inkcube

a pressure cooker will adequately sterilize, they use the same principles of pressure plus heat as an autoclave - pressure cookers will reach a temperature of 250F/121C, @ 15lbs of pressure you need 20-30 minutes to be effectively sterilized. also longer time do not equal more sterile - 15lbs of steam pressure for 15 minutes will kill all bacteria, viruses, spores, and other living things. the key with a pressure cooker is to monitor its temp by watching the release valve (the weight you set on the nozzle) on top which rocks as the steam is let off. be sure set the weight on 15, the weight is designed so that it will lift and hiss at the desired pressure. you want it to rock slowly, about 10 rock per minute. put about 3cm (~8 oz) of water in the cooker to generate your steam. always let the cooker get cold before opening it if it is hot. the hot steam inside containers condenses to a liquid and will suck in one volume of non-sterile air. if you let the cooker get cold, the dust in the room air collects on the surfaces it strikes and no non-sterile air gets sucked inside the containers. you also do not want to tighten the lids of the containers you sterilize (screw them on loosely) - the pressure change will make it difficult to open.

when i used to do this in the kitchen PPM did not exist and i never had problems with contamination - good technique is always the ket to success with TC.