag. You can fit a lot in each bag too. The only down side is the continued cost. We ended up buying an Avent Microwave Sterilizer to save money, but it's definitely not as good as these bags. Not sure why as I would have thought a sterilizer is a sterilizer, but for some reason the parts dry quicker using the Medela micro-steam bags. If we weren't trying to save money I would definitely use these over the Avent sterilizer.

Having purchased and used these bags, most of the negative reviews come from people not reading the directions and understanding the intended use of these bags. They are intended for sterilizing after washing (which removes milk or dirt, etc. itself). It's not for skipping washing. Always use at least 2oz water or what you put in there will melt. Know how much power you microwave puts out or you risk not sterilizing or melting what you put in there.

I love these bags. I was boiling water, which got wasteful really quickly. These are super easy to use, a basic, essential product for my family.

I'm mom to a 7 month old and returned to work when she was 2.5 months old, so I've been pumping 3 times a day at work for 4.5 months now and plan to continue pumping during my work day until she's a year old. She nurses when we're together, but it's still going to add up to a LOT of pumping sessions and cleaning of pump parts.

I have a Medela Freestyle pump and between sessions I use the Medela Quickclean Wipes - 24-pk on my pump parts to save time. At the end of the day when I get home I wash the pump parts with hot soapy water and then steam sanitize them in these wonderful bags. I switch to a new one after 15-20 uses when the plastic seems to start to get really brittle. I've also occasionally used the bags to sanitize pacifiers.

These bags are a good value for the money and are so quick and easy to use, I recommend them for every breastfeeding working mom.