When bottle feeding, it is critical to thoroughly clean and sterilize the feeding equipment. After each meal, you'll need to clean and sterilise each bottle, teat, and screw cap. It is critical that you sterilise everything till your kid is 12 months old. If you don't, you risk exposing him to infection. Even after one year, some parents say they continue to sterilise their bottles because they don't want to take any chances with their child's health. Here's how to do it: 1 Wash all items in hot, soapy water; 2 Rinse well; 3 Dry completely; 4 Put items into a pot of boiling water for 10 minutes; 5 Remove from heat; 6 Allow to cool slightly before using. This process kills most bacteria, but not all. So if you are still worried about infection, you can add a small amount of bleach to the water while it is heating. Then go through the sterilization process again. This should be enough to kill most bacteria. 1 Don't use a dirty or contaminated spoon to eat out of the bottle; 2 Don't use bottles that have been used by someone else; 3 Don't feed from unsterilized bottles; 4 Don't boil them too long or they will lose much of their strength.