Sue, I started out after I began treatment by soaking the equipment in soap and hot water, rinsing with tap water, and air drying while boiling once weekly. Then I learned about how stubborn this bug is.
I am pretty certain that our water has MAC. We don’t get the pink slime in bathroom areas that competes with it. It is also everywhere here. I realized that the tap water I was rinsing with surely decontaminated it with each wash.
I started to rinse it with distilled water, but it takes a lot of it to thoroughly rinse all the pieces, and it gets expensive when I do it twice a day.
So, after cleaning, I started putting it in a baby bottle sterilizer, but I never felt it got as hot as boiling would, even though steam was raging when I took the lid off.
After boiling the equipment in our hard, hard water, I would see the water gunk up the equipment. Finally, I just started rinsing the equipment really well under tap water immediately after using and then immediately rinsing it with distilled water, then boiling for 6 minutes with every use- twice daily.
I read about all the people soaking and rinsing their equipment in hot, soapy water. Do they rinse their equipment with the tap water that contains MAC? If it was soaked and washed to get the bacteria off, but their water contains MAC, and they then rinse it with water that contains MAC, is that cleaning it?
It just got easier for me to rinse with tap and distilled water and then boil in purified water that we have delivered. I just use a dedicated pot. I would really appreciate your insight. I remember you saying that your water does not have MAC, but if it did, what would you do? Thank you so much.
Can you turn the temp on your water heater to 135F or higher? That kills MAC. I do all my washing and soaking in HOT tap water. I also scrub with a bottle brush (that gets the same soak treatment) which dislodges any biofilm trying to form - that is where MAC grows, not on dry clean surfaces. If I am away from home I boil the water first or use spring water.
@irene8 is correct - the manufacturer and NJH guidelines are safe.
I notice you also asked about toothbrushes - the abrasive action of the toothpaste again keeps biofilm from forming. I rinse mine in HOT water after every use and replace it every 2 months. I did this way before MAC because I have always struggled with sinus and mouth infections and the dentist suggested it.
Sue