WOT?
Somebody gave us a bottle brush and I really don’t know much about them. Are they all the same? Besides, I have a dishwasher. Do I really need one?
SUMMARY
Yes, you will need one. Bottle brushes are not all the same. A bottle brush is one of the many tools that you will use on a regular basis. The hardware store carries 27 different types of hammers. If there wasn’t some difference, they won’t make so many, right? The same goes for bottle brushes.
WHY?
When buying a bottle brush, don’t settle for good. Get the best one you can find. Even if you have a dishwasher, you will be washing bottles a lot. A whole lot. Sometimes the dishwasher won’t get run or it’s full and everything doesn’t fit. Whatever the case may be, you’re sleep deprived and the last thing you’re going to want when you’re falling over on your face is a mediocre bottle brush.
When our kids were babies, we used the Born Free Twister Bottle Brush Set which includes both a bottle and nipple brush. The bend in the stem allows the handle to act as a crank. Stick it in the bottle and start cranking. For large bottles, a straight bush doesn’t cut it. Cranking is the way to go.
The nipple brush is required to get the inside nipple to clean it. Without it, the nipple is practically impossible to clean.
A straight brush is also necessary equipment. We got the Skip Hop Splash and loved the brush a lot. It was great at cleaning small Medela bottles, caps, pump parts and the other odd sized bottle pieces you’ll have in your kitchen. The straight brush also comes with a round drying rack which we used far more than we ever thought and it sat for years on our counter. We never needed to replace the drying rack, however we went through a few of the Skip Hop brushes. The bristles are connected to a twisted wire, similar to the twist in a wire hanger. Over time, the metal fatigues, starts to bend a little and eventually snap. We probably went through 3-4 brushes over the course of 4 years. It’s a great brush though and totally worth it.
I would highly suggest buying a spare brush set. The last thing you’ll want is for the baby to be crying, you’re frantically washing a bottle and then something happens to the bottle brush. Keeping an extra stored away ensures that you always will have one handy.