FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions.
Ceres Chill is so simple, it can seem complicated
This compact Chiller uses a minimum of parts to accomplish everything! Rather than perusing the FAQ below, you may simply want to check out our User Guide to better understand all the ways you can use it and how easy it is to clean.
Yes! Ceres Chill is compatible with these major pumps without an adapter: Medela, Evenflo, Ameda, Ardo, Gland, Kidstime, Nibble, Babysteps, Bellema.
- With our adapter available for purchase, Ceres Chill works with Spectra, Phillips Avent, Bella Baby, Baby Buddha, Cimilre, Motif by Aeroflow
- All Medela pumps work with all Ceres Chill parts without adapters...except Medela just changed their new Freestyle Flex so that it only fits the Ceres Chill inner chamber and Medela bottles. You can still use our upper cup as a baby bottle but it will not fit the Flex flange. This means you can purchase an extra inner chamber or use your own Medela bottles to double pump. We have heard of some moms having success with these adapters as well.
- If you have a Lasinoh or Hygeia, please reach out to us so we can make sure we get you a special adapter to accommodate these pumps
- Pump into hands-free containers and safely store in the Chiller: Freemie, Elvie, Willow
- If you don't see your pump listed here, please reach out to us so that we can confirm whether you need an adapter and to make sure we get you what you need
No more worry and so much more freedom! Pumps are improving every day so why should breastmilk storage be stuck in the stone age? Ceres Chill finally provides you with a safe, long-term solution that you easily keep on your nightstand, at your desk, in the diaper bag or tucked in your carry-on luggage. Nothing else in the world allows moms to easily and safely store up to 24 ounces of breastmilk or formula for over 20 hours. If you love hard evidence of awesomeness like science, charts and consumer safety reports, we have all of that for you here.
Coolers only last for 6-8 hours (eek - can't forget the milk at work, in the car or in your bag!). Coolers require advanced freezing (don't ever forget to freeze the freeze pack overnight!). They are also jammed full of lots of plastic (ick and ugh) and typically hold only 20 ounces. And there are just so many parts to hand-wash and sanitize! How can we possibly do everything we need to do in so little time and with so much baggage?!
YOUR CHILLER IS ALSO A BOTTLE WARMER!
One Chiller to chill your milk and one to warm it makes for a happy baby — road trips, long walks and life just became waaay easier! One Chiller filled with hot water can warm up to three bottles over 8 hours. Need more warm bottles? Just add hot water to the outer chamber and go!
PEACE OF MIND
Ceres Chill allows you to safely chill and store up 24 ounces of breastmilk by your bedside for midnight pumps, at your desk, in your car, or in your luggage for over 20 hours. Need more time? Just add ice. Plus traveling is such a breeze without ice packs or hassles with airport security. Less plastic is such a relief!
COST SAVINGS
This super high quality bottle has been specifically and rigorously tested to ensure it is safe for infants and can keep your breastmilk safe without the need to purchase more plastic and disposable storage. For some moms facing incredibly challenges of NICU babies or super long shifts, their only option is to have a nearby fridge or find a solution like Ceres Chill to provide 20 hours of safe storage for up to 24 ounces of milk or formula.
It might surprise you but Ceres Chill's price is competitive with the many traditional options out there...but Ceres Chill is even better because Ceres Chill is sustainable and higher quality. Coolers range in cost from ₱900-₱13,000; a Medela Storage system of plastic baggies and bottles is about ₱1,700 so with the coolers you are up to ₱2,600; Mini fridges for offices or bedsides are typically ₱4,500 - ₱12,500. Ceres Chill replaces all of the hassle and costs for much less in the long run. Plus, it is truly hard to calculate the value of all of the breastmilk that gets dumped when coolers fail or we forget to freeze the chemical packs or we have to take long work trips with complications involving airports and coolers.
ENJOY IT FOREVER
Finally a baby product that is also for moms and dads! These chillers are not disposable like all the coolers and plastic that ends up in the trash. Ceres Chill parents LOVE their chillers and use them long after breastfeeding days are a distant memory. The happy uses are endless: Hot coffee all day. Cold water at the gym or on a long hike. And absolutely anything can be chilled without dilution, so you can do something fun like chill an entire bottle of chardonnay in 20 minutes or sip the perfect iced coffee on at the park. One Ceres Chill Army daddy uses it to keep his hollandaise sauce warm while he puts the finishing touches on brunch. Ceres Chill is the best water bottle and thermos you have ever treated yourself to.
Ceres Chill is tested and certified for use with infants. If you love hard evidence of awesomeness like science, charts and consumer safety reports, we have all of that for you here.
Because it was designed by a pumping, working mom for pumping, amazing, hardworking moms, it is versatile and reliable. This means it has all the compatible threading to connect your pump directly to the Chiller so you can pump into it and eliminate added risks of spills or contamination. You get convenience and peace of mind knowing you are not needlessly risking your baby's milk or formula.
