Dr. Brown’s Bottle Brush Review
We like
- Thoroughly cleans almost all types of baby bottles
- The grip handle allows you to clean well without dropping the brush into a dirty sink
- The chevron channels allow for you to effectively clean the nipple of your baby’s bottle
- The head has both a sponge and bristles for a well-rounded clean
- Comes with a base for easy storage away from the sink
- Easy to clean and maintain
We don’t like
- The brushes have a short life span
- The base can collect water and soap that may cause germs
How it works
Dr. Brown’s has created a bottle brush that has all that a bottle brush should have. It has a sponge that is already folded to get to the hard to reach areas of your baby’s bottle. It has bristles that scrub the sides of the bottle to get off excess milk or formula, and it has a grip handle to prevent the brush from slipping or dropping out of your hands into the sink. The extra amenity that comes with the Dr. Brown’s Bottle Brush is the chevron channels that help you clean out the bottle’s nipple. The brush is easy to store and clean; however, the brush is compatible with Dr. Brown’s Natural Flow Baby Bottles, but that should not be a deterrent from buying the brush because it can effectively clean any bottle in its own way.
Design
Dr. Brown’s Bottle Brush has a very unique design that gives parents who need to wash a lot of bottles all the tools they need to get a clean bottle with just one brush. The brush comes in its own individual packaging. Once opened it is recommended that you clean the brush before using it to clean anything that your baby would put in their mouth. The brush comes with several features that make cleaning a baby bottle super easy and extremely fast. Because babies eat so much there will be the need to wash several bottles over the course of a very short period of time, so the brush’s features make cleaning a no hassle chore. The head of the brush is a sponge that leads to bristles. The handle has a grip that prevents slipping and the bottom of the brush handle is a tool for keeping the nipple of the bottle clean. The brush sits in a base that is suction cupped to your counter area to keep the brush safe and away from sink germs. With all of this together the design is sleek and useful and you can find a color that matches your kitchen so that it blends in nicely with your home.
The Sponge
The brush is designed to make cleaning a Dr. Brown’s Natural Flow Baby Bottle easy and fast. The head of the brush is a folded sponge. Whenever anyone needs to clean a bottle, they usually fold a sponge in half to push the sponge down into the bottom of the bottle to get all the hard to reach areas and corners of the bottle where formula and milk can settle and begin to cake. Dr. Brown’s puts that folded sponge on the end of a handle so that you can keep your hands dry and out of the baby’s bottle and still be able to clean the bottle effectively. The sponge is soft, which prevents scratching the insides of the bottle as you push with some force to clean the bottom. The bottle will come clean without anything abrasive marking up the inside of the bottle.
The Bristles
The next area of the brush underneath the sponge is an area of soft bristles that clean the top of the bottle while the sponge is cleaning the bottom of the bottle. The bristles will wipe and clean away anything that has settled on the sides of the bottle. The bristles are not that hard and will gently rub away leftover formula or milk and leave your baby’s bottle clean for the next feeding. The bristles will eventually start to bend and get worn down, but until the brush needs to be fully replaced, the bristles will still be able to clean the bottle well. Some parents would rather the bristles be on the bottom to get into the corners of the bottle, but the sponge works just as well in that area.
The Chevron Channels
The most unique feature of the Dr. Brown’s Bottle Brush is the chevron channels that are located on the bottom of the brush. The tip of the handle of the brush fits perfectly in the nipple of a Dr. Brown’s Natural Flow bottle. The channels allow for the soap to get into the nipple and the channels allow for easy and full cleaning of the nipple of the bottle. With just a few twists of the handle, you can have a full cleaned nipple and then a fully cleaned bottle.
The Handle
Holding the Dr. Brown’s Bottle Brush is quite easy as the handle has a grip on it that allows you to use some force to clean the bottle without the risk of dropping the brush. Even if your hand gets wet or some water and soap starts to dribble down the handle, you will still be able to maintain a tight grip on the brush. In the event that you drop the brush into the sink, the brush may land in dirty dishes or in a dirty sink and that would require you to have to clean the brush before you can proceed with cleaning the bottles. The grip on the handle keeps the brush in your hand and helps you to save time while cleaning your baby’s bottles.
The Base
The Dr. Brown’s Bottle Brush comes with its own base so that you can store the bottle brush out of the way of other dirty dishes, dish brushes, and the sink. The base that the brush stands in is connected to a large suction cup. Gently wet the suction cup and then stick it near the sink area where the brush can live. Once mounted in its base the brush cannot get lost or mixed in with other brushes that may cross-contaminate the brush and pass those germs or other bacteria into your baby’s bottle.
