# When can I stop sterilising bottles? | Clever Mum

> NHS guidance says sterilise all feeding equipment until baby is 12 months old — formula milk is a bacteria-friendly environment, and infant immune systems are

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#  When can I stop sterilising bottles? 

    
 
Quick answer — When can I stop sterilising bottles? 

 
NHS guidance says sterilise all feeding equipment until baby is 12 months old — formula milk is a bacteria-friendly environment, and infant immune systems are still developing. Dummies and teethers just need hot soapy water once baby is mobile. After 12 months, thorough washing is enough.

   
## Why 12 months, when baby is eating off the floor by 8?

Fair question, and the answer is specific: milk. Formula (and expressed breast milk) is an ideal growth medium for bacteria in a way that solid food and toys aren't, and milk-feeding equipment has crevices — teats, valves, pump parts — where residue hides. The floor-licking your 9-month-old does is a different (lower) risk category than bacteria multiplying in milk residue at room temperature.

## What needs sterilising, and what doesn't

* **Until 12 months:** bottles, teats, and pump parts — everything milk touches — after every use, washed first (sterilising doesn't clean).
* **Weaning bowls and spoons:** hot soapy water or the dishwasher is fine from the start of weaning.
* **Dummies:** sterilise in the early months; hot soapy water is reasonable once baby is mobile and sturdier.

## After the first birthday

Thorough washing in hot soapy water or a dishwasher is enough. Keep the steriliser through any winter illness though — it's useful for a quick reset after a vomiting bug works through the house. Our [steriliser guide](/best/best-sterilisers-bottle-prep-uk) compares steam, cold-water and prep machines.

  
 **Go deeper:**  [Best sterilisers](/best/best-sterilisers-bottle-prep-uk/) 

    
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