6 things that shorten a pacifier’s shelf life

During the short life of a pacifier, it is scalded, chewed, tugged, thrown on the ground, and exposed to several other things you may not have imagined. This gives the pacifier a limited shelf life.

As a rule of thumb, we therefore recommend you replace the pacifier after six weeks of use. However, there are five conditions in particular that can either extend or shorten the shelf life of the pacifier.

Also read: How often do I need to replace my baby's pacifier?

The following can reduce the life of the pacifier:

How do you store your baby's pacifiers?
Light and heat affect the durability of the pacifier. So always make sure you keep clean pacifiers dry, shaded and not too hot. Natural rubber pacifiers are damaged by light and heat.
How do you clean the pacifiers? It is important to clean the pacifiers properly. Poor cleaning can damage the pacifiers, so avoid boiling them, putting them in the washing machine or using detergents to clean them.

How many pacifiers should you have in use at a time?

If your baby constantly has 5-6 pacifiers in circulation, each pacifier will obviously be used less. If your child uses natural rubber pacifiers, we recommend that you always have several pacifiers on the go at a time and that you replace them regularly. Natural rubber expands over time - unlike silicone.

How often does your child use the pacifier?

The more your baby uses his pacifier, the faster it will wear out. Likewise, there can be a big difference from child to child in how strongly they suck on the pacifier. A strong suction can significantly reduce the durability of natural rubber pacifiers.

Does your child chew on the pacifier?

Some children start biting the pacifier when they get teeth. It is both a fun and comfortable feeling for the baby - but unfortunately, pacifiers can’t withstand sharp milk teeth. If your baby bites the pacifier, you should switch to a pacifier designed for this, e.g. Difrax Dental series.

And note that there’s a difference in the durability of natural rubber and silicone. Natural rubber is a 100% organic material and has a shorter durability than silicone.

Best wishes
Annette