Many people believe that they can live without a bottle warmer, while others can’t imagine their life without one.
But with so many products on the market today, it can be difficult finding the right one for you and your baby.
Once you start using a bottle warmer, you’ll realize how easy baby feeding sessions can be. It will save you from running around the kitchen while the water is boiling and prevent burnt fingers from holding an overheated bottle.
Moreover, the right warmer will heat your milk while you enjoy spending time with your newborn.
To help you out, we’ve selected the five best bottle warmers currently available, and we’ve taken into consideration their features, versatility, and price.
All in the hope of finding the right balance between what you need and what you like.
Comparison Chart
The First Years 2-in-1 Simple Serve Bottle Warmer | Quickly Warm Bottles of Breastmilk or Formula | Sanitize Pacifiers | Compact Design | Holds Wide Narrow and Angled Bottles
Best Bottle Warmers Reviews
Dr. Brown’s Deluxe Baby Bottle Warmer
This is a modern-looking bottle warmer ready for multiple heating cycles. It comes from a well-known brand that produces a variety of high-quality products.
Product Highlights
Dr. Brown’s bottle warmer has a minimalistic design and comes with a small LCD panel and a start button. With just one water filling, it can heat several baby bottles. Another practical feature of this warmer is that it uses sound and light notifications so parents know when the milk is ready.
Its design is very stable, and it turns off as soon as the bottle is ready and automatically memorizes the heating cycle time. That way, it can repeat it without fuss.
What I Like
Dr. Brown’s bottle warmer looks very minimalistic and modern in design, and will certainly complement your kitchen or baby’s room.
As its exterior is so simple, you can clean it with a cloth, and you’re all done. Probably one of the best features of this bottle warmer is its memory program to make sure every bottle is heated in the same way.
Also, one of the most significant upsides of this warmer is that once you fill-up the water tank, you won’t have to think about it for at least five cycles.
What I Don’t Like
The buttons on the heater are relatively small, and if you need to use it in the middle of the night, it’s sometimes difficult to operate. It’s said that this warmer works with various bottles, but a few of the more popular options are too wide to fit it.
It’s a bit hard to clean all the parts, so once you see residue build up in one place, it probably means that it’s everywhere. This is incredibly frustrating when your baby is crying, and you need to feed them as soon as possible.
Pros
- Good design
- Warms both milk and the bottle
- Doesn’t need a constant refill
Cons
- Small buttons
- Can’t clean all the residue
- Doesn’t accommodate all bottle sizes
Tommee Tippee Travel Bottle Warmer
Travel bottle warmers are helpful when both parents are working, and they need to have their baby’s milk ready in just a few minutes. Here’s a thermos that’s adjusted for parenting on the go.
Product Highlights
For active families who like camping, long hikes, or spend a lot of time in nature, the Tomme Tippee bottle warmer can be a real lifesaver.
Not only that, it’s small, but it also stores hot water for feeds whenever necessary. What’s more, it can keep the water warm for up to six hours, enough for at least two meals. Overall, it’s designed to be safe and straightforward.
What I Like
This beautifully designed metal thermos can fit into any baby bag and looks great as an accessory. Since the lid mechanism is a bit confusing, there’s a sticker on the side of the flask, reminding you how to tell if the lid is closed or open.
It works in a very simple way, and as it has only two parts, the maintenance is super-simple. This thermos doesn’t use batteries or electricity, making it a hit with eco-friendly parents.
What I Don’t Like
Ideally, all bottles would be able to fit every heater, but in reality, that’s rarely the case. In this instance, the Tomme Tippee is designed with a cover wide enough for most bottles, but not all of them. Another unwelcome feature is that the cap doesn’t always perform to the best standard as it can leak or cool the water faster than it should.
In particular, leaks can be problematic, especially in the baby bag, making everything else wet. And imagine the safety considerations if hot water leaked! Many parents have burnt their fingers while trying to retrieve bottles from the bag.
Pros
- Beautiful design
- Simple to use
- Holds the temperature well
Cons
- Some bottles can’t fit
- Leaks
- It doesn’t fit all cup holders
The First Years 2-in-1 Simple Serve Bottle Warmer
This is a multi-use bottle warmer with a night light that can help you prepare your milk pretty quickly. If you need something practical, this is one of the best bottle warmers for you.
Products Highlights
The First Years bottle warmer provides an ideal solution on how to store your milk. It’s one of the biggest units compared with other products on this list, but its functionality more than compensates for it. You’ll be able to warm one bottle in around 90 seconds.
Furthermore, it’s a two-in-one product that can cool your milk as well.
What I Like
When your baby is crying, this bottle warmer will have your milk warm in no time. Compact in size, it can easily be stored on the counter for moms to have more room in the nursery.
It’s compatible with most wide, narrow, and angled bottles, as well as disposable ones.
