BIBS pacifiers need to be sterilized by submerging them in boiling water for 5 minutes before your baby uses them for the first time. After that initial sterilization, daily cleaning involves a gentler scalding method: pouring boiling water over the pacifiers in a bowl and letting them soak for about 5 minutes. The process is simple, but the details matter, especially since BIBS makes pacifiers in both natural rubber latex and silicone, and each material responds differently to heat over time.
Before First Use
Every BIBS pacifier, whether latex or silicone, should be boiled before it ever touches your baby’s mouth. This removes any residue left over from manufacturing. Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil, submerge the pacifiers completely, and let them boil for a full 5 minutes. Remove them carefully, place them on a clean towel, and let them air dry completely.
Once the pacifier has cooled, squeeze the nipple to push out any water trapped inside. Most BIBS pacifiers have a small valve in the nipple that lets air escape when your baby sucks, but that same valve allows water to seep in during cleaning. If you skip this step, water can sit inside the nipple and eventually grow bacteria or mold. Let the pacifier dry for 3 to 4 hours before giving it to your baby.
This full boil method is a one-time step. Using it repeatedly, especially on natural rubber latex pacifiers, can break down the material faster than necessary.
Daily Cleaning: The Scalding Method
For everyday sterilization, BIBS recommends a two-step process. First, wash the pacifier by hand with mild soap and warm water. Then place it in a clean bowl and pour enough boiling water over it to cover it completely. Let it soak for about 5 minutes, remove it, squeeze out any water from the nipple, and lay it on a clean towel to dry.
BIBS suggests scalding pacifiers once a day as a general rule. This strikes a balance between keeping things hygienic and not wearing out the material prematurely. Over-sterilizing, particularly with latex pacifiers, can weaken and degrade the rubber over time.
Latex vs. Silicone: Why It Matters
BIBS pacifiers come in two nipple materials, and they don’t handle heat the same way. Silicone is highly heat-resistant. It can handle boiling, steam sterilizers, microwave sterilizer bags, and even the dishwasher without breaking down. If you prefer the convenience of tossing pacifiers into a sterilizer appliance, silicone is the more forgiving option.
Natural rubber latex is softer and more flexible, which many babies prefer, but it’s also more sensitive to heat. Prolonged or repeated boiling can cause the rubber to swell, become sticky, or lose its shape. For latex pacifiers, the scalding method (pouring boiling water over them rather than actively boiling them on the stove) is the better approach for daily care. Save the full 5-minute boil for the initial sterilization only.
How Often You Actually Need to Sterilize
The answer depends partly on your baby’s age and partly on how comfortable you are with a less aggressive routine. For newborns and young infants who haven’t yet had their full course of vaccines, regular sterilization makes sense because their immune systems are still developing. Once-daily scalding, as BIBS recommends, is a reasonable approach during this stage.
As your baby gets older, you can relax the routine. Cleveland Clinic pediatricians suggest that once you’re consistently washing pacifiers with soap and hot water, sterilization is mainly necessary for brand-new pacifiers. Some parents settle into a pattern of sterilizing once a week or every two weeks, which is perfectly fine for a healthy older infant. If your child has a condition that affects their immune system, more frequent sterilization is worth maintaining.
As a practical matter, washing with warm water and mild soap after each use, combined with periodic scalding, covers the vast majority of families. You don’t need to sterilize every time the pacifier hits the floor.
Sterilizer Appliances and Dishwashers
BIBS’ own cleaning guide focuses on the boiling and scalding methods rather than appliance-based sterilization. If you do use a microwave steam sterilizer or UV sterilizer, silicone pacifiers are your safest bet since the material tolerates sustained high temperatures and UV exposure without degrading. Silicone pacifiers can also go in the dishwasher.
For latex pacifiers, stick with the manual scalding method. The concentrated, prolonged heat inside a steam sterilizer or the top rack of a dishwasher can accelerate the breakdown of natural rubber. It’s a small inconvenience, but it means your latex pacifiers will last longer and stay safe.
When to Replace a BIBS Pacifier
No amount of careful cleaning extends a pacifier’s life indefinitely. Natural rubber latex, in particular, breaks down with normal use and exposure to saliva, heat, and sunlight. BIBS recommends replacing a pacifier immediately if you notice any of these changes:
- Surface changes: the rubber looks rough, cracked, or discolored
- Size changes: the nipple has swollen or expanded beyond its original shape
- Shape distortion: the nipple no longer returns to its normal form
- Stickiness or brittleness: the material feels tacky to the touch or has become rigid
- Tears or ruptures: any visible damage in the material, however small
Once your baby has teeth, inspect pacifiers more carefully before each use. Pull the nipple in all directions to check for weak spots or small tears that might not be visible at a glance. A piece of rubber breaking off during use is a choking hazard, so err on the side of replacing pacifiers sooner rather than later. Most parents find that latex pacifiers need replacing every 4 to 6 weeks with regular use, while silicone versions last somewhat longer.