8 of the best baby bottle drying racks 2024

WHAT IS A BOTTLE DRYING RACK?

A bottle drying rack is specially designed for baby bottles, teats and other feeding equipment with some kind of vertical peg to place the bottles so they can both drip and air dry. They’re generally used after washing up bottles and also as a place to safely dry them after sterilisation.

Do you need a baby bottle drying rack?

Bottles do need to be dried or any residual water left in them could become a breeding ground for germs. A bottle rack can be useful as it’s a dedicated space to keep your feeding items together, especially if you are using anti-colic bottles which tend to have little extra parts. The vertical elements do also make drying bottles easier and prevent them from being knocked off. They are also designed to efficiently fit a lot of items. But they are definitely not a baby essential and will take up space in the kitchen that you may not have.

HOW ELSE DO YOU DRY BABY BOTTLES?

You could just air-dry everything on your usual dish-drying rack. The downside to this is that they are usually much larger so harder to keep clean and your feeding gear with be mixed in with all your other washing up.

An alternative is placing the items on a clean tea towel or piece of kitchen towel. It’s not recommended to use a paper kitchen towel or a tea towel dry inside sterilised bottles though. This is because of any bacteria that could be transferred from the material. Babies have an underdeveloped immune system so could become very ill with diarrhoea and vomiting.

Some prefer to keep their bottles inside their steriliser until it’s time to use them and just shake off any excess water. If this is done within a certain window (depending on your steriliser) they will remain completely sterile.

You may not need a bottle dryer rack if you have a UV steriliser as it doesn’t use water and many have a drying cycle to use before the UV sterilising. Some steam sterilisers also have a final drying cycle.

Do you need to sterilise a bottle drying rack?

If you’re using the bottle drying rack for sterilised bottles, it will be important to wash and sterilise it very regularly. Which could mean daily if the bottles are for a baby under two months, with a very low birth weight or a weakened immune system.

It’s most important that the bottle prongs are kept as sterile as possible as this will be the part that goes inside the bottle or teat.

A bottle dryer rack can be sterilised with a cold water sterilising tablet in a large container or wiped with Milton anti-bacterial wipes or spray. If it’s small, it may fit inside your steriliser. If you have a dishwasher with a hot enough cycle and your rack is dishwasher safe, this is another option.

THE THREE TYPES OF BOTTLE DRYING RACKS

1. The most common type has vertical pegs for hanging the feeding equipment to dry plus a drip tray or draining area underneath for the water.

2. A baby bottle tree is smaller and is like a mug tree. There are branches to hang the bottles and accessories and a rimmed base to catch a small amount of dripped water.

3. Grass-effect tray. These look like a lawn but have many short, flexible spikes to hold in place the feeding items. There is a drip tray underneath. It’s sometimes possible to buy branch-like accessories to place on the grass to hold bottles.

What else should you look out for?

• Drainage: A drip tray means the rack doesn’t have to be kept on the draining board. It’s useful if the drip tray is removable or has a draining hole to very regularly empty the water. Some have a reversible base so it can be used as a drip tray or just let the dripped water drain straight from the draining board into the sink.

• Storage: If you don’t want to keep it out on your kitchen counter or draining board, choose one with pegs that are removable or fold flat for easier storage. A bottle tree will take up the least amount of space in your kitchen surfaces but would be harder to store.

• Size: For those exclusively formula-feeding or combination feeding and who only want to wash and sterilise once a day, a larger rack that accommodates several bottles will be preferable. Bear in mind that wide-necked bottles take up more space on a rack. If you’re using it for dummies, breast pump parts or if your baby bottle has lots of parts, a bigger rack will also be necessary.

• Ease of cleaning: The rack should be cleaned regularly so ones that come apart easily and with no hard-to-reach places will make this easier. Look out for a dishwasher-safe rack if that’s how you’d prefer to clean it.

• Non-scratch pegs: If your rack has pegs, check they have some kind of rounded end to prevent them from scratching the inside of the bottle.

THE BEST BABY BOTTLE DRYING RACKS

This list has been narrowed down to the very best with thorough research and the following considered:

• Consumer reviews

• Best-seller lists 

• Recommendations from industry experts

• Award-winning products

• Personal experience and the products loved by other parents.

The list is updated annually. It was last updated on 14 January 2024. 

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