I've heard that since Medela is a open system there is a risk of mold issues. I used a Ameda with my first which is a closed system so mold was never a problem or concern.
Anyone who used a Medela experience mold issues?
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not that I was aware of.
I am not sure how its even possible though - the milk goes thru the tubing ONLY never thru the machine
eta: it doesn't even go thru the tubing, not sure what I was thinking - ha!
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I've never had mold issues in the pump itself or the tubing but my husband cleans my pump parts and he was leaving them in the dishwasher wet for too long and there was mold in some of the parts due to that. He stopped doing it and we haven't had an issue since.
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I have a Freestyle, 2 LOs and I work FT (lots of pumping at work plus a pump session at night before I go to bed). I EBFed LO1 for 12 months. LO2 is 7 months and is EBF, and I plan to make it to a year. I have not had any mold issues at all.
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Nope. I used one for 11 months and no issues with mold. I have a feeling the issue of mold in a reputable pump like the Medela is very rare or else we would hear more about it.
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None for me! I have a Freestyle.
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I don't pump a lot but never had an issue with y medela Pisa. I always let it run after I disconnect the flanges, with the tubes attached, so it flushes any condensation out, which I was told would prevent any mold in the tubing. I've never actually opened the pump itself.
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I pumped for almost a year, and no mold issues. Milk never went into the tubing. I have a Freestyle.
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The milk doesn't go into the tubing, but water condenses inside it. It's easy to dry by running the pump for a couple minutes after pumping with no bottles attached. I did have a bit of a problem with the piece that goes over the bottle being hard to clean, until I realized the while thing comes apart and can be cleaned with a q-tip.
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Yes, run the pump with the tubing attached for a few minutes to clear out the condensation. The tubing never contacts the milk, so I don't know how it would create mold issues for the milk itself. I wash and sterilize the rest of my pump parts in the microwave daily and then keep them in a gallon sized Ziploc bag in the fridge the rest of the time to prevent mold there.
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I had a freestyle and never had any mold issues.
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I had a PISA and a ameda and never understood the closed/open system difference. The ameda is a hunk of plastic tubes, flanges, bottles, and the medela is a bag, tubes, flanges, bottles. They operate in relatively the same manner and I never got milk in the tubes of either pump.
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If you do a google image search for mold in medela it looks like the issue is inside the pump where you can't see it unless you take it apart. This is why open systems are single user even with new tubes.
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i have a freestyle and i also rent a symphony and no mold issues for me
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Agree with @Mama Bird and @gingerbebe, condensation in the tubing is pretty normal and could get moldy so you just need to dry it out by running the pump.
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@LemonLong: Just googled it. Yuck!
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You're supposed to wash the tubing in Medela pumps? I never did with the Ameda because the milk never went through the tubes. There were explicit instructions not to!
And yup, the one time DH washed them by mistake and I ran the pump with just the tubes to get rid of the water.
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@regberadaisy: I have the PISA and it specifically says that the tubing doesn't need to be washed unless you somehow accidentally get milk into them (which im not sure how that could happen).
Agree with @gingerbebe: Per medela recommendation I run the pump with the tubing attached once I'm done pumping. I remove the bottles and just let it run for 10 mins or so. -
I always let the machine run after I was finished until all moisture was out of the tubes...
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I pump every day and have no mold in my PISA. I rarely let it run to get the condensation out either. I wouldn't be concerned in the least.
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@regberadaisy: This happened to Bee too!
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