When the milk is warm enough, it has a useful auto turn-off mode. What makes this bottle warmer ideal for night feeding is a built-in night light. This way, you don’t have to turn on big lights while your baby is asleep.
What I Don’t Like
Unless you wash it with vinegar every day, you’ll find built-up residue and encounter a bad smell after just five warming sessions.
Plus, the heater doesn’t work correctly, so your milk won’t be heated to the desired temperature. That’s why this heater is very unreliable over long time use.
Pros
- Works fast
- Simple to use
- Small and handy
Cons
- Gets dirty fast
- It’s hard to clean it
- Inconsistent milk temperatures
Munching High-Speed Bottle Warmer
This bottle warmer is one of the fastest products on our list, as it’s designed to hold the heat inside and around the bottle. If you’re looking for the best bottle warmers for your home – this is the one for you.
Products Highlights
Munchkin High-Speed bottle warmer comes with a steam warming system that quickly and evenly heats milk and or any type of baby food. Food prepared this way is packed with nutrients, as steaming isn’t harmful in any way.
This warmer has a simple system with an on/off indicator and a handy alarm that tells you when the milk is warm.
What I Like
This easy-to-use bottle warmer can quickly prepare your milk, and with a measuring cup, you’ll always have enough water to heat milk evenly. It works well with most of the bottles you can find on the market.
If you use distilled water, you’ll make it last longer, as there won’t be any residue in the water tank.
Furthermore, the Munching bottle warmer solves one of the most significant issues for many parents by providing a basket for the bottle. That way, it’s impossible to burn yourself while taking it out.
What I Don’t Like
With this warmer, you have to use a different amount of water according to the bottle you’re using. This can take time, especially during the first few tries.
If you’ve got a baby crying in the background, you probably won’t be able to concentrate.
Also, if you have two babies, and need to warm up two bottles, you’ll have to wait for at least five to 10 minutes for the warmer to cool down. This is far from practical. Plus, after a few days of active use, the heater can become a bit smelly.
Pros
- Lifting basket prevents finger burns
- Works fast
- Easy to clean
Cons
- It takes too much time to measure water
- Needs time to reheat
- Smell
Boon Orb Bottle Warmer
There aren’t many portable bottle warmers that look good and heat your milk to the right temperature. If you’re unhappy with your current bottle warmer, look no further, this is your best bottle warmer option.
Product Highlights
The Boon Orb is a rounded bottle warmer designed to nest the middle bottle. It has a stable non-skid base and a system to automatically turn off once the heating is complete.
The heating chamber itself fits most of the bottles as well as small food jars. It’s made without BPA, Phthalate, and PVC and works with any standard US electricity outlet.
What I Like
The simple, sphere-shaped warmer looks great on any kitchen countertop. It’s perfectly safe if you have more kids around the house, as it has an automatic turn-off system. This system knows when the bottle has been removed and immediately turns off the water heaters.
By the time you’re done with feeding, the warmer has cooled down. Also, it has another safety feature that prevents anyone from turning it on if there’s not enough water inside. Overall, it’s a great gift for expecting parents as it’s something they’ll surely appreciate.
What I Don’t Like
Regardless of its nice looks, the Boon Orb has some shortcomings. First, it doesn’t have an alarm to let you know that your milk is warm. If you’re in another room, you’ll have to constantly check and recheck.
If you have a glass bottle, you’re out of luck – they can’t go in this warmer. Therefore, you’ll need to buy plastic ones. Lastly, not all types of bottles can fit it in this warmer, even if the scale of the opening suggests otherwise.
Pros
- Compact unit
- Heats up fast
- Extremely safe
Cons
- Without audio notifications
- Doesn’t work well with the glass bottles
- Some bottles can’t fit
Buyers Guide
You might think that most bottle warmers are the same, but once you start looking, be aware of all the different features they offer. Once you know what you need, it’s going to be easy to find one of the best bottle warmers around.
Types of Bottle Warmers
Many bottle warmers come with a set of features to help you prepare food for your little ones. The main difference is the warming method. Below, are three of the most popular.
Steam Heat Technology
This heating method is usually faster than others, but often it doesn’t heat liquids evenly. If you choose this kind of bottle warmer, read the manual carefully, and look at the reviews to make sure you don’t overheat your baby’s precious food.
Water Bath Method
The water method is slower, but for many parents, it heats milk evenly and gets it to the right temperature every time. That’s why the water bath method is better for your baby. But do note that it will make a lot more work as these warmers are usually harder to clean.
Portable Methods
When you need to warm up water on the go, the only solution is to have a thermos with hot water to heat the milk. Sometimes, these warmers can be unreliable, but parents manage them since they’re so practical.
Bottle Size
Bottle sizes vary as your baby grows. First, you usually start with a four- or five-ounce bottle, and later you start using eight-ounce and 10-ounce bottles.
