Alright folks, let me walk you through what I did today with the bottle cleaner machine. Been using this thing daily since the little one arrived, and lately, noticed it wasn't running as smoothly, kinda smelled a bit funky too. Figured it was high time for some proper TLC, so I dug out the manual and put together a simple routine. Here's exactly how it went down:

Getting Started

First things first, I looked the machine over, inside and out. Yup, definitely some grime buildup hiding in the nooks and crannies, and the spray arms weren't spinning freely anymore. Felt kinda sticky when I poked them. Then I checked the manual – it mentioned cleaning cycles and parts I could actually take off for a better scrub. Key takeaway right there: Unplug that thing! Don't want any zappy surprises while cleaning near water.

The Deep Clean Process

So, I grabbed what I needed:

• White vinegar – The cheap stuff from the kitchen cupboard.
• Soft toothbrush – An old one I kept for scrubbing jobs like this.
• Soft cloths – Microfiber ones work great.
• Q-tips – Perfect for tiny, hard-to-reach spots.
• Warm water – Good old tap water.

Then I got to work:

1. Broke it down: I pulled out everything that came off easily – the baskets, the tiny little baby bottle holders, the spray arms, the detergent dispenser cup thing. Basically, anything not glued down came out. Laid them all out on the counter.
2. Vinegar soak: Filled a big bowl with warm water and poured in about half a bottle of white vinegar. Just dumped it right in. Let all those basket parts and holders soak in there for a good 20 minutes. Saw some gunk just floating off already! Nice.
3. Scrub-a-dub-dub: After the soak, I took the toothbrush to every single piece. Really got into the corners of the baskets where the nasty residue builds up – you know the stuff, looks like dried milk scum. Scoured the spray arm nozzles too. Used the Q-tips dipped in pure vinegar to hit the really stubborn spots and poke around the tiny holes in the spray arms where the water shoots out. For the main machine opening? Just wiped it down thoroughly inside and out with a cloth soaked in the vinegar mix.
4. Rinse like crazy: Rinsed every single scrubbed piece under running warm water until I couldn't smell vinegar anymore. Didn't want leftover vinegar taste on the bottles next time! Gave the main machine interior another wipe with a clean, damp cloth to get any stray vinegar.
5. Vinegar rinse cycle: Put the baskets and stuff back inside the empty machine. Instead of detergent, poured a cup of vinegar directly into the bottom of the tub. Ran the hottest, longest wash cycle the machine has. Made sure the vinegar went everywhere inside.
6. Final rinse & dry: When the vinegar cycle finished, I ran one more hot water rinse cycle, still empty, just plain water this time, to flush everything out. Once it was done, I yanked everything out again – baskets, arms, holders – and let them air dry completely on the dish rack before putting them back for good. Propped the machine door open too, let the inside air out.

The End Result

Honestly? Night and day difference. That faint sour smell? Totally gone. The spray arms are whizzing around like they're brand new again. More importantly, all that hidden grime? Broken down and washed away. Feels much cleaner inside, and I'm confident it's sanitizing the bottles properly now. Whole process took maybe an hour, tops, most of it just waiting for soaks and cycles to finish. Super easy way to keep this essential gadget working well for longer. Definitely sticking to this routine every month!