Pure Filters Coldstream FTO+ VS Doulton Berkefeld Ultra Sterasyl
Transparency and scope of testing
Doulton Ultra Sterasyl :
o Parameters tested: mainly pesticides, herbicides and pharmaceutical products.
o Number of substances tested: limited mainly to these two categories of contaminants.
Coldstream FTO+ :
o Parameters tested: wide range including heavy metals, pesticides, herbicides, pharmaceuticals, viruses, bacteria, microplastics, and complex chemical contaminants (HAA, VOCs).
o Number of substances tested: very extensive, more than 230 substances, one of the most complete analyses on the market.
Microbiological performance
Doulton Ultra Sterasyl :
o Demonstrated effectiveness mainly against bacteria and parasites.
o Viruses: Not explicitly tested or mentioned in the reports provided.
Coldstream FTO+
o Very good performance on bacteria (log 6), parasites and cysts.
o Virus: Explicitly tested (Rotavirus) with an efficiency greater than 99.99%, which is remarkable and rarely documented for gravity filters.
Durability and Filtration Consistency
Doulton Ultra Sterasyl :
o Accelerated tests up to 3030 liters, with very good performance (>98% usually) on pesticides and drugs over the entire duration of the test.
Coldstream FTO+ :
o Rigorous testing up to 3000 liters with regular readings, clearly specifying the removal percentages that remain constant or very high (>99.9% for most contaminants) throughout the test.
Clarity and objectivity
Doulton Ultra Sterasyl :
o Testing conducted by Envirotek Laboratories, meeting NSF/ANSI 53 and NSF/ANSI 401 standards.
o Detailed results but limited to the categories mentioned, lacking data for some critical contaminants such as viruses.
Coldstream FTO+ :
o Tested by IAPMO/Envirotek Laboratories to NSF/ANSI Standards 42, 53, and P231, ensuring maximum credibility.
o Comprehensive, accurate reporting, with detailed readings at each interval tested, clearly documented in full.
Relevance of the substances tested
Doulton Ultra Sterasyl :
o Concentration on pesticides and common drugs. No details on critical emerging contaminants such as PFAS, microplastics, HAA, etc.
Coldstream FTO+ :
o In-depth assessment of emerging contaminants including PFAS, HAA5, microplastics, VOCs, with demonstrated excellent performance.
Objectivity and cost of testing
Doulton Ultra Sterasyl :
o Standard tests, very common in the industry, reflecting minimum requirements to certify products.
Coldstream FTO+ :
o Particularly comprehensive and thorough testing, at a significant cost (~150,000 pounds), indicating a major investment in transparency and scientific rigor.
Conclusion
Tests carried out on the Coldstream FTO+ filters surpass in transparency, completeness and scientific rigor those achieved on Doulton Ultra Sterasyl cartridges.
Coldstream FTO+ filters provide exceptional clarity, explicitly testing contaminants that other gravity filters do not always document, including viruses, emerging contaminants (PFAS, HAA5), and detailing the results accurately and comprehensively over the duration of the test.
Thus, in terms of objectivity, transparency and breadth of scientific results, Coldstream FTO+ is indeed positioned among the most credible and reliable filters on the market today.
Links to the different laboratory tests
Coldstream FTO+ :
FTO +Haloacetic Acids Reduction Testing: Passed
Gravity Filters FTO+ TEST REPORT
Doulton Utra Sterasyl :
21-155-2-British_Berkefeld_Ultra_Sterasyl-Doulton-Pharma
21-155-1-Ultra Sterasyl-Doulton-Pesticides
How much water is actually tested ?
Doulton Ultra Sterasyl :
• Tests carried out up to 3030 liters for most of the contaminants analyzed (pesticides and pharmaceuticals).
• Measurements taken at regular intervals, but limited to a few specific categories of contaminants.
Coldstream FTO+ :
• Tests carried out up to 3000 liters, with precise and regular readings.
• A wide range of contaminants tested at every stage, ensuring excellent visibility into actual performance throughout the life of the filter.
Direct conclusion: In terms of the amount of water tested, the two brands are comparable (around 3000 liters). However, Coldstream FTO+ offers a major advantage thanks to the exceptional diversity of contaminants analyzed at each stage, ensuring a comprehensive and representative evaluation of filter performance. Even on this specific criterion, Coldstream FTO+ retains the advantage due to its more comprehensive and transparent approach.
Fluoride problem
The following are the specific intermediate steps identified by testing Coldstream FTO+ filters for fluorine reduction:
Interpretation of the data:
• Between 15 and 500 liters: Excellent reduction, very efficient (> 89%).
• Between 500 and 3000 liters: Significant drop in fluorine filtration performance. At 500 litres: still high performance (around 90%). At 3000 litres: significantly reduced performance (around 17%).
The laboratory results do not explicitly specify other intermediate steps between 500 and 3000 liters. However, the trend is clearly towards a gradual reduction in efficiency on this range.
Practical conclusion for users:
If optimal fluorine removal is essential, it is advisable to replace FTO+ filters at a shorter interval, ideally around 500 to 1000 liters to ensure consistently high efficiency. This recommendation is a direct result of the objective and transparent analysis of the tests carried out.
Why is Coldstream FTO+ easier to use than Doulton ?
Filters Coldstream FTO+ offer a clear advantage in terms of simplicity compared to Doulton's filters.
• With FTO+ cartridges, the user gets a complete solution straight away. They don't need to choose between a cartridge that reduces fluorine (such as Ultra Fluoride) and one that removes microbiological, chemical and pharmaceutical contaminants (such as Ultra Sterasyl).
• At Doulton, choosing the Ultra Fluoride cartridge to remove fluorine means losing the other contaminant removal capabilities offered by Ultra Sterasyl. Users must therefore constantly arbitrate between two essential needs.
• Using a single FTO+ cartridge greatly simplifies maintenance and periodic replacements. This saves users from managing multiple cartridges, reducing the risk of errors, simplifying purchasing logistics and regular replacements.
• The FTO+'s unique cartridge avoids the potential confusion customers may have when selecting the appropriate cartridge for each specific contaminant.
In short, Coldstream FTO+ filters offer a simpler, more intuitive and more efficient solution, simultaneously covering all essential contaminants with a single cartridge, whereas Doulton forces users to choose between two complementary, but incompatible solutions.
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