How many sippy cups do you have to use to feed your baby? Many parents have several, and at times you may not have enough time to clean them as they should. Although sippy cups are convenient in helping to prevent spills. The many designs that they are made in today, can make it difficult to clean it thoroughly. As a result, you will create a perfect environment for mold to dwell in as there is moisture, food, and warmth present. Hence if you do not clean it thoroughly, you will risk your child ingesting it, and it will affect their health. Although mold in a sippy cup does not require a mold inspection company https://awamoldinspections.com/ to come to remove it. It is important to know how to keep it out of the sippy cups. As you read on, you will find some tips to keep your child’s sippy cups clean and mold-free. You can also check out SellFormula.com for more tips on feeding your baby.
- Rinse sippy cup after use
Sippy cups could be solving one problem but still creating another. Since the sippy cup has hard-to-reach corners due to the small parts it has, it easily traps food particles. In this way, mold will grow easily. So, once your child is done with drinking their milk or juice, you must rinse the sippy cup immediately after use. This will help to remove particles of what the child was having, leaving less food residue for mold spores to feed on and grow. Do this even though you do not plan to wash the child’s cup immediately.
- Disassemble sippy cup completely
According to the design of the sippy cups, it is easy to disassemble every part with ease. Do this when you are ready to clean the cup to ensure that you have accessibility to all the parts of the cup. This is vital as milk, juice, and food particles are hiding in the tight spaces, and here is where you can easily find mold. Through this, you can clean it thoroughly in various parts. In case the sippy cups you have has a straw that pops up, remove it as well for cleaning. Remove the rubber stopper that is inside the lid that helps to prevent leaks and clean it as well. Through this, you will have a clean sippy cup.
- Soak in hot water and soap
Some of the places of a sippy cup that you can find mold are the valve, spout, and straw. This is because they are areas that are a challenge to clean thoroughly. Therefore, with this tip, as hot water and soap kill mold. It will be an effective way to clean and keep your kid’s sippy cup mold-free. So, choose a bucket that you will use strictly for your child’s sippy cups, where you will put them all and other accessories you have for your child’s feeding. Allow them to soak for 15 minutes in hot soapy water, to help soften stubborn or dried on gunk, and then you can clean it easily. Optionally, you can dissolve denture tablets in the water before you soak the cups as it helps remove the stubborn gunk’s in the cup as well.
- Clean the sippy cups
Although you can disassemble and soak your sippy cup in soapy water. The actual cleaning is not yet done by doing these tips. To clean your sippy cups, use a bottle brush for the inside of the sippy cups instead of using a sponge as they are known to harbor bacteria. To clean the straw of the cup, use a straw brush, and if it has a spout, a nipple brush will clean effectively as it can get in the small spaces. Check the valve and stopper to see if it has any visible mold and clean it as well with a nipple brush. Access the inside of the closed spout by pinching the plastic together, and you will gain access easily. Finally, wash the sippy cup lid and inspect all the crevices to ensure no mold or food particles are remaining.
- Sanitize the sippy cups
Although this is an optional tip, you can decide to do this occasionally to give you peace of mind. There are options you can consider just like those you use while sanitizing your baby bottles. For instance, you can sanitize with bleach by soaking your sippy cups in a mix of 2 teaspoons of bleach that has a gallon of water for a few minutes then drip dry. Also, you can boil your cups by placing the sippy cups in boiling water and allowing it to boil for few minutes. Additionally, if you have a steam sterilizer, you can use it as the high temperatures that they emit as it helps kill mold spores and bacteria.
- Thoroughly dry cups
Before you put away the sippy cups or as you reassemble them ensure they have no moisture left. This is important as moisture is one of the core components of mold growth. So, when you put them away before they dry, the moisture is trapped in the small spaces of the cup and it attracts mold growth. Hence, allow you sippy cups to sit in the drying rack and avoid drying using a towel as these fabrics can harbor bacteria. Nonetheless, when your cups are dry and they continue to have a stain even with a thorough washing, just toss that sippy cup in the trash. Also, consider switching to new sippy cups every three months to prevent mold growth.
To sum up, with the above tips, it is possible to keep your child safe from mold that hides in the sippy cup. Practice these tips to ensure that you fight with the mold spores that can grow in the hard to reach areas. Also, with the mold spores that are around the home that are out of your control, since they are always present in the air. So, care for your little one’s sippy cups by cleaning it well to avoid them ingesting mold.
I’m a 20-something stay-at-home mother and wife. I have an amazing husband, a beautiful daughter, two loving dogs, and a lazy cat. I wouldn’t change my life for anything! I love to read, listen to music, cook and blog!
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