Germs are undeniably the causes of sickness in babies. Baby feeding items and tableware are known culprits of harboring the disease-causing organisms. The germs’ existence is inevitable. However, finding ways to avoid or get rid of them can be a relief. Therefore, it is essential to consider the products you use and their efficiency in carefully cleaning the baby items. Using dish soaps made explicitly for baby items saves you the trouble of retaining harmful residues on the baby’s bottle. In this article, we’ll walk you through the Best baby dish soap and what you need to know before purchasing one.
1. Do we Have to use Baby Dish Soap?
As a newbie in the baby’s soap world, using a regular detergent to clean baby items may sound like a good and somewhat normal idea. Unfortunately, this is not the case with babies.
A baby dish soap carries along with its advantages linked to three major things. They include eliminating scents or tastes in a baby feeding item, efficiently cleaning breastmilk, and as always, getting rid of germs. A block of non-specified dish soap has such advantages stripped off them and may not effectively work.
Nonetheless, when using a baby dish soap, there are certain conditions you ought to consider. We’ll discuss that in a bit.
2. The Conditions That the Best Baby Dish Soap Should Have
What guarantees a safe and desirable baby dish soap?
It may not be easy for a parent to settle for a product, especially with an influx in the market. Each product swears by the ingredients while throwing about reviews from satisfied customers.
Unfortunately, some have ingredients that are unsafe for your babies. When navigating through stores and browsing the web, be keen on the following requirements.
Can clean grease
When we talk of oil, we mean the greasy nature of breastmilk. Without a doubt, a regular detergent can’t easily scrape off the thickly layered fat. Therefore, we can use specific baby dish soap. It not only removes all residues but also eliminates unpleasant odors.
Antibacterial
Antibacterial agents are unnecessary in dish soap. For one, they can stick as residues on not well-rinsed baby items and cause health problems. Such problems include causing an imbalance in a baby’s microbiome. Then, most are carcinogenic and disrupts hormones.
The FDA highly discourages antibacterial soaps in babies. Their argument, they haven’t approved the antibacterials’ efficiency.
Ingredients to avoid
Some baby dish soaps contain dangerous ingredients that may affect your baby when used in the long term. For example;
Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLS) and sodium lauryl sulfate may cause respiratory, endocrine, reproductive, and digestive problems to your baby. Further progression can sadly lead to cancer.
Parabens, e.g., methyl parabens and propyl parabens, interfere with the normal endocrine function and, in higher concentrations, can lead to toxic levels in systems.
Please pay attention to the fragrance
- Who doesn’t love a pleasant scent? Aroma contributes to the appalment of a product. However, some artificial fragrance contains chemicals which may be hazardous to your baby.
For instance, one of the chemicals known as phthalates may disrupt their hormones. Besides that, other chemicals may become allergens and irritate the skin.
(general requirements for safe dish soap)
3. Can the Dishwasher Clean Baby Tableware?
Washing a baby’s tableware in a dishwasher is acceptable, just that you’ll need to take extra caution when doing the cleaning. Have it in mind that the higher temperatures may leak out chemicals from plastic bottles. For this reason, you shouldn’t keep the items in the dishwasher for a more extended period.
Even so, washing by hand is the surest means to keep your baby safe, and it ensures that no part of the bottle is left untouched. It, therefore, calls for a regular and exhaustive cleaning that is before and after every feed.
4. The Correct Way to Clean the Baby Bottle
The baby bottle has different parts: the bottle itself, a nipple, caps, or rings, with some valve. Therefore, it is essential to give special care to each piece to wash out all germs.
This cleaning method mainly requires your hands. It involves;
Washing your hands;
First and foremost, when handling your baby’s feeding bottle, ensure you have thoroughly cleaned your hands. Do this for half an hour with delicate soap and water.
Clean the working area;
If you’re using a sink, ensure it’s free from other dishes and clean. Clean the surface in which you’ll place your towel while letting the baby items air-dry.
Secondly, dismantle the bottle;
carefully pull into bits the bottle’s parts: the ring, nipple, and sometimes the valve.
The first rinse;
Thirdly, use warm or cold water (as per your preference) and rinse the parts under running tap water. After which, you place them in a clean basin. Basins are preferable compared to a direct placement on the sink since the sink might harbor harmful germs.