Also, thermoses can't keep freshly expressed breastmilk at a safe temperature. A regular thermos can keep milk cold or keep coffee hot but Ceres Chill safely and reliably changes the temperature so you can pump directly into the Chiller, bring the temperature down to a safe level and keep it there for over 20 hours!
The chiller dimensions are similar to that of a standard thermos (11 x 4 inches), so it fits perfectly in most medium sized bags. It’s easy to carry and definitely more space saving than a full cooler!
The inner chamber by itself is about the same weight and circumference of a 5 ounce Medea bottle, with a height of 7 inches and a diameter of 2 inches.
All Ceres Chill parts do fit in sterilizers, but the high heat and intensity can be hard on the parts and affect the finish on the outer chamber. We recommend hand washing the outer chamber and tossing the inner chamber and plastic parts in the top rack of the dishwasher!
While thoroughly cleaning all of your breastfeeding gear is essential, completely sterilizing it is not necessary for healthy, full-term babies. Here's the FDA's guidance on sterilizing:
"All breast pump parts that come in contact with breast milk, such as bottles, valves and breast shields, should be cleaned after each use. It is not possible to completely sterilize breast pump parts at home, even if you boil them. However, sterilization is not necessary to keep these parts safe and sanitary. You can do that by thoroughly washing away germs and bacteria with liquid dishwashing soap and warm water.”
Check out our blog post here for all the important sterilizing and disinfecting information!
Yes! Ceres Chill assembles with all that you need to double pump with a hands-free bra. With each Ceres Chill, you get one lightweight 12-ounce Milk Chamber (it weighs less than an 8 oz capacity plastic bottle) that connects directly to your pump and another light 3-ounce capacity chamber which doubles as the Cup so you can easily pump both sides without bringing a ton of extra plastic in a cooler with you everywhere you go.
Here's a diagram of the parts and how they go together
Your Chiller is designed so that you only need one Chiller to carry all the breastmilk that you'll likely to produce in a 20-hour period.
To DOUBLE your storage capacity, you will use the inner chamber for your ice (instead of putting ice in the bigger, outer chamber). Using this method, you can store up to 24 ounces! You just need to remember to keep your hands clean if you touch the inner chamber and always set your inner chamber on a clean surface (the inside of your upturned up is perfect for this). You can pump directly into the outer chamber by reattaching the connector.
All of the parts lingo can be a little confusing but a quick look at our User Guide shows you all the easy storage method. Moms using the double capacity method add ice to the inner chamber after 10 hours to ensure safe chilling over very long or very hot days. Some moms also choose to freeze their inner chamber with 2/3 full of water overnight. Keep in mind that the inner chamber was designed to be lightweight enough for moms to pump into, so the stainless steel is a bit thinner on that part and distortion may occur. While it’s not common if frozen with only 8oz and left uncapped, it is a risk.
CONVENIENCE OF TWO CHILLERS and a BOTTLE WARMER!
Finally! Ceres Chill offers a really great answer for moms that are struggling to ensure their milk is safely stored for months without buying a second freezer and going through mountains of disposable, overpriced plastic baggies. Check out The Ceres Chill Milkstache: Long-term breastmilk storage—a really beautiful, versatile solution without the mess, expense, trash and headache of a million plastic baggies.
Recent research says yes! but we know where you're coming from with this question. There is a lot of conflicting and outdated information on the internet on this topic (and all parenting topics, really). Moms need to do what they feel is best for themselves and their babies, whether it is using a cooler with separate bottles, combining their milk in one Chiller or using one Chiller to chill and the other to store milk as needed.
Ceres Chill has an amazingly engineered, patent-pending dual chamber system. The outer chamber holds the ice - just a few cubes and a bit of water in contact with the inner Milk Chamber is all you need. You then just pump directly into the 12 ounce inner Milk Chamber as needed throughout the day. Thermodynamic tests show milk being chilled down to 42 degrees within 1-3 hours and staying well within safe storage temps for 20+ hours in 68-72 room temperatures.
And we can't say it enough, if you love hard evidence of awesomeness like science, charts and consumer safety reports, we have all of that for you here.
We get it, it can be hard to figure out the first time. Ceres Chill has a small number of parts that recombine to meet all your needs throughout the day — commuting, working, traveling, and having fun out in the world with or without the baby. Any caregiver can take Ceres Chill on an adventure!
Yes! Your Ceres Chill is incredibly versatile and can be used to warm baby bottles on the go. Just put hot tap water in the outer chamber and seal it up as usual. Then when you are out and want to warm milk or formula, just pour the cold milk/formula into the empty inner chamber by unscrewing the cup and small cap. Close it all up. Wait 4-6 minutes and then pour the warmed contents into your favorite baby bottles. Rinse out and repeat for up to 3 bottles in 10 hours.
Yes! Absolutely! Your Chiller is an excellent way to safely transport chilled formula or warm a bottle of formula for your baby while you're on-the-go.
12–34 ounces! Ceres Chill can chill and safely store 12 ounces for over 20 hours, 24 ounces for more than 12 hours and 34 ounces of already chilled milk or forumla for 10 hours.
