Philips Avent 4 in 1 Electric Steam SCF287/02

Terrible, base started peeling paint after 6 months and chemical can leach into the bottles, not safe for your baby. Also lots of clean up after sterilising bottles which takes up heaps of time. Not practical

Terrible product - no help from company – Extremely disappointed. We switched it on to sterilise one night and woke up the next day and it was still sterilising. It is suppose to automatically turn off after about 7 minutes as it has done so since we started using it. We contacted the company and they refused to help without a receipt (it was a gift), and then proceeded to tell us that… Read more

this model does not turn off automatically, even though it has done so since we started using it. No help was given at all.

Amazing product! – This product was a godsend with a newborn! I could do bottles, dummies, bread pump attachments and anything else all in one! It fit everything and never skipped a beat! I got it in an avent naturals bundle from baby bunting and every product was amazing! All packed away ready for the next baby! Show details ·  1

happy with this sterilizer – I've been using this sterilizer for 9 months now. Sterilizes quick and it automatically turns off when finished. It does takes ages to dry up the bottles and teats so I stopped drying them and just tip the water that settles at the bottom. It's easy to clean and descale too. There's some white deposits at the bottom where you fill the water but… Read more ·  1

I've only been descaling it every other month so I guess its my fault. Overall, I'm happy with this production and would recommend it to a friend.

Convenient product to have – This is a good machine to have, it sterilises bottles within minutes & doesn't use much water. I've used it at least once a day since my baby was born, it is definitely worth having. Only problem is I always forget to turn off the machine so it gets burnt when this happens, I find it only takes 3-5 for bottles to be cleaned, however appliant turns off automatically 15 or so minutes later.  Show reply

Awful burnt smell has ruined bottles, baby doesnt want to feed! – I was pretty excited to have this steriliser ready to go before bub arrives as we planned to bottle feed. All the usual little niggles I can deal with - like the leaking and having to take it apart each refill getting water everywhere. But after only a couple of days of having the machine, and cleaning it properly, the metal plate inside (that… Read more

creates the steam) develop brown stinking burn residue after each use - and this acerbic burning smell has permeated all my baby bottles and teats. Yes I clean it, now daily, with citric acid as per the instructions. The smell is even in the plastic casing of the unit and every time it heats it not only creates more burn residue but heats up the plastic releasing the smell. Poor bub has started to refuse the bottles that have been in the steriliser (I boiled some instead as a test) Soooo much money wasted on ruined bottles that just make me gag with the smell, and the whole steriliser unit which is basically useless now. Have cleaned as per the instructions with citric acid - even cleaning daily doesnt stop the burning and smell. Utterly disappointed and frustrated at all the money I now have to find to replace ruined bottles. Wouldnt recommend.

Terrible product! 4th replacement unit just stopped working – I bought the complete 4 in 1 set for our second baby and the unit stopped working just after a couple of weeks! No life and refuses to switch on. Philips was quick to send in a replacement after a few days. The second unit stopped working in 3 days!!! The customer service sent another prompt replacement base however i dug out the non branded… Read more

trusty old steriliser from storage we use for travelling (compact). We bought this while travelling in africa 5 years ago and it still works as advertised. This unit managed to keep us same while the 3rd steriliser base from Philips arrived. 2 units down, we were very careful with the new one, changed the power outlet, changed the location etc etc and this time the unit worked for 4 months. Customer service sent another replacement which worked once! Only once!

Now, we have 4 non working sterilisers while we wait for the 5th one, (still using the unbranded 5 year old $30 unit ) to be honest I dont’ have very high hopes for the replacement too. My partner is now of the opinion that we shouldn’t even bother with the warranty any more (still 7 ~ 8 months to go) and just trash these units.

I fail to understand how a 200 $ product from a renowned brand can be so un-trustworthy. I absolutely have no faith in it anymore.

Don’t bother with this product.

Terrible product and even worse customer service – Purchased this product mid last year and has all of a sudden stopped working. Very annoying considering I need to use this on a daily basis. Called Philips and received awful customer service. Advised they have no stock to replace the product and cannot even advise when new stock will be in. They went on to tell me that I have to make it to… Read more

the retail store in business hours so I can be there when the retailer calls them directly!! Bit hard for a working full time mum! To make it worse Philips/retailer will only refund me a partial amount of what they RRP is (due to it being bought in a set) so I am now out of pocket to buy a new one!!! The icing on the cake was when I lodged a complaint with their customer service (per their website) and received an email back from their customer service letting me know I had the wrong department and to contact the baby product section. Complete waste of time and totally unimpressed with the lack of care and assistance. Thanks for nothing!

