Touted as being the safest steriliser on the market in the UK, however it's not the easiest to use.
Developed with the help of a leading university’s microbiology department, the Fisher-Price Sterimax Steam Steriliser has used science to try and create the safest electric steam steriliser around. However, it can require a strong arm to use.
Fisher-Price has launched the Sterimax Steam Steriliser with the aim of it being the safest on the market in the UK. To borrow a well-known phrase, here comes the science bit: the Sterimax has been developed in conjunction with the microbiology department of a leading university, who subjected it to a stringent test procedure before it went into production. The Fisher-Price Sterimax uses a ‘dual power’ heating system, which ensures the unit heats rapidly and remains hotter for longer, killing more bacterial spores. The boffins at Fisher-Price concluded that the longer the steriliser stays at 100 degrees, the more bacteria spores would be destroyed.
The Sterimax was launched alongside Fisher-Price’s ‘Animals of the Forest’ range, and has a brightly coloured design on the bottles and cup that you get within the pack as a free starter set. The starter set contains two bottles so you would need to buy more to fill up this steriliser - it can hold seven bottles from any major manufacturer.
What we love
Loading the Fisher-Price Sterimax is uncomplicated. There are seven plastic tubes that make it obvious where to place the bottles and a handy removable plastic tray that takes all the lids and teats etc. Also, there are very clear picture instructions on the side of the box to follow.
On the front of the steriliser is a bright combination LED digital display that clearly tells where you are in the sterilisation process. It counts down from the 8-minute cycle, with a red light for hot that changes to green when the unit has finished its cycle and cooled enough to unload. The idea of this longer sterilisation cycle appealed to me – who wouldn’t want the safest product for their little darling?
The contents will remain sterile for up to eight hours if the Sterimax remains unopened.
The removable top tray makes a good surface to assemble the sterile bottles on.
What to watch out for
Putting the required amount of water in is easy (a handy jug with a red indicator line is provided in the box), however in order to put the water in you need to remove the bottle-holding part of the unit. The unit is meant to twist and unlock. I’m no weakling but I couldn’t turn the unit to unlock and remove this section. Having phoned a friend to help, we did manage to dismantle it and get started. However it still remains a tough operation - my model seems very stiff and doesn’t always undo, which is very annoying when you have a baby desperate for milk and you need more sterile bottles in a hurry!
Planning ahead not being one of my strong points, I found the Sterimax’s longer cycle and cooling times a bit slow, but this does make it a safer product so I think I had just better get organised!
Who is the Fisher-Price Sterimax Steam Steriliser best for?
Strong-armed, organised mums who need to sterilise a lot of bottles.
The Fisher-Price Sterimax Steam Steriliser is a good product that does a fantastic job, out-performing its rivals on safety. It can also hold plenty of bottles. However it’s not the easiest to use and it has one of the longer sterilisation cycles on the market.