No more messy, sticky blowouts while pumping or trying to switch bottles that are too small mid-pumping. Consulting with pumping mammas and lactation consultants, 12 ounces is the ideal capacity to safely store milk for a normal work day or cross-country flight. Most moms pump 5–10 ounces in a workday so we wanted to make sure we had you covered while keeping the Chiller lean, light and easy to grab, stow in a bag, or tuck in a large cupholder. However, if a woman has an extra long shift, flight delay or other unforeseen emergency, Ceres Chill can be used to chill and store up 24 ounces for over 12 hours and if you need more time, just add a bit of ice!
Special ways to use Ceres Chill to store up to 34 ounces of milk
We have taken all airport and government office protocols into consideration with this design. Using an open water chamber and a separate breastmilk reservoir that can be easily and cleanly tested without compromising your milk, Ceres Chill moms will skate through security as smoothly as any of us ever did...which is not to say that the airport is easy, just that Ceres Chill and your breastmilk won't make it harder than it needs to be.
Ceres Chill does not come with a pump but it is compatible with all major pumps (natively compatible with Medela and similar brands and with an adapter for wide bottle neck brands like Spectra or Lansinoh). This allows you to choose the pump that is best for you and be able to pump directly into Ceres Chill, knowing that your milk is safely stored with not added risk of contamination that other storage systems have when using multiple containers and chilling mechanisms.
This has happened on isolated occasions when moms are using the outer chamber for 24 ounce storage or as a bottle warmer. It seems that a couple of the connectors have gotten damaged in shipping.
To get your Chiller open, try running cold water over the top of the metal outer chamber or place the entire chiller in the freezer for 20 minutes. Then try pushing down on the connector as you unscrew it.
Please reach out to us immediately at info@cereschill.com if you're having difficulty opening your Chiller. We want to make sure your Chiller is easy to use.
It's probably quite safe. The ice has transferred its cooling capacity to your milk as you have added milk to the chiller. Keep in mind that just because the ice is melted, that does not mean your milk is unsafe. According to the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine, your milk can be safely stored at up to 59 degrees Fahrenheit for up 24 hours. Check out our science page to learn more about the chilling capacity of our breastmilk chiller - even when the ice is fully melted!
However, there is another possible explanation for what is happening. You might be adding too much water. All you need is a tiny splash to help the ice settle in and maybe sneak another couple cubes in. Too much water will speed up the ice melting.
To get the maximum chilling capacity out of your Chiller, you want to make sure your ice is touching the bottom of the inner chamber. But please know that the ice and water do not have to surround the inner chamber for your Ceres Chill to work beautifully.
Lastly and very importantly, please make sure that your Chiller's vacuum insulation seal is intact by testing the chiller with ice in the outer chamber. Leave it sitting at room temperature for at least 20 minutes. If the outside is very cold to the touch and it is developing condensation, the seal is likely broken. This can happen if the outer chamber is badly dropped or otherwise abused. We use a bismuth seal rather than a lead seal to ensure the highest quality and safety for infant use but a bismuth seal can be broken under certain conditions. Please reach out to us immediately at info@cereschill.com to let us know this has happened.
For more information, check out our blog post here!
First things first (and you may have already done this), be sure to check the gaskets and seals to make sure they are still in place and not damaged. They should sit snuggly down in their little slots and can be gently removed, cleaned and pressed back in place with tweezers or a narrow chopstick. There should be three soft silicone seals. One large one around the center connector, one inside the neck of the center connector and one in the small cap.
If you're missing a seal or if it's damaged, please reach out to us at info@cereschill.com
This has happened to a couple of moms. We've learned that there are some pretty epic dishwashers, detergents and environments out there. Although your outer chamber might be okay in most dishwashers, we've found that you just can't risk it because there are a couple out there that get super-hot and detergents with bleach that will discolor the outer chamber. It is still safe but it may not be as pretty as the day we created it.
If you've had a mishap with a dishwasher, please reach out to us (info@cereschill.com) with more info so we can talk through the problem. We haven't had any issues with using hot water or leaving chillers out in the blazing hot sun but one mom boiled hers for several minutes and that did not go well. Bleach or harsh abrasive cleaners also will damage the finish. Just hand-washing with hot water and liquid dish soap is the safest way to get your outer chamber clean and prevent damage.
Rust or stains are not common for Ceres Chill mamas, but they do happen. It's important to remember that even the very best stainless steel is rust resistant, but not rust-proof. If you are finding small spots on your inner or outer chambers after use, you can specially clean your steel parts using the below methods which helps to restore the rust resistant surface through a passivation.
Stainless Steel Cleaner - Apply hot water and your chosen non-toxic stainless steel cleaning solution to a soft sponge, mixing thoroughly. Proceed to wipe and rinse your chiller clean.
Baking Soda or Vinegar – Sprinkle baking soda or vinegar on dampened affected area, let it sit for 5-10 minutes and scrub with a non-abrasive or soft sponge.
If the stains are really dramatic or you are just plain worried, please don't hesitate to reach out to us (info@cereschill.com) so we can talk and work through the problem with you.