Fast, quiet & reliable – I love how the 4-1 can be configured depending on what you are sterilising, especially when you just need to be teats or dummies so you can use to top half only. It’s pretty spacious so you can sterilise multiple things including my breast pump parts. I also love the dishwasher basket all the little fiddly bits can go straight out of the… Read more ·  1

dishwasher and into the sterlizer.

It also quick so when you urgently need a bottle it’s ready in under 10 mins. It fits into our kitchen bench top and so simple to descale & clean. We haven’t had any issues with it & use it probably 2-3 times a day.

Melting plastic smell stains everything ! Stay away – I purchased this steriliser only 2-3months ago and only really use it to sterilise my glass bottles however upon using it only a handful of times I have started to notice this strange plasticy smell that stained everything. I took it back to baby bunting where i purchased it and basically told me that even phillips have given up on this item and… Read more

is launching another one! I am horrified that this is a product that is sold for babies. Definitely unhealthy and I strongly dont recommend it. I have no interest in exposing my baby to a chemical release!! Stay away !

not reliable – today will be third time going to return the sterilizer and my baby is only 4.5 months old. This product is poor quality and keeps breaking - does not switch on in my case so I have no choice but to exchange every time. Very frustrating and time-consuming. I would not recommend this product, a very disappointing experience.

Terrible product – I have used this product for my 4 month old son and it has broken down 3 times. I have called customer service for the last time and they said that I should opt for the 3 in 1 instead, so I returned my faulty base and was sent back the same 4 in 1 sterilizer. I'm too scared to use this as I know it'll break down again and don't want to send it… Read more

back as I have wasted time and money for nothing. The customer service representative said she will also send some gifts for my troubles but nothing. Don't buy unless you enjoy wasting time and money.

Got 6 replacement unit and still not sure whether it will last for more than a week – Avent 4-in-1 was given to us as a Gift in Feb 2016. Within 3 months, the unit stopped working. We got the replacement unit and from there we have already got 5 or 6 replacement units but none of the replacement unit has worked for more than a week. The last replacement unit I had worked only 2 nights. Though I have got the another replacement unit… Read more

but I am uncertain whether it will last a week or month. What will happen once my warranty is expired. Customer service is pretty fine but the product is not.

absolute junk! don't bother – Terrible product quality and extremely poor design. The plate at the bottom burns after every steam cycle. Only had the product for two weeks and the warmer plate is already black/brown. Impossible to clean, tried cleaning it with vinegar but does not help. Will need to throw out and buy another brand that actually works as intended. … Read more

February 9th 2018 Update: just useless

Product does not work as intended. Only had it for two weeks and its been a nightmare to clean. Used filtered water and tried cleaning with vinegar after every use. As of today, it completely stopped working!!! Will need to pack everything up and return to baby kingdom - not easy to organise with a newborn! thanks Phillips

Stop working after 2month – I received this brand new 4 in 1 steriliser as baby shower present, it works well on the first 2months but today it just stopped workink. I dont have the receipt cos it’s a present, I have got the warrenty card but it saids I need the purchased proof! What should I do now ? It’s only 2 month , my friend said she bought it from toys r Us .....

Philips is junk - failed within days – We have a newborn and after the 3rd or 4th use it stopped working. We used distilled water every single time and dried everything after each use. We followed the instructions to the letter. Babies'R'Us just replaced the unit without fuss however it is a huge inconvenience getting out of the house with a newborn, especially when we had to… Read more

package up all the other items that came with it (we bought this in a pack including a warmer, bottles, etc.).

Given every other review here is stating the same issue, we now assume it will be breaking down continuously - just what we need.

It is funny - after it stopped working we were thinking about what other appliances we have had fail over the years. In almost 20 years we have only had this and a Philips iron fail (days after the 2 year warranty expired). Lesson learned, Philips is cheap junk.

Very bad product - avoid at all cost – Same bad experience as the all the other reviews on here. After using 3 times a brown stain appeared on the element and all of my week old babies stuff smells of burning. Can't use it. Irrelevant of local water quality this is not acceptable for a Phillips product. I know the advice is to clean with vinegar but try doing that every time at 3.30am… Read more

with an angry newborn screaming at you. Would love to get my $179 back. May as well throw it in the bin.

