What is the difference between a steriliser and an autoclave?

Just two different words for the same thing. Sterilizer is used mostly these days because everybody can relate better to that word.

They disinfect to different degrees

An Autclave is like a hot oven with chemicals that heats the instruments (sealed in a bag) very hot - it uses steam to heat everything. With pressure to maintain the heat? I think at 120 ++ degrees.
You can use the bag to allow you to know the "regime" worked as it turns colors?

I think once you autoclave it is sterilized???

They all perform the same function of sterilization but the sterilizer works on vapor and is primarily used for baby bottles while an autoclave might work on heat, vapor microwave.... and is a more expensive machine dedicated to sterilize medical equipment and materials

Autoclaves use a combination of pressure and high temperatures to penetrate a porous cloth such as cotton wraps and/or Kem-Gard to disinfect. Sterilizers are pretty much a general term for such pieces of equipment that have the ability to sterilize equipment. This is always a process and involves a series of events, like the autoclave does. Steris, Sterad, Ultrasonic and others are means of sterilizing insturments and or equipment. When maintained properly and have adequate daily attention, they function well.

An autoclave is a pressurized device designed to heat aqueous solutions above their boiling point to achieve sterilization. It was invented by Charles Chamberland in 1879.[1]

Sterilizer is the technical term for autoclave.




Autoclaves are used for applications requiring constant pressure and temperature for long periods of time. Common applications include the sterilization of instruments and polymerization of rubbers and plastics. Autoclaves and sterilizers may use a number of technologies to perform equipment sterilization. These include heating, chemical sterilization, or ultraviolet light.

The majority of autoclaves function using some form of heat. In all of these cases, the autoclave must maintain a temperature of at least 246 degrees for 30 minutes in order to fully sterilize equipment. Both dry heat and steam heat autoclaves are available. Steam autoclaves are far more common, using heated, vaporized water to kill pathogens. Dry heat autoclaves use dry heat to sterilize instruments. They are used in cases where heating is the preferred method of pathogen destruction, but moisture could damage the inserted instruments, either through immediate contact or rust generation.

Chemical sterilizers can be broken down into two major groups, cold sterilizers and gas autoclaves. These devices are used in situations where heating could damage sensitive instrumentation, including plastic and rubber devices, fiber optics, etc. They do require external venting systems to remove the chemical agents from the sterilizer. These fans or drain systems may be integral to the device, although some models can be connected into existing exhaust systems.

Cold sterilization autoclaves use a cold sterilization liquid to sterilize the contents. Cold sterilization liquids have been developed to enable sterilization or high-level disinfection.

Gas autoclaves, often called chemicalves, use a vapor solution to sterilize its contents. Unlike the humid environment produced by conventional steam, the unsaturated chemical vapor method is a low-humidity process. No time-consuming drying phase is needed, because nothing ever gets wet. Gas autoclaves generally require less heat-up time, as well, which allows for greater instrument turnover. Common sterilizing agents include formaldehyde gas and ethylene oxide. FDA standards prohibit some of these devices being used in conjunction with medical or dental instrumentation due to the possibility of residual chemical deposits on instrumentation.

Ultraviolet autoclaves and sterilizers produce UV light exerting a lethal effect on unwanted disease causing organisms. They can destroy pathogens, bacteria, mold spores, yeast, protozoa, fungi and algae.