Properly assembling your shield kit is so important for maintaining the health of your breast pump and ensuring you get the best performance while pumping. Improperly assembled shield kits can decrease the life of the motor as it needs to work extra hard or impact the amount of suction you experience while pumping. Your Spectra breast pump comes with everything you need to double-pump; two shield kits including backflow protectors, valves, breastshields, tubing, and bottles. Here's how it all fits together...
Note that if you have a Dew 350, assembly will be slightly different because you will have backflow filters instead of backflow protectors. Click here to see how the Dew 350's shield kit is assembled.
Assembling the backflow protector
It's very important that the backflow protector is assembled properly. It's also very important to always use the backflow protector with your Spectra breast pump. This is what keeps milk and moisture out of the tubing and motor, which can cause irreparable damage to your Spectra breast pump (or worse, mould and bacteria). Assemble the backflow proctector as illustrated below. Ensure that the white silicone membrane is curled over the smaller piece (the part that inserts into the breastshield) and that the larger piece (that the tubing attaches to) is snugly fitted over. If you find these parts are slipping off while pumping, then it's time to replace them. Remember that you should replace the backflow protector regularly to properly maintain your Spectra breast pump.
Assembling the valve
Some Spectra Breast pumps come with a blue valve + membrane set while others come with white silicone duckbill valves. These parts are interchangeable and many pumping mamas develop a preference for either one. Remember that both types of valves need to be replaced regularly to properly maintain your Spectra breast pump. Here's how to assemble the valve + membrane set.
Ensure that the small nub on the underside of the silicone piece is inserted into the small half-circle hole in the blue piece (if you look closely, the nub is half-circle shaped). When properly assembled, all of the holes in the blue valve piece are covered by the membrane, and the membrane lays flat against the valve.
