Who has time to wash the pump parts?

First off, let me tell yah that washing these pump parts is the most hated job of this lazy mommy! I don't know but i just find it too tedious! It's taking time away from my boy while at home. In the office, i don't have the luxury of time to wash them every..... single.... time!

But what's a mama gonna do? Someone's gotta do it so that someone might as well be me,  since i am too OC to let anyone else do this task!

This is why i'm trying to find ways to make washing pump parts in the office much easier.

First know that I don't wash the parts after every use.  My rationale for this is that breast milk stays good at room temp until  6 to 8 hours   according the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control. My own  bm shelf life is 4 hours, because of varied ambient temperature in my workplace.  Personally, if it's within the 4-hour interval, i reuse the parts.

(Disclaimer: If you have access to a fridge, play safe and keep the parts there until your next use.)

Having a refrigerator nearby would have been perfect, but our lactation station is not accessible to me. It's on our ground floor in the clinic, while my office is at the second floor.  I try to limit per pumping session up to 15 minutes. Going up and down the stairs every time is just a no-no for me. So i do my pumping business right on my own work station.

If you're still queasy about leaving the parts at room temp, bring a big cooler to store all parts - bottles, flanges, valves and connector. This can act as your mini ref so bring in a lot of ice packs, too.  Warning: This can be bulky and heavy to lug around!  I used to do bring in a big Lock and Lock cooler to store my pump parts, too! But i got lazy doing this, so when my baby turned one year old, i stopped doing this. Hence, my 4-hour rule.

When my 4 - hour rule is up, then i face the music and wash up.

Here' s my setup:

[caption id="attachment_2235" align="aligncenter" width="256"] Here are the items for my washing up ritual.[/caption]

• Clean water- i raid our office's drinking station for this!


• Lots of clean white cloth -  for drying and wiping


• Food grade container - should be big and deep enough to submerge the parts


• Chicco sanitizing liquid - This is available in most baby section of malls at P300 per 1 Liter. If this sterilizing liquid is not available, a very mild cleanser can do the job. I use Messy Bessy natural dish cleaner.


• Alcohol - to sanitize through out the washing procedure


• Tissue - to wipe any mess or spills

My cleaning procedure

• Mix 1 doze of the sterilizing liquid ( see label for instruction and dosage) with 1 liter of clean drinking water. Or add a few drops of dish washing liquid to the water.


• Dismantle the valves and flanges into separate parts to ensure all the breast milk trapped inside these parts are washed away.


• Submerge the pump parts to be washed for at least 1 hour.


• Rinse thoroughly with drinking water until any trace of soap or grease is gone.


• Never lay the parts on your keyboard or the sink, use the clean cloth as liner. Make sure your hands are clean before touching the parts.


• Air dry for a few minutes and wipe with a clean cloth.  Air drying would have been ideal but since time is of the essence here, use clean cloths to wipe the flanges, valves and bottles to try.

Bring extra parts to save cleaning time!

I bring at least 4 4oz bottles so i have fresh ones every pump.

It's actually a good idea to have spare flanges, valve and bottles so you won't need to wash these in the office. But pump parts are expensive.  Buying extra parts before the need to replace them will eat a large portion of our budget.

There! Just some tips from a lazy mommy like me.  Every second you save on pumping and cleaning  will  give you extra time to do more work in the office, right?

How about you, how do you wash your pump parts? It would be nice to hear some more time-saving tips!

Also worth reading:

• More tips for working and breastfeeding mommies 


• Office Pumping after on year


• How to serve breastmilk while you're not with baby. 

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