Cleaning the Brush
Cleaning the Dr. Brown’s Bottle Brush is super easy because the brush is already covered in soap. All you have to do is rinse the brush clean after using it to clean your baby’s bottle then add a little more soap and use your hand to gently clean off the bristles and the sponge. It is recommended that you do this every time you use the brush to guarantee that the brush will always be clean when you go to use it. Any leftover soap or residue that stays on the brush may breed bacteria or house germs, so always clean and rinse the brush after each use and keep it on its base so that it is away from anything else that may contaminate the brush. Dr. Brown’s Bottle Brush is also dishwasher safe and can be washed in the dishwasher on the top rack.
Cleaning the Base
One of the major complaints that many parents have expressed about the Dr. Brown’s Bottle Brush is that the base gets very dirty due to the dripping of the brush. When you are done cleaning the brush, you may want to dry the brush before putting it back on its base. Many parents have found that when the brush is still wet the excess soap or water that is left on the brush runs down the handle of the brush and into the base. Since the base is small, many parents do not necessarily keep an eye on it. What happens is that the water begins to collect inside of the base. After several days, the water may begin to breed mold or collect dirt. Not only does that compromise the cleanliness of the brush, but the part of the brush that rests in the base is the chevron channels that you use to clean the inside of the bottle’s nipple, which of course is the part that goes in your child’s mouth. If mold or dirt or stagnant water is surrounding the channels then whatever is living in the base is going to go on the nipple and into your child’s mouth. In order to prevent that from happening, make it part of your routine to check the inside of the base. If it’s dirty, clean it immediately. Some parents have taken the base and turned it upside down to get out the excess water and used a paper towel to dry the inside of the base. It may also be to your benefit to dry the brush before putting it back in the base.
Brush Lifespan
It should be noted that you will be replacing Dr. Brown’s Bottle Brush quite often. In the beginning, your child is going to eat several times a day, which means several bottles are going to need to be cleaned. When that happens, the brush is going to be used all the time. Like any sponge or household bottle brush, the bristles are going to bend and fall out and the sponge is going to get grimy and start to fall apart. With that, you are going to need to replace the brush often. What you can do is buy a three pack of the brush so that you always have another brush on hand when you need to replace it. Many parents have chosen this method and it has worked well especially since the brush is compatible with only one type of bottle, so the brush is the best method to keep your bottle clean.
Use With Other Bottles
Although Dr. Brown’s Bottle Brush is designed to be compatible with the Dr. Brown’s Natural Flow Baby Bottle, the brush can easily be used with other bottles. The chevron channels, which is the most sought after amenity for the brush, may not work on other nipples because the end of the brush was made specifically for the Dr. Brown’s Natural Flow Baby Bottle. The bristles and the sponge will work in other bottles and those bottles will come clean just as well as if you were using a Dr. Brown’s Natural Flow Bottle. No matter what bottle you are using, always remember to keep the bottle brush clean and dry and stored away from anything that may get it dirty or give it any germs.
Price
Dr. Brown’s Bottle Brush is very inexpensive. Most bottle brushes cost close to nothing and can be found in any convenience store, and Dr. Brown’s runs about the same price yet you get so much more out of the brush because it is designed specifically for baby bottles. With the sponge and bristle combo along with the chevron channels for cleaning the nipple, you get a lot for your money with the Dr. Brown’s Bottle Brush. The brush also comes in a three pack so that you can always have a lot of brushes on hand to clean or you can individually buy a bunch of the brushes and always have them under your sink or in any place you store your items.
Conclusion
Dr. Brown’s Bottle Brush is a good tool to have when it comes to keeping your baby’s bottles clean and free of germs and bacteria. Baby’s eat so many times a day that having their bottles clean and sanitized is essential and important. The brush has the chevron channels feature that helps keep the nipple clean, which is the most important part of the bottle. Parents can feel confident that when they are feeding the baby formula or milk their child is eating from a clean bottle. The brush is also specifically designed to be compatible with Dr. Brown’s Natural Flow Baby Bottle, so if you are a parent that uses that brand of bottle you will be able to really keep the bottle clean. For the low price it costs to have the bottle brush, it is a great buy for the parent who needs to clean a lot of bottles.