Cleaning Breast Pump Tubing Before First Use?

If you’re unboxing a new breast pump, you might wonder what breast pump parts to wash before your first session—including the tubing. Rest assured: for most modern closed-system breast pumps, there is no need to clean the tubing before first use.

Closed-system pumps are designed with a protective barrier (a backflow protector) that keeps milk and moisture from entering the tubing. 

The tubing itself only ever comes in contact with air, not milk, and it ships sealed and ready to use straight out of the package. 

Unless your manufacturer’s instructions explicitly recommend otherwise, cleaning the tubing before your first use is unnecessary.

Why is this the case? During manufacturing and packaging, the tubing is kept clean and sterile enough for intended use. 

The CDC and most pump manufacturers only require cleaning and sanitizing for parts that directly touch breast milk—such as flanges, bottles, valves, and membranes. 

Tubing in closed-system pumps is not included in this list.

You only ever need to wash your tubing if:

• Milk or other moisture gets inside the tubing due to a misassembly, a faulty backflow protector, or tilting your pump too far.
• Your tubing has become visibly dirty or contaminated after being dropped or exposed to dust.

Otherwise, simply assemble your tubing as directed and begin using your pump with confidence. 

If you ever do need to clean your tubing due to milk exposure or contamination, refer to our main guide on how to clean breast pump tubing for step-by-step instructions.

Still have doubts or using a different type of pump? Always check your user manual or contact the manufacturer, but for closed-system pumps, you can start pumping without pre-cleaning your tubing.