Stopped Working and store wont replace!! – I purchased this product 31/03/17 and used it for the first time in June. It has now stopped working. I went to turn it on and it doesn't work. We rang the store up we purchased it from and they cant replace until it has been sent off etc....Now we are without a steriliser and we use this for convenience so it goes on at night, so I can get up and… Read more

express at during the night and day so we can feed our son and now we have to boil and dry and store. So my nights are going to be a lot longer when I am already getting minimal sleep with a newborn. Looking at this page everyone seems to have the same problem.

Not reliable – I , also, have issues with this 4 in 1 full kit steriliser. The on/ off button does not work even though you press it hard. Either you have to hold it for 6 minutes or have to get it replaced Only used it for 2 months on occasions. And shocked to see the on/ off button does not work. Paid high price for it. Looking forward to get it replaced

Very unreliable, our 4th one replaced under warranty just broke today! :( – Whilst I appreciate Philips is being responsible and replacing these under warranty, I think having to replace anything at all would be an inconvenience for any end user. We are currently up to our 4th one which literally just broke again (after replacing our 3rd one exactly this time last month). It does get to a point where it is simply… Read more

ridiculous and I am certain this is costing Philips a lot of money, and wasting a lot of the customer's time.

Replacement history:

1) Bought 10/02/2016 (before baby was born) - Only unboxed and started using 06/05/2016 after baby was born.

2) Above unit Broke 15/07/2016, replaced on 19/07/2016 over counter at Toys R Us.

3) Above replacement broke 03/05/2017, replaced 04/05/2017 at Avent's warehouse at Berowa Waters

4) Above replacement broke 08/06/2017, replaced 09/06/2017 at Avent's warehouse at Berowa Waters

5) Above replacement broke today. Will need replacement again.

Philips, if you're reading this, please, all we're asking for is something that doesn't actually break on its own. I have asked myself many times whether this is a user error. We never fill it past the "Max" line (in fact, the MAX line is above the stainless steel tray, we fill it up to just the brim of the tray in case it leaks into the silicone seal around it). We dry it after we use it. The unit has a dedicated place on the shelf, it doesn't even get moved so that'll rule out bumping it, the unit has ONE switch... it's either ON or OFF. There are no touch screens or any fancy IC's to break. And we only ever fill it with demineralised/distilled water. I honestly don't know what else I can do as a consumer to "care" for this product. We do however use the unit up to daily (on average, once every 2 days). But on our last replacement, the Philips Avent lady did say to us that's what she'd consider as perfectly normal usage and not excessive. We can't even refund this either as it is part of a full package set of bottles etc and those are working fine.

Honestly, if there is a more robust version of this which doesn't break, can we please just have that instead of becoming regulars at the warehouse almost every month replacing the same thing. It does get tiring after a while :(

Good if it would stop breaking – We're on our way to Baby Bunting at the moment to replace our steriliser for the second time in 5 months. It randomly stopped working (again) yesterday. Very disappointing and frustrating. Other than that, I am happy with the unit. When it works it is very convenient. Seems like a lot of people have the same issue.

As if having a baby wasn't hard enough – I purchased this bottle steriliser and just about to package it back up and send it back to Phillips advent for replacement. For some reason even though I have followed the instructions it stopped working for the fourth time.. yes the fourth time. These units are absolute garbage.. please email me if you need proof.. Mums shop somewhere else ..… Read more

steer clear of this item not worth the stress of being without a steriliser for the 4:-5 day period it takes to replace...

Disappointed – I have had my Avent 3 in 1 steriliser for less than 10 weeks and it stopped working all of a sudden today. It was working fine this afternoon but now the light does not come on and it's not sterilising. Not sure what to do and what is wrong with it. Quite disappointed that it's stopped working after only 10 weeks or less! Expected more out of a Philips Avent product.

faulty steriliser – My baby is 9 days old and already I have had to change my steriliser twice The metal part seems to smell burnt and has discoloured I have followed all instructions drying the bottom correct water level ect It has been very frustrating trying to find a replacement late at night but also not knowing if this could be a health hazard The unit is also meant to switch itself off but sometimes won't

Suddenly stop working – Our steam sterilizer suddenly stopped working... the On and off button doesn't have a light so we thought maybe only the light part is the only one not working so we still tried to check but the whole thing did not work to think that is new, we only used it for 3 weeks..