Ideally, you need to find a bottle heater that can heat all these bottles, and which has enough space for them as the baby grows.
That’s why warmers like the First Years 2-in-1 Simple Serve can heat different bottles without any fear that your favorite bottle might not fit.
As it works well with wide, narrow, angled, and disposable bottles, you can use it for a few years to come, even if you decide to use completely different bottle brands.
Safety
Health and safety features have to be taken into consideration when choosing a bottle warmer. Make sure your warmer doesn’t overheat because hot spots can change the structure and nutritional value of breast milk.
Ideally, your heater should use water bath technology over steam to heat milk to mild temperatures between 36-37°C. Water bath warmers tend to heat both the bottle and milk, and they never get it too hot.
Energy-Saving
If you’re concerned about your bottle warmer’s energy consumption, get a model that has an automatic turn-off system. Warmers like Dr. Brown’s Deluxe Baby Bottle have a system that saves energy and makes them safe to use, especially if you have it in the kitchen, among other appliances. Also, this system prevents the warmer from overheating and prolongs its lifespan.
Portable/Travel Friendly
If you want to travel with a bottle warmer or you have limited kitchen space, some warmers are bag-friendly and allow you to take the bottle everywhere you go.
The Tommee Tippee Travel Bottle Warmer is an excellent traveling companion that doesn’t require electricity or batteries. It can fit in you with your traveling plans, as all you need is hot water. Other models can be stored in your car’s trunk, but if you’re planning to go out in nature, they won’t work without electricity.
FAQs
Why Do You Need a Bottle Warmer?
There’s a lot of compelling reasons to include a bottle warmer on your baby shopping list. Here, we’re going to name some of the most pertinent:
- Babies like warm milk and enjoy taking it like the breast milk – when it’s slightly above average body temperature. Regardless of whether you’re using breastmilk or formula, your baby will enjoy it more when it’s warm
- Warming your baby’s milk in the microwave is dangerous. If your baby drinks it when it’s too hot, they may get burned. Also, the microwave destroys precious nutrients and makes breast milk less healthy. That’s why bottle warmers offer the most natural way of heating milk.
- Warmers heat bottles a lot faster than if you leave the bottle in a pot of boiling water, and you don’t have to clean any other dishes or bowls
How Do I Use a Bottle Warmer?
It would also help if you made sure that the bottle fits the warmer correctly. Once the warming cycle is over, you can take the bottle out and feed your baby.
When it comes to portable warmers – they’re the easiest to handle. You need to fill them up with warm water and put the bottle inside. And that’s it!
Here are a few tips on how to successfully warm the bottle in your bottle warmer:
- Ensure that the bottle fits the warmer. After all, if that’s not the case, your milk won’t be evenly heated
- Remove the bottle parts while it’s in the heater as this prevents pressure build-up in the bottle itself. It’s okay to leave the nipple on the bottle, but if you don’t feel comfortable, you can use a cap
- If you want to heat glass bottles in the warmer, check the manual to ensure that you can use them with that specific model. If not, don’t leave them in the warmer cause they might break. In case you use them, don’t forget that the glass gets hot and that you might need gloves to hold the bottle
- Always use distilled water for the warmer to reduce the residue that inevitably occurs
How to Clean a Bottle Warmer?
If you want to be sure that your warmer is impeccably clean, you need to do a vinegar cleanse at least once a week. You can descale residue by mixing 50ml of vinegar with 100ml of cold water and pour it directly into the water reservoir.
After that, run a few warming cycles until the reservoir is almost empty and then unplug the warmer so it can dry completely. Once you start performing this cleaning routine, it will significantly prolong the lifespan of your much-needed warmer and prevent smells from forming.
Are Bottle Warmers Okay for Breast Milk?
Bottle warmers are often used for heating breast milk since microwaving changes its molecular structure. That’s why many parents decide to pump the milk and reheat it when its feeding time.
Once you freeze your breast milk, make sure you leave it in the fridge the night before use so that it thaws out.
Afterward, once you take it out of the refrigerator, put it in the bottle and turn on the warmer. It’s crucial not to overheat the milk. Once the heating process is over, you need to mix well as it will probably separate.
When the milk is warm and mixed, your baby can enjoy a bottle of nutritious food.
Final Verdict
Finding the best bottle warmers is not mission impossible, but it takes a bit of time and effort. All of the bottle warmers we’ve reviewed here can be of immense help in the first year of your baby’s life. Plus, they can save you a lot of time around each feed.
If we were to choose the one bottle warmer that would have to be the Boon Orb Bottle Warmer for its design, safety features, and overall functionality.
There are many great products available, and with the right approach and our advice, you’ll undoubtedly see all the benefits that bottle warmers offer. Good luck with your search!