Winnie writes: I have never understood this argument, other than the fact that it comes from the competing manufacturer. Since the pump "sucks" rather than "blows" through the tubing, how can organisms be "blown" through the tubing into the collection bottle? Winnie - The idea of the milk getting into the motor can seem far fetched when you think about the liquid going down into the bottle from the breast. As you watch a PNS work, you will notice that it creates vacuum in the tubing. When the vacuum is created in the tubing, the breast is pulled into the shield past the tubing. Because there is vacuum created, the liquid can be pulled into the tubing and get sucked into the motor. Because of the construction, this is an unlikely scenario unless the mom has a very fast MER or she is not cleaning the valves & membranes well and they stick together. The more common scenario is when there is vacuum created over liquid, the drop in pressure causes it to be turned into an aerosol and that aerosol can travel into the tubing and therefore the motor. Once there is milk in the tubing/motor it is contaminated. As long as only one mother is using the pump, they are all her bacteria/viruses. It is safe for her to use as long as she needs it, like using her own toothbrush and then putting it away for weeks or months and using it again. All the germs are hers. When sharing the pumps, the milk can be contaminated with the other mother's germs, like sharing a toothbrush. I hope this clarifies the situation. BTW, I have no allegiance to ANY pump company (only to technology that works for a particular mom!) llp *********************************************** To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest) To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet All commands go to [log in to unmask] The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(R) mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html