It stopped working – Suddenly my avent 4 in 1 steriliser stopped working for the second times, no light no steam its just dead... bought it from Amazon. The product lasted for 10 weeks the first time and 8 weeks the second time. Not at all happy. Its no point spending money on this. Similar opinion?

DO NOT BUY THIS!! – Our baby is 3 months old and we are already on our THIRD Avent steamer. The button on the base has stopped working within a couple of weeks after each replacement, which means that you have to manually hold it down while it is steaming. This makes it incredibly dangerous to use as it gets very hot. I have no faith that any replacement will… Read more

work longer than the previous ones. However, since we need a steriliser, we will reluctantly have to waste yet another Saturday driving to the store to have it replaced.

Disappointed – We've been using avent products for several years and we were happy, BUT then we paid a fair bit of money For a big pack including the steriliser which now (after 8 weeks) does not work, it fails to stop sterilising, seems the button cannot flick itself off...we rely heavily on this product to keep our baby's bottles sterile but it now doesn't… Read more

work, we have to boil bottles at all hours of the evening! Very dissatisfied as we paid a lot of money!

DON'T BUY! – Philips is a reputable brand for small appliance, but this product is simply a time bomb, it's astonishing Philips has not issued urgent recall yet. We purchased this product 3 days ago, it has not been able to stop heating!!! Once turned on the power, this product will keep on heating without stop, the light would jump between green and orange… Read more

again and again.

We expect this product to work, and save us time and effort, but now we have to babysit both our baby and this stupid product. If we don't keep a close eye on it, who knows when would it melt itself down and cause a serious fire.

Avoid this product at any cost!

worse experience with the electric steriliser – we bought the steriliser for the fact that it will be helpful for me but it only lasted for 2 mos. out of the blue suddenly it wont turn the lights on. we did follow every inch of the instructions.i am so dissappointed. we did call the troubleshooting team but no help at all..

Dont waste your money - terrible product – This is a terrible product, the base keeps leaking and have had it replaced twice so far for leaks and one more time due to the base being stamped incorrectly with sharp plastic bits connected to the base. Helpdesk staff dont acknowledge the issue and say its " user error" or "have not held of this problem before" then request you to test their… Read more

product and report back... if it leaks just take it back to the store of purchase and demand a replacement asap!

Water leaks all around the steriliser – I'm afraid the product may cause an electrical hazard because water seeps out of it after it's done sterilising. The droplets that have formed on the bottles/teats slowly leak out from the trays and form a pool around the steriliser. I think I'll have to replace this product if I want my family to be safe

So disappointed, I wish we didn't spend the $$$$ – Disappointed. The heat plate is burnt even though we follow the precise use and cleaning instructions, very dissatisfied with this. Being an over protective new mother I even BOUGHT water to use in it as I wasn't sure tank water would be clean enough to be able to be used in it. Now I'm anxious about a burned plate boiling the water that's been… Read more

"sterilising" our bottles, I'm wondering whether the breast milk stored in the freezer is tainted by this process!

I have since purchased a microwaveable steriliser instead (as I fear if I continue using it my house may catch fire from this Avent electric sterilising device!) I'm honestly surprised there hasn't been a recall as it's dangerous.

I'm disappointed we spent the money on it as with a brand new baby there is so many other things we could have spent the money on.

Rusted after few uses – I do not recommend this product, it was rusted after a few uses. I wrote to Philip but they reply and reassure the product cannot rust. They provided "official letter" with instructions to descale the rust with citric acid every 1-2 weeks, where other products do not need such additional work. Never buy this product, it's frustrating.

Gone through 2 replacements after less than two month – Purchased the 4 in 1 avent steriliser as part of the Natural Feeding package at Baby Bunting for $217. The first one lasted only 3 weeks before it just died. Won't turn on, no light no heat no steam. Took it back to store and they gave new one. Second one again only lasted about 4 weeks. Same thing as first. Just died!! Couldn't believe it. Took… Read more

it back to store AGAIN. Staff at baby bunting high point were again really good about it and gave me another one.. I'm now on our third steriliser and I feel like the clock is ticking on it and it could fail premature any time like the first two... Im glad to know I'm not the only one and this seem to be a common problem and it's not me doin anything wrong. I follow instruction to the letter, I'm not here to slander the product or the brand... I just want Phillips to tell me what the issue is with these. Every time it fails it fails at the most inconvenient time. I'm really scared of it failing suddenly again. It's a great product otherwise when it works. We use Avent for all our baby needs, and they are great so very disappointed with this product which is the most important product.