What is your Pacifier Hygiene Routine?

[Little Sherri]

I had the thankfully-rare experience of having a pacifier go off for some reason, one of the nights this weekend. My practice with them is to use them for a few days, rinsing them every morning, and then I put them in my "used paci" breathable bag, and when there are enough in there, I pull them apart and soak them in sanitizer and let them dry and then reassemble them, before putting them in my "clean paci" bag. By following that routine, they always smell daisy fresh, but Saturday night, I was falling asleep, and I kept getting whiff of something slightly earthy, to the point that I sniffed my pillows and blanket and even my shirt, but they all smelled vaguely like detergent. Then, my eyes fell to the pacifier dangling from my collar, so I pulled it up and bent the nipple back and gave it a good sniff. Yup - it smelled earthy, and slightly damp, like a cardboard box from a forgotten back corner of a basement, that has been sitting on concrete. I got up and went into the bathroom and pulled it apart, and sure enough, there was a ring of slime in there - evidently, I had perhaps tossed a used one into the new bag, or somehow missed processing it when I last did a cleaning cycle on them, something that I only really do about 3 times a year, because I have 25+ pacifiers in my inventory. 

I pulled it apart and soaked it in mouthwash, scrubbed it, rinsed it and put it back together, and then for the rest of the night, something smelled a little minty, but I may embark on my cleaning routine a bit early, and include the ones that are still in the "cleaned" pile, just to make sure I didn't put any back together when they were still damp. 

Thinking about this made wonder about other people's pacifier hygiene routines. If you use them with any regularity, do you have a process for cleaning them, and how many do you have?

[Apache Raccoon]

I have one pacifier and keep it in a plastic box to avoid it touching all the dirty junk in my desk draw.

I haven't used it much since getting braces though so don't see the need to clean it although I would do if I used it more often.

With my old pacifiers I usually just rinsed them under the tap.

[~Brian~]

@Little Sherri

38 minutes ago, Little Sherri said:

I kept getting whiff of something slightly earthy, to the point that I sniffed my pillows and blanket and even my shirt, but they all smelled vaguely like detergent. Then, my eyes fell to the pacifier dangling from my collar, so I pulled it up and bent the nipple back and gave it a good sniff. Yup - it smelled earthy, and slightly damp, like a cardboard box from a forgotten back corner of a basement, that has been sitting on concrete. I got up and went into the bathroom and pulled it apart, and sure enough, there was a ring of slime in there - evidently, I had perhaps tossed a used one into the new bag, or somehow missed processing it when I last did a cleaning cycle on them, something that I only really do about 3 times a year, because I have 25+ pacifiers in my inventory. 

Because of my Gag Reflex, and my weak stomach, I would be able to tell if there is something that would cause my reflex to activate.  If it smells bad enough to cause that to happen, and I smell something that is "earthy", I would immediately remove the paci, and prepare it for BOILING in HOT water, to KILL anything that it may have picked up while it is either sitting around, or after a prolonged use period. 

 

1 hour ago, Little Sherri said:

I pulled it apart and soaked it in mouthwash, scrubbed it, rinsed it and put it back together, and then for the rest of the night, something smelled a little minty, but I may embark on my cleaning routine a bit early, and include the ones that are still in the "cleaned" pile, just to make sure I didn't put any back together when they were still damp. 

Thinking about this made wonder about other people's pacifier hygiene routines. If you use them with any regularity, do you have a process for cleaning them, and how many do you have?

I have 2 pacis, (Black and Purple) and each had its own plastic storage cap for one, and a square plastic storage box for the other.  When I used it last, I cleaned both, because they had been sitting around for a while, and because I could not remember when I had used them last, the pacis were cleaned, and the plastic box and plastic cap cover were sterilized, because you never know what could get IN or ON the paci, or its storage boxes.  [I use mine when I am stressed or upset]

I've heard that many people tear the paci down to clean it, BUT I, having some issues with manual dexterity in some cases where you have to be careful when you pull something apart, so that it could be cleaned, and since I feel it would break if I tried to take it apart, I would not do that.  I know that there are plenty of videos that can show you how to disassemble and reassemble it, but with my luck, I'd probably break it, so I would NOT try to disassemble or reassemble it myself.

However, placing the whole shooting match in BOILING water is something I've heard here on DD, that members have stated had been done to clean them.  Granted, this procedure probably was used a LOT more when they were raising their kids, and we all know that lil ones put EVERYTHING in their mouths, so you have to keep things clean a lot more than you would for older kids, but when you are dealing with something you put IN your mouth, you'd want it to be super clean, so making sure that it is clean and ready to use is important, and like @Little SherriI would also want to keep stuff clean, and I would NOT want it to smell, so it is GOOD that he found that, and was able to clean it up:  It only goes to show you that there are reasons you have 5 senses, and while you may not SEE a problem right away, if something doesn't SMELL right, the signal is there that you should check it out

Brian

[Little Cub Pants]

1 hour ago, Apache Raccoon said:

I have one pacifier and keep it in a plastic box to avoid it touching all the dirty junk in my desk draw.

I haven't used it much since getting braces though so don't see the need to clean it although I would do if I used it more often.

With my old pacifiers I usually just rinsed them under the tap.

Why did you get braces little ashy? Big hugs. Missed you!🤗♥️

[Apache Raccoon]

1 hour ago, Diapee Baby Jesse said:

Why did you get braces little ashy? Big hugs. Missed you!🤗♥️

About a year ago

*Gives big hugs*

[Stroller]

Occasionally I'll clean one with hot water and a nail brush, if it's got a bit crusty.  Once or twice I've boiled one.  But generally they stay fine.  That's all night every night and a fair bit during the day as well.  I've usually got 2 day-to-day dummies on the go.  One is on a strap for daytime use - it's nearly always dangling on its clip under my top layer of clothes, for easy access.  That'll have to change soon when the warmer weather arrives, & then it'll be in my pocket when not in my mouth.  The other is not on a strap & is for overnight.  During the day it lives on my bedside table.

[Thetlus]

I got one to dabble in the AB side of things. I keep it in a small plastic box to keep it cleaner and hardly ever use it. If I do then I'll give it a quick rinse in hot water, use it, then clean it with hot water and some basic soap if it gets really dirty.

[Little_Mouse]

 

1. I sleep with a pacifier almost every night and have done this for a few years now. I also use them during the day from time to time when I’m feeling in little space 👶 and to cope with stress and anxiety 😩😰

Added March 28, 2024:

2. I currently own 14 pacifiers:
4 white NUK size XL,
9 size 6 (1 white, 1 light blue, 1 red, 1 green, 2 yellow, 2 pink and 1 blue/green elephant themed that I prefer to use at the moment)
1 size 10 Rearz FIXX red Safari tiger themed

3. I store my pacifiers in a box to keep them clean of dust etc. Before and after I use a pacifier I clean it under hot water from the tap cooker

Edited March 28 by Little_Mouse