99.99% of disinfection rate is the basic requirement for bottle steam sterilizer, and we should choose suitable bottle sterilizers based on the chassis material, drying system, capacity, and operation method.
No matter what material the chassis is made of, limescale will be produced during use, which is harmless to the human body. However, different materials of the chassis will determine the amount of limescale. Adding drinking water can reduce limescale, and using citric acid can remove limescale.
There are usually three types of chassis materials for bottle steam sterilizer:
Teflon (polytetrafluoroethylene): It has an extremely low friction coefficient and non-stick properties, and generates very little limescale. The melting point of Teflon is 260℃, and it does not produce toxins even under high temperature heating.
Stainless steel: The cost of 304 stainless steel is lower than that of Teflon, and most bottle steam sterilizer use it as the chassis material. Besides, 304 is food-grade with guaranteed safety, but it is particularly prone to limescale and has a rust smell.
Ceramic: It has a coating on the surface and is the best material for preventing limescale. However, it is prone to large-scale coating detachment and blackening, so few brands use ceramics as the chassis.
The drying system generally consists of a pre-filter screen and a filter element, and the filtering performance of the filter element determines the probability of secondary pollution.
Usually, there are four types of filter elements for bottle sterilizers:
Nylon: The material is ordinary nylon plastic, similar to cheap shoe sponges. The structure is relatively loose, with large and many holes, and basically no filtering and adsorption effect.
Activated carbon: Activated carbon is a type of microcrystalline carbon material made of carbon-containing materials. It has a black appearance and a developed internal pore structure, and can adsorb formaldehyde and benzene effectively. However, it does not have good adsorption effect on fine dust particles, which may pose a risk of secondary pollution.
Non-woven fabric/PP cotton/pearl cotton: This is a relatively useful filtering device with a material similar to cotton towels or masks. It has good filtering, shielding, insulation, and oil absorption properties. However, its poor tightness can only isolate large particles, and it does not have good filtering effect on fine dust particles and pathogens.
HEPA (High efficiency particulate air Filter): HEPA is used for air filtration in new fans, air purifiers, etc. It can effectively filter out dust particles, bacteria, PM2.5, chemical smoke, pollen, etc. through van der Waals force, interception, gravity, and airflow, and can be said to be the best material for filtering performance without risk of secondary pollution.
The capacity of the steam bottle sterilizer determines the usage scenarios. The larger the capacity, the more things can be sterilized at one time, such as supplementary food bowls, feeding spoons, etc.
Small sterilizers can only hold two or three bottles, with little space left, unable to sterilize a large number of feeding tools, teething toys, etc., but they are usually more portable.
It generally has a cylindrical and rectangular shape. The cylindrical shape has more restrictions on the capacity and can only hold cylindrical objects such as water cups and bottles. Therefore, rectangular bottle sterilizers have higher cost performance.
The operation methods include LCD touch screen, button operation, and rotary knob operation. LCD touch screen gives a more technological feel, while button and rotary knob operations are more suitable for the elderly. Choose according to your own needs.