On trial: Tommee Tippee Ultra UV 3-in-1 Electric Steriliser and Dryer

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: the list of things you need when you have a baby can be overwhelming. While you don’t ‘need’ 90% of the products that will be recommended by well-meaning friends, you absolutely do need a steriliser.

The NHS recommends sterilising all feeding equipment each time you use it for at least the first year of your baby’s life. A whole year. Whether you’re planning to go breast or bottle, a decent steriliser is a solid investment.

Tommee Tippee is one of our favourite baby brands, so we thought we’d put their all-singing, all-dancing Ultra UV 3-in-1 Electric Steriliser and Dryer to the test.

The Tommee Tippee Ultra UV 3-in-1 Electric Steriliser and Dryer is a fuss-free way to sterilise, dry and store your baby’s bottles in a sterile environment. If you’re using clear bottles, a full cycle takes 35 minutes, and if you’re using coloured bottles you can select a 60-minute cycle. Using no water, no steam and with no noise you’ll soon have six clean, sterilised baby bottles ready to go.

There are four different functions so you can dry, sterilise, or dry and sterilise in one, as well as hygienically storing your baby bottles.

The Tommee Tippee Ultra UV 3-in-1 Electric Steriliser uses ultraviolet light to kill 99.9% of micro-organisms, making it a super effective way to disinfect against harmful bacteria, mould, viruses (tested against Influenza H1N1 to EN 16777 standard) and other germs without the use of chemicals.

UV light is often used to sterilise equipment in hospitals, dentists and doctor’s surgeries – so you know you can trust it to work. The inside of the steriliser is full of reflective surfaces to help the UV light bounce around and ensure all areas of your baby bottles and other feeding accessories are fully sterilised.

You can sterilise and dry up to six bottles in 60 minutes or choose the 30-minute dry-only mode if your bottle is already sterile. In storage mode the steriliser emits five minutes of UV light and five minutes of drying every two hours to ensure that everything inside stays sterile. You can even open the door and remove items then select the storage programme again.

The long-lasting, energy-efficient Philips UV bulb lasts up to 6,000 hours, which should see you through the first year.

There are two huge things I love about this steriliser: one is the fact it’s silent and the other is that it acts as a really slick-looking storage unit. Our kitchen is tiny and while this takes up a hefty bit of worktop space, I can stash all the bottles, teats and breast pump accessories out of the way so everywhere looks much neater than I should be given credit for.

It’s brilliant that it’s big enough to take six bottles. This means during the day you can give them a wash and then when your baby is finally down for the night you can sterilise everything in one go. I’ve used other sterilisers that are smaller and you end up having them on all day and then never remembering which bottles you’ve already sterilised. It’s just one less thing for a tired parent to have to think about, which in my eyes is a big win.

Thanks to the adjustable shelves, the steriliser is suitable for any baby bottles, so you’re not limited to Tommee Tippee bottles if your baby has developed an affection for another brand.

There’s a replaceable and washable filter to keep dust, pollen and dirt particles out of the air that’s used to dry your bottles and feeding accessories. You also get a spare filter included.

At £149.99 the Tommee Tippee Ultra UV 3-in-1 Electric Steriliser is a similar price to many other sterilisers but has so much more going for it thanks to the silence, storage and ability to sterilise six bottles in one go. You also don’t have to faff around with descaling or cleaning like you do with a lot of other sterilisers.

It makes life so much easier if you’re using dummies too because you can pop them in throughout the day and know the storage function will clean them thoroughly. Speaking of which, a handy tip is that the UV light is also perfect for quickly charging Tommee Tippee glow-in-the-dark dummies. In short, I’d 100% recommend this with a glowing (in the dark) five stars. ★★★★★