Medela
Quick Clean Micro-Steam Bags
6.7/10 overallAbout £6 for 5 bags
Reusable microwave sterilising bags, each good for up to 20 sterilising cycles, ideal as a lightweight travel backup.
These are the lightest, most packable option in this category by a clear margin: a flat plastic bag that goes into the microwave with a small amount of water and your bottles or pump parts, sterilising in around 90 seconds and reusable up to 20 times per bag before replacing.
Against a dedicated steriliser (electric or microwave tub), the trade-off is capacity and structure versus sheer portability: a bag holds fewer, smaller items and offers no rigid protection in transit, but it weighs almost nothing and folds flat into a nappy bag or suitcase side pocket, which no tub-style steriliser can match.
Most families use these as a backup for travel or as an emergency option when the main steriliser is unavailable, rather than as their sole method — the 20-use limit per bag also means an ongoing (small) cost that a one-off tub or electric unit doesn't have.
What we liked
- Extremely light and packable for travel
- Very fast cycle time
- Cheap to buy as a backup option
Where it falls short
- Small capacity per bag
- Ongoing cost as bags need replacing after ~20 uses
- No rigid protection, less convenient for daily home use
Specs
- Type
- Microwave steam bag
- Weight
- Negligible, folds flat
- Capacity
- 2-4 small items per bag
- Cycle time
- Approx. 90 seconds
- Uses per bag
- Up to 20 cycles
How we scored it
Sterilising Effectiveness
Cycle time and reliability of killing bacteria across a full load.
Effective for small loads, best treated as a backup rather than primary method.
Capacity
Number of bottles and accessories it fits in one cycle.
Smallest capacity of any option in this category.
Ease of Cleaning
How easy the steriliser itself is to descale and keep clean.
Nothing to descale, just rinse and reuse until the bag wears out.
Weighted by importance for this category — see our editorial policy for how we test.
The alternative
NUK
Micro Express Plus Microwave Bottle Steriliser
A compact microwave steriliser that sterilises up to 3 bottles in about 3 minutes, ideal for travel or small kitchens.