Do the washing;
The core step to this procedure involves the introduction of our dish soaps. First, add hot water into your basin, then generously add the soap. Then, gently scrub the bottle and its parts using a recommended brush. Lastly, squeeze some soapy water through the nipple hole to ensure it’s also clean.
Second rinse;
Similar to the first rinse, do rinse the washed items under running water. Afterward, place them on a different clean basin.
Leave to dry;
Spread a paper or towel in a dust-free zone, place the bottle and parts on it. Using the towel directly can transfer unwanted organisms. Let it dry thoroughly. Voila! You’re now free to feed your baby with a squeaky-clean bottle.
Finish up on the basin and brush;
Finally, wash and rinse the water basin and brush. Proceed to store it correctly for the next use.
Finish up on the basin and brush
Finally, wash and rinse the water basin and brush and store them properly for the next use.
(washing baby bottle)
5. Do Baby Bottles Need to Be Disinfected After Cleaning?
It’s not unusual to find parents disinfecting/sterilizing/sanitizing baby bottles after cleaning. The aim of doing this is to eliminate germs that may still exist on the bottle after a wash. Undeniably, adding this to your wash time routine isn’t a bad idea. Nevertheless, it may not be necessary. Often, a baby dish soap entirely removes the germs to an extent where disinfection doesn’t apply.
Despite that, certain conditions will force you to sterilize the baby items regularly. They include a doctor’s recommendations for health purposes. Under such a circumstance, you will need to follow the instructions to the letter.
As an elaboration, one year and below, babies are prone to diarrhea and vomiting. Inevitably, sterilization may reduce the chances of such an occurrence.
The steam method is quite simple and my easiest way so far. It includes;
- We are placing dismantled parts of a feeding bottle in a microwave or steam system.
- I am reading through the manufacturer’s instructions for the steps in sanitizing. Later, cooling and finally drying the baby items.
(a sterilizing method)
6. The Best Baby Dish Soap Selected for you
Getting the best dish soap for your baby holds a mighty weight with it. Luckily, our team has compiled 8 of our topmost options when it comes to baby dish soap. Most if not all of them meet the criteria recommended for the soaps.
1. ATTITUDE Baby Dish Soap
Attitude baby dish soap is a bar of eco-friendly dish soap. It is currently gaining popularity in the United States and beyond. Even better, its ingredients are all-natural, a condition that has earned it certification from PETA and ECOLOGO. Moreover, it has an A grading on EWG’s Guide to Healthy Cleaning.
An additional improvement on the bottle is the dispenser pump.
Advantages
- It is free from fragrance and is hypoallergenic.
- Sodium Laureth sulfate-free. This compound has a carcinogenic chemical that may cause cancer in babies. Furthermore, harmful preservatives, such as parabens and benzene alcohol, are absent.
- It has saponin that acts to get rid of grease, odors, and bacteria.
Disadvantages
- They produce less foam.
- You can’t use it in an automatic dishwasher.
- It lacks a hand pump, which helps you sparingly use the product.
- Low delivery services in terms of damaged bottles taken to customers
2. Babyganics Dish Dazzler
Babyganics Dish Dazzler is an all-natural dish soap with ingredients being plant-based. Additionally, it is fragrance-free, and we use it to wash baby bottles and sippy cups. Most importantly, it contains zero parabens and sulfate.
Advantages
- It leaves no residue on baby items after a wash.
- Cost-effective since you’ll only need a little of the product for cleaning.
- Dermatologists have tested the soap to ensure it’s safe for use.
- It comes in different sizes and scents as per your desire.
Disadvantages
- There are cases of leaky bottles due to insufficient packaging. At most, the accidents occur during delivery.
- It takes longer to rinse due to much foam.
- Sticky pump.
- Less hypoallergenic.
3. Dapple Baby Bottle and Dish Soap
As the name suggests, Dapple Baby Bottle and Dish Soap are limited to washing baby bottles. It comes with different scents, e.g., mango-lemon and apple pear, alongside being plant-based. Babies with irritation to fragrance need not worry because this brand also offers a fragrance-free product.
You can use dapple to clean baby bottles, breast pump components, and pacifiers. The band packs up the product with a pump to enable you to use it sparingly when needed.
Advantages
- Can eliminate over 50% milk residue.
