Does the dishwasher sterilise baby bottles?

What does NHS say, in one sentence?

A dishwasher cleans. It does not sterilise. That line sits on both NHS sterilising pages: you can put feeding equipment through the dishwasher if you prefer; putting it through will clean it but it does not sterilise it. Best Start in Life repeats it next to the bottle-brush wash: a dishwasher will clean bottle-feeding equipment but will not sterilise it.

NCT asks the same question and gives the same answer: washing in a dishwasher may clean bottles and teats; they still need sterilising afterwards. Face bottles and teats down so water does not sit in them. You may still prefer to wash teats by hand so you can see they are clean (NHS).

Start4Life / Change4Life bottle-feeding guide (NHS-branded PDF): dishwashers will clean but will not sterilise, because the temperatures reached are not high enough. You need both a clean and a sterilise.

What about a 'hygiene' or 'baby protect' cycle?

Which? (16 January 2026) notes that some dishwashers sell a high-heat programme for baby items, often called Hygiene or Baby Protect: an intensive wash plus a hotter rinse, in some machines a short burst up to 70°C. Makers sometimes talk as if that leaves dishes sterile. Which? says not to rely on the dishwasher for sterilising items for very young babies, and to use another method.

Applied Microbiology International, briefing Made for Mums, draws the same line: dishwashers typically run around 65.5–70°C, with some rinses higher, which can sanitise (cut numbers) but is not sterilisation. AMI microbiologists point at boiling at 100°C for at least 10 minutes — the NHS boil — as the heat standard those cycles do not meet.

So a hygiene badge on the dial does not move the dishwasher onto the NHS method list. The list is still boiling, steam, or cold-water solution.

What do I do after the dishwasher cycle?

1. 1
   Check the maker allows the dishwasher Which?: look for a dishwasher-safe mark. AMI notes many bottles and teats are only rated to about 65°C — a hotter programme can warp them even while it still fails to sterilise.
2. 2
   Take the bottle apart and knock milk off first AMI: separate parts and use a bottle brush on milk film before the rack. NHS wants kit clean before any sterilising method. Dried milk in a teat hole is a wash fail, not a cycle fail.
3. 3
   Load face down, teats where you can see them NHS: bottles, lids and teats facing downwards. NCT repeats that so water does not collect. Keep them off a load of oily or brightly stained pans if you can (AMI).
4. 4
   Then run a listed sterilising method Boil at least 10 minutes fully under the water; or steam (electric or microwave) with openings down; or cold-water solution at least 30 minutes, new mix every 24 hours, no trapped air. See electric steriliser or boil.
5. 5
   Keep this up until 12 months NHS and NCT: sterilise bottles and teats until the baby is at least 12 months old. The dishwasher does not shorten that clock.

How is cleaning different from sterilising on the official list?

Does the same rule apply to bowls and spoons?

This slug is about bottles. AMI, citing NHS age rules, says bottle-feeding equipment still needs a sterilise after the dishwasher until 12 months. Weaning bowls and spoons are a different NHS conversation once the baby is around 6 months. Do not take a weaning exception and apply it to a newborn teat.

In shortDishwasher = wash. NHS is one sentence on that. After the cycle, boil, steam or use cold-water solution. A hygiene programme does not join that list. Keep sterilising bottles until at least 12 months.