It’s straightforward and capacious enough that our tester felt it was genuinely useful, and that she would gladly buy it again if it broke.

As well as its recommended six bottles, there’s also plenty of room around on the two tiers for breast pump parts, dummies and even small toys. If you’re using Tommee Tippee branded bottles too, each bottle has the correct water measure for the steriliser marked on it, which our tester found especially helpful at night or in a hurry. The teat tongs are included with the steriliser so that you can safely remove freshly sterilised items without touching them with your fingers and potentially contaminating them. You can remove the teats with the teat tongs and then use the screw ring to re-assemble with the bottle. The extra care is evident right from the beginning – an in-depth instruction manual includes pictures to help you through assembly and use, as well as descaling advice for different water compositions and instructions for safe disposal and recycling once you’re done with the product. Don’t overfill the machine with too many products as this reduces how efficiently the steriliser works and it may not sterilise properly.NOTE – It’s vitally important to regularly descale your steriliser to avoid operating issues and damage to the heat plate, which is in the base of the machine. If you don’t remove the lid after the cycle has finished, the contents will remain sterile for 24 hours, which is useful if you don’t need to feed again immediately. If you haven’t been using a water softener, cleaning chemicals or sterilisation solutions, then it sounds like there may be or has been an excessive amount of limescale build-up, which has damaged the heat plate. If you haven’t already descaled your machine, it’s still worth doing this, as once the limescale is clear, you can see the extent of the holes (we call this pitting). When the sterilising cycle is finished, either remove contents and use immediately or leave the lid closed and contents will remain sterile for up to 24 hours**Based on Tommee Tippee 260ml bottles Descaling your steriliser as regularly as is needed will keep the machine working as it should. We know it’s hard to find time with a newborn but we highly recommend that you descale your steriliser on a regular basis, this could mean that you need to descale every week if you live in a hard water area or if using more than once a day.

Once you’ve put the correct amount of water in the base, it’s simply a matter of putting on the lid and pressing the ‘play’ button – it could easily be done at night or one-handed with a baby on the hip. The cycle takes only five minutes – shorter than any other electric steriliser we tested, such as the Dr Brown's Deluxe Bottle Steriliser, and plenty of microwave ones too. There are two simple options for you to choose from. You could use a specially designed descaling product which is suitable for an electric steam steriliser or you could use cleaning or food grade white/clear vinegar (ideally not the stuff you use on your chips!). If you choose a specialist product, it should come with instructions; if you choose vinegar, here’s what to do: Our tester did note that the instructions advise descaling the steriliser once every 14 days, which she felt was more often than strictly required – though the hardness of your water and the limescale build-up on the heating plate during use will be the best guide there. This is likely to be a build-up of limescale that’s loosened from the base of your machine (we call it the heat plate).The wire to the plug is short, which does limit where the unit can be placed, but it also means that there are no trailing wires to trip over or for small fingers to pull on. It’s vitally important to regularly descale your steriliser to avoid operating issues and damage to the heat plate, which is in the base of the machine. De-scaling removes the limescale that can build up around the heat plate, just as it can inside a kettle. Descaling regularly helps your steriliser enjoy a long and happy life, with no bits fading before their time. The body of the steriliser is spacious enough for six bottles of most brands, which is more than competitors like the Nuby Natural Touch. It doesn’t, however, fit Dr Brown’s bottles which are taller than average.

The unit doesn’t seem to attract much dirt or dust and can easily be wiped down if it gets splashed. There are two simple options. You could use a specially designed descaling product which is suitable for an electric steam steriliser or you could use white vinegar (ideally not the stuff you use on your chips!). If you choose a specialist product, it should come with instructions; if you choose white vinegar, here’s what to do:It’s vitally important to regularly descale your steriliser to avoid operating issues and damage to the heat plate, which is in the bottom of the machine. Our tester, Maisie, noted that this electric steam steriliser would be safe to have in a kitchen with young children around as they’d be unlikely to burn themselves even if they touched the unit accidentally. After the cycle, Tommee Tippee recommend waiting five minutes before opening the steriliser. There are handles at the top of the lid for you to take it off the trays safely after the cycle. Just reassemble as normal, but wash your hands thoroughly first, or use the teat tongs provided if you have them. The idea is to keep the bottle as clean and sterile as possible. It doesn’t make any beeps when it starts or stops and isn’t noisy when in use – great for keeping sleeping babies undisturbed. Not the most budget-friendly electric steriliser we tested and a more expensive initial outlay than microwave or travel versions