- Cost-effective due to the re-filling packs.
- It eradicates all odors coming from the baby feeding items.
- Free from SLS and paraben.
- It has no artificially added chemicals which may irritate the baby.
Disadvantages
- Less concentrated. In the long run, you use up a lot of the product in a single wash.
- It does not produce much foam when cleaning the baby items.
- It has a small packaging size, which doesn’t favor buyers who prefer larger sizes.
4. Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day Liquid Dish Soap
Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day Liquid Dish Soap is also a natural and plant-based product with a specific lemon scent. Its manufacture ensures softness on skin and hands hence preventing cracks and a dry hand.
Advantages
- They constitute up to 97% natural ingredients.
- It removes grease (the function of Soap Bark Extract ingredient) and any form of residue on a baby’s bottle.
- Scientists and dermatologists do not test the products on animals.
- They are biodegradable.
Disadvantages
- The natural citrus scent may be a turn off to babies.
- Prolonged usage may cause the hand to dry out.
- The citrus taste can sometimes linger on the baby bottles or dishes.
5. Elysium Eco World Baby Bottle Soap
Elysium Eco World Baby Bottle Soap is an eco-friendly organic dish soap with exclusive herbal formula. It’s expensive but worth every penny you spend since it never leaves a residue after the baby bottle cleaning.
Advantages
- Perfectly cleans dirty bottles.
- It contains all-natural products, thereby favoring babies with allergic reactions.
Disadvantages
- The peppermint scent puts off easily irritated babies.
- Very expensive.
6. Seventh Generation Dish Liquid Soap
Seventh Generation Dish Liquid Soap is a plant-based and eco-friendly baby dish soap. It has certifications from EPA and USDA- a guarantee of a safe product. You can use it to remove milk films in baby bottles and breast pump items and wash other typical dishes.
Advantages
- Non-toxic. It lacks toxic substances like phosphates and triclosan.
- Fragrance-free.
- Not harsh on the skin due to the hypoallergenic formula.
- Recyclable bottle.
Disadvantages
- Frequent use of the dish soap dries out the hands.
- Ingredients include SLS and methylisothiazolinone that can be harmful, mostly when manufacturers don’t make them from plants. If uncomfortable, limit the use or switch to a bar of new dish soap.
7. Dr. Bronner’s- Pure Castile Liquid Soap
Dr. Bronner’s Pure Castile Liquid Soap is versatile in that you can use it to perform a lot of duties other than washing a baby’s bottle or other feeding items. It has an A rating from EWG, with fewer concerns majoring in irritation brought about by vitamin E.
Advantages
- Fragrance-free.
- It uses plant-based ingredients that are also organic.
- Due to its nature, it lathers quickly.
- Lacks additional synthetic detergents or dyes that may cause harm.
- It is easy to recycle the packaging bottle.
Disadvantages
- It contains allergens like coconut and corn that may not favor allergic babies.
- It should be diluted by hand, a process which can be tedious to some parents.
8. Better Life Natural Dish Soap
Better Life Natural Dish Soap is all-natural, hypoallergenic dish soap with a biodegradable ability. Furthermore, its ingredients contribute hugely to their natural scent.
Advantages
- It does not irritate when using with bare hands. It’s due to the presence of the Aloe Vera and tocopherol.
- Fragrance-free.
- Toxic ingredients are absent such as parabens, sulfates, and triclosan.
- It is biodegradable.
- Cruelty-free, meaning dermatologists haven’t tested it on animals.
Disadvantages
- Changes color after long storage followed by an unpleasant odor
- So, Being a vegan cleanser, it doesn’t produce foam as other artificial soaps do. They lack the ingredient that makes normal washing soap lather.
Summary
In a word, babies are generally handful when it comes to their care. A lot is put into consideration when handling their feeding items. Thus, dirty tableware or feeding bottles can negatively impact their health since their bodies are susceptible to infections. Most if not all the time, an unhealthy gut often results in a weakened immune system and digestive problems.
Therefore, it is every parent’s responsibility to ensure that they minimize such damages and, at best, eradicate them by using correctly specified baby dish soaps.
All in all, seeing a baby thrive is the joy of every parent as well as ours. While taking one day at a time, we’ll be there with and for you every step of the way for a better future for the little ones.