Best Baby Bottle Drying Rack
The OXO Tot Bottle Rack offers functionality, durability, and generous capacity to regularly dry lots of stuff. This product is super easy to clean and is top-rack dishwasher safe if you don't have time for handwashing. The rack holds up to eight bottles (including glass baby bottles), or you can use it to dry pump parts, sippy cups, plates, bowls, utensils, and more. The detachable container can hold and dry smaller items like medicine droppers, feeding utensils, and straws. The tray's bottom features ribs, which keep the parts lifted and away from draining water.
With greater capacity comes a larger footprint, so this rack may not be ideal for families with limited counter space. Also, the tray lacks drainage holes causing water to pool in the grooves, increasing the chances for gross things to collect or grow. However, with regular cleaning and TLC, you can avoid any long-term issues. Overall, if you have the space to spare and need greater capacity, this rack can meet almost any need.
The Boon Grass, Stem & Twig is a breath of fresh air in the drying rack world with its stylish and fun design. The blades of grass easily hold items like bottles and breast pump parts. The Stem and Twig accessories hold nipples, bottle rings, and smaller bits, leaving room for oversized items on the grass. Water drains and collects into the lower tray away from the drying items. The rack is handwash only by removing the grass blades from the base and washing with warm soapy water. Once your bottle days are behind you, you can use this rack to dry toddler dishware in style.
This rack is not dishwasher safe, but cleaning by hand isn't a chore. Water drains to the tray below, where it remains out of sight and unable to touch the drying parts above. However, with this "Out of sight, Out of mind" design, the standing water can easily be forgotten, creating a breeding ground for bacteria. Regular cleaning of this product will help avoid this issue, and a good habit might be cleaning it every time you scrub a sink full of bottles. We recommend the Boon Grass to those who don't mind hand-washing and only use minimal bottles as it only offers medium capacity. If you fancy this product but want more drying space, the larger Boon Lawn and the Boon Poke are both worth a look-see.
The Boon Sprig is hands-down a budget-winner, plus it adds a pop of color and style to your kitchen. This drying rack spins, providing 360-degree access to drying parts, and the design takes up less counter space than similar capacity options. This product is perfect for air drying up to six bottles of varying shapes, sizes, and weights, including glass, and the sprig bed holds smaller items like nipples and caps. The sprigs are removable, making it more compact for storage.
The Sprig is not dishwasher safe, so you'll need to wash it by hand. Small and narrow items, like medicine droppers, can slip through the sprig bed into the white base where standing water collects, which isn't hygienic. Also, the sprigs are nearly the same width, and it would be helpful if some were slightly thinner to increase arrangement opportunities. We think this rack is great for those who need a smaller capacity, enjoy the spunky style, and seek function and quality that doesn't break the bank.
The Philips Avent Drying Rack is sleek and modern, and despite its minimal footprint (which is excellent for small spaces), it can dry multiple parts. The branches hold up to eight baby bottles, sippy cups, or water bottles (plastic or metal), as well as bottle tops and snack containers. The branches run down the middle, so accessing items is easy, and smaller items can sit on the base to dry. The removable branches make this rack easy to dismantle and compact for storage. Plus, it is top-rack dishwasher safe, so cleanup is effortless.
This rack doesn't have a drainage hole, so you will need to empty water regularly to avoid build-up and bacteria growth. Despite this drawback, if you want a sleek rack with a smaller footprint that is easy to dismantle for storage, this is the rack for you.
The OXO Tot On-the-Go is a travel set suitable for an overnight trip or an adventure to the grandparent's house. The sturdy case opens and features a few pegs and a bottle brush with a built-in stand to keep it upright while bottles and parts dry. The case's bottom has ribs that lift items and keep them away from standing water. It measures 10.8" when open and 5.5" when closed, making it compact and perfect for diaper bags or travel. This product is easy to stow almost anywhere from your luggage to your workspace for cleaning breast pump parts. It is top-rack dishwasher safe, perfect for busy parents, but hand washing is also a snap when away from home.
The OXO Tot On-the-Go has limited space and capacity. It holds a couple of bottles and accessories or pump parts, but not much at one time. If you need more capacity while traveling, other contenders in our lineup provide more drying space and still break down into a compact size (though they don't include a bottle brush). If you need an all-in-one travel solution and only have a handful of items to wash and dry at a time, then we love what this product offers.
The Termichy Bottle Rack gets the job done but has no unique perks. This option is sturdy, has a small footprint, and is relatively easy to assemble and disassemble. The branches range in height and snap in and out of the base, allowing you to customize the layout somewhat. Excess water collects in the drip tray below, which will require regular cleaning. This product comes with a fabric travel bag to contain items on the go. We think this option offers serious longevity beyond bottle drying, as you'll be able to use it for sippy cups, snack containers, and other items in the future.
Capacity-wise, this option may be too small for families washing and drying multiple bottles and pump parts every day. It is also not dishwasher safe, so handwashing is required and could be a chore, depending on your schedule. We recommend this rack for families with only a small number of bottles and accessories to dry daily.
The Munchkin Fold is minimal in appearance, but this rack is sturdy and durable in use. With close together pegs, it can hold more narrow bottles at one time than the wider variety. It offers two different peg heights to hold bottles, accessories, pump parts, and more. There is additional space to keep eight bottle sealing discs and posts to dry straws upright. The pegs fold flat for easy storage and have rounded tips to prevent bottle scratching.
