My baby bottles are turning yellow!

You are going about your tasks when you catch sight of it.

A yellow baby bottle! Ew! Oh no.

You don’t have time to buy a new bottle. There is still so much to do. Your baby will need another feed soon, and all you have is a gross, yellow bottle.

So you take the yellow bottle and wash it as hard as you can. Sadly, your efforts are fruitless.

After tons of elbow grease, it’s still yellow.

You begrudgingly fill it up with milk, but you just can’t deal.

“I should have bought extra bottles!” you angrily think to yourself as you immediately order them.

In the future, you’ll know to have reserve bottles just in case. You realize you need to always expect the unexpected in parenting.

You carefully give your baby the yellow bottle, but they immediately notice your apprehension and turn away while holding it.

Your baby occasionally turns to you while protecting his/her bottle. Your little one understands what’s at stake: their bottle.

But they don’t understand your apprehension.

Your eyes are still on the yellow bottle. You know it’s not dirty because you just washed it, but the yellow is still unnerving.

Your baby lets go of the bottle once finished, and you quickly grab it. While doing so, you make a mental note to do something about this.

Once you put your baby down for a nap, you start your research on how to clean your yellow baby bottles. Welcome!

Don’t worry, baby bottles stain with time. More often than not, the passing of time is usually the cause of the yellow color.

There are some ways you can fix this:

White vinegar soaks to clean yellow bottles.

Soak the bottles in equal parts of vinegar and distilled or drinking water.

Leave them for as long as needed. This combination usually lasts an hour at most.

Afterward, handwash them with cold distilled water or drinking water.

This method works because white vinegar removes stains and odors that made the bottle turn yellow.

If you do not have time to hand wash them, you can place them in the dishwasher with a cup of white vinegar.

The vinegar will clean them like new and remove the yellow stain.

Use baking soda to wash the yellow baby bottles.

Baking soda in warm water works as a detergent with baby bottles, particularly if your baby loves juices.

Often juice is one of the leading culprits for stained bottles.

Soaking your baby’s bottles in warm water and baking soda solution overnight allows the deposits to come off.

This process is a deep-clean for your baby’s bottle. The cleaning works because of chemistry.

Juices are acidic. Adding baking soda, which is an alkali neutralizes the acid.

This neutralization causes it to become salt and fall off, ultimately removing the stains.

My baby bottle stinks too!

Milk can make your baby’s bottle stink.

To combat this, put one teaspoon of baking soda in a bottle filled with warm water.

This process will remove the sour milk smell from your baby’s bottles.

Reasons baby bottles turn yellow and stain:

Your baby’s bottles are little powerhouses working on a 24/7 basis.

The bottles have contained everything from milk, formula, juice, water, and more.

Therefore, the bottles belong in the dishwasher for cleaning. However, this results in staining and cloudiness.

While these stains do not affect the integrity of your baby bottles, they are unsightly, and resolving it ASAP is essential.

Ingredients can cause baby bottle staining.

Baby bottle stains turning yellow is simply a sign that your bottles have been in use for quite some time.

These stains may also be a result of the ingredients in your baby’s formula.

Perhaps it’s from the cleaning products you use on them that contain artificial coloring.

Water deposits and calcium buildup are a result of sterilizing.

The bottles could stain because of being in the dishwasher and/or simple daily use.

A yellow bottle isn’t a dirty bottle.

They are not dirty, even though they may look like it. The yellow bottles are a sign that you are caring for your baby, which is a good thing.

Next time you look at your bottles, and they are turning yellow but still intact, soak them in white vinegar and distilled water.

You may also try using baking soda and warm water to get them back to looking new.

Purchasing stain-resistant baby bottles

There are many great brands of baby bottles on the market today.

It is essential first to consider the material you prefer when purchasing baby bottles.

What material(s) are most baby bottles?

Regardless of design, baby bottles are from one of three materials: plastic, glass, or silicone.

Pros & cons of these materials

Each one of these has materials has its benefits and shortcomings.

It’s up to you to select the type that works best for your lifestyles, meets your baby’s needs and your preferences.

Plastic Baby Bottles

Plastic bottles are the most durable of the three. They don’t break when dropped, and your baby can quickly learn how to hold them.

They are also inexpensive, and now they are BPA free.

The disadvantage of plastic bottles is that they stain and scratch easily. You should replace your plastic baby bottles every few months.

Glass Baby Bottle vs. Plastic

When you hear glass, you might think of the kind that shatters into a million tiny pieces.

Glass baby bottles are from a different kind of glass, so that will not happen. The manufacturing process uses heat-and-shock resistant methods to ensure durability.

Additionally, glass baby bottles come with a silicone sleeve as an extra layer of protection.

They are slightly heavier than plastic bottles, and your baby will need supervision and support when feeding. The surveillance is to prevent them from throwing the glass across the room where it risks breaking or shattering.

The main advantage of baby glass bottles is that they do not stain.

Silicone Baby Bottles

Silicone bottles are the lightest of the three.

They are silky and smooth to the touch, which is very comforting for babies.

Due to their flexibility and overall ease of use, silicone baby bottles can be expensive.

So, are silicone baby bottles safe?

Silicone is a relatively new material.

Therefore, the research of its use and ability to protect against chemical leaching is still ongoing.

Conclusion

The most important thing to consider is your baby’s safety when purchasing bottles or cleaning them. The best and easiest bottles are also the most fragile: glass or stainless steel.

A glass or stainless steel bottle will offer you the peace of mind you need. You can rest assured there will be no chemicals leaching into your baby’s milk or food.

Cleaning these types of bottles is very easy. They will not stain or scratch.

However, you will want to keep an eye on your little one if you choose to use a glass or stainless steel baby bottle.

Make sure your baby doesn’t throw these bottles across the room. They are much more robust and may hurt someone or break something if your baby misbehaves while using it.