A disadvantage of this product is that it does not have a drainage hole, and standing water is a problem. This means you'll need to provide regular removal of the water and cleaning to prevent standing water and gunk build-up. If you use narrow bottles like Dr. Brown's, you don't mind regular cleaning, and you appreciate a rack that you can quickly and easily store, then the Munchkin Fold is one we recommend.
The First Years Spin Stack is a cool double-decker bottle drying rack. This rack fits bottles and accessories on two adjustable spinning levels, holding up to 16 bottles, cups, or pacifiers. Water drains directly into the sink or a removable drip tray, and the pegs and center spindle dismantle for easy storage. Also, this rack is top-rack dishwasher safe, so cleanup is a snap.
While the pegs felt snug during testing, we worry they will grow weak after repeated use compared to other contenders' durability. There is a slight lip on the draining spout that keeps water from escaping and seems like a design flaw that requires tilting the rack to nudge the water along. With that said, if you use multiple plastic bottles each day, need high capacity, plus a budget-friendly price, then The First Years Spin Stack might be a good fit.
The Prince Lionheart Deluxe offers an organizational layout with specific locations for bottles, nipples, bottle rings, and slots on top for utensils and straws. Once the bottle days pass, you can use this rack to air dry sippy cups and snack containers.
This product is not dishwasher safe and will need handwashing. When fully loaded with bottles and accessories, it can be challenging to reach items on the bottom level behind the bottles. We think the task of assembling and disassembling this rack is oddly convoluted due to multiple plastic click-together tabs. Also, the rack has lots of nooks and crannies to clean, which is time-consuming and feels unnecessary. Although this product gets the job done, it is not one of our favorites. However, if you like the organizational layout of this rack, it might suit your needs.
The OXO Tot Space Saving frees up valuable counter space with an upright design that still fits under most cabinets. It can hold up to nine bottles with multiple pegs, plus it has a top compartment and base tray for smaller items, like valves, pacifiers, and more. The removable top compartment and base tray are safe for the dishwasher on the top rack, but the white portion is not and requires handwashing.
The pegs angle is not steep enough, resulting in water pooling at the neck of the bottles, which results in a longer dry time. Users report the lack of space between the lowest row of pegs and the base tray can make it challenging to store and access multiple parts. Also, wet items in the top compartment drip water onto the counter behind the rack, not on the base tray, which creates a mess you need to clean. We placed a towel behind and underneath our rack to soak up water, but it feels like a design flaw nonetheless. Despite these flaws, if your mind is set on this vertical design to save countertop space, this rack can get the job done. However, it doesn't stand out and is not a favorite.
Why You Should Trust Us
When it comes to baby gear, the BabyGearLab Team is exceptionally passionate and equally knowledgeable. We have extensively tested multiple products, including baby bottles, bottle brushes, and bottle drying racks. Leading our review is Molly Bradac, Senior Review Editor, and experienced nanny. With over 14 years of childcare experience, Molly knows all-things-baby. For Molly, proper bottle cleaning, drying, and sanitizing are familiar territory. We tested each product side-by-side for ease of cleaning, capacity, and more to find the best in the bunch.
Analysis and Test Results
To simulate everyday use and compare rack performance, lots of washing and hands-on testing with various bottles and accessories, like breast pump parts, medicine droppers, pacifiers, and more, giving us insider information about which products outshine the competition.
Ease of Cleaning
Standing water in a bottle or on a tray is a no-go because it creates an environment for bacteria and mold to grow. Therefore, the best bottle drying racks have an open, breathable design to promote airflow for bottles and accessories to dry quickly. In general, we recommend hand-washing plastic products to extend longevity; however, we understand that a top-rack dishwasher safe product is convenient and makes regular cleaning effortless. Our lineup includes several dishwasher-safe products, including the OXO Tot Bottle Rack and the Philips Avent Drying Rack. On the flip side, the Prince Lionheart Deluxe is the most time-consuming and challenging product to dismantle for handwashing.
Footprint
Consider the amount of countertop space you are willing to sacrifice for a bottle drying rack. A rack with multiple levels, like the The First Years Spin Stack and the OXO Tot Space Saving, save space, but they are tall and may not fit under a cabinet. The Philips Avent Drying Rack has a smaller footprint with a medium capacity to hold and dry items. On the other hand, the OXO Tot Bottle Rack has a wide footprint and takes up more space in your kitchen. Before choosing a product, we suggest considering which product's footprint size fits your drying needs and kitchen space.
Capacity
No busy parent has time to play Tetris with a drying rack, so you'll want to find a product that offers enough space for the number of bottles your child uses in 24 hours, plus pumping parts, pacifiers, and any other baby items that you might wash and dry. Pre-determining your ideal capacity will help narrow your potential product field. The OXO Tot Bottle Rack and The First Years Spin Stack offer greater capacity, where alternatively, the OXO Tot On-the-Go is limited as it is meant for travel.
Conclusion
Washing and drying baby bottles and accessories might be a regular task in your baby's beginning years. Therefore, we suggest finding a product that fits your needs and countertop space. Thankfully, we have the details and recommendations you need to narrow down the options. We are confident there is a drying rack in our review that will meet your needs.
— Molly Bradac