Hot water bottle safety

Thanks for this. Had absolutely no idea about the dates being on it.
And not sure I was aware there is a lifespan to hot water bottles anyway.

some esp younger people do not seem aware of how to safely use hot water bottles, ie to expel air carefully, and never use boiling water.
OP thanks for the reminder re age too; when i ran a safety check project on electric blankets years ago everyone thought theirs was newer than it was.
some said they'd had it perhaps 5 years; the expert we engaged identified it as manufactured 25 years ago, and not sold since 21 years ago.
we had an arrangement with a well known retailer to supply a new blanket to any elder who presented with an unsafe one.
those were the days !
one had to be carefully bagged and tagged to hazardous waste as it contained asbestos !
one blanket that is, not one elder.

I knew this and threw away my lovely bottle and replaced it with one from Tesco, only to find that the new one was actually made before my old one! Lesson learned….check the flower before you buy.

How very interesting, never knew that.I’ll be checking my ancient old bottle ,I bet it’s twenty years old🫢

I didn’t know this either so I’ll be checking the dates of both my hot water bottles now. Thanks for the information Dee.

I’ve learnt something Dee. Thanks for posting.

Thank you Dee, we learn something every day! Hot water bottles can become very thin after prolonged use. This is difficult to notice if they are in a cover. I remember my father showing me how to fill my hot water bottle correctly - expelling the air . That was a very long time ago, I still fill my bottle in exactly the way he taught me - thanks Dad!

thanks for that Dee1012, i had no idea. my bottles are about 5 (i think!) years old and neither have flowers, all from boots!

catladyuk

thanks for that Dee1012, i had no idea. my bottles are about 5 (i think!) years old and neither have flowers, all from boots!

If there are no flowers apparently you can look out for the BS safety standard, which should read BS 1970:2012.... apologies, should have noted that in my original post.

I use the one we gave my mum just before she died (2004!)

But it’s a microwaveable heat pad one, in the shape of a traditional hot water bottle and in a cover.

It was much safer for Mum than trying to fill one with hot water.

I like it, doesn’t keep hot for as long as the hot water ones, but is fine for about three hours.

Very informative not something I knew about Thanks.

Martin Lewis mentioned this in his programme last night.

Thankyou Dee1012 for this timely reminder.
Please, please, please check your hot water bottles. I once jumped into bed and landed on a hot water bottle which had been placed near the top of the bed. It was not only old and perished but full of boiling water. It was many years ago now but I can still recall the "bang" as the bottle exploded and the shock of being soaked in boiling hot water. (Also the indignity of having my legs and backside swaddled in bandages for several weeks)

I prefer the microwave hot bag type. Have a long snake type one I've had for many years. It's the absolute best!

Oh dear - I can’t even remember when I bought mine - at least 20 years ago - it’s got a screw pack - I usually place it at the bottom of the bed under the duvet. My house is kept pretty warm, so hwb not needed often..

Screw top

I love my hot water bottles but never knew about the flower
I have always filled them with boiling water and been using them since I was a wee young thing
I don’t have any heating so my hot water bottles are my life line
( well I have a gas fire in my main room but nothing else and nothing upstairs) Just got home from work and I ve got my hot water bottle by my back right now lovely

An elderly man I knew had a bad back and used to go out with a hot water bottle strapped to his back. We were at a community centre and he asked me if I would top it up for him. He passed it to me and I was horrified to see how old it was and the rubber at the neck was so perished! I showed him and told him not to use it but he insisted there were years of use left in it. I should have binned it to be honest.

I know a lady whose private parts and upper thighs were badly burnt using a hot water bottle that burst when using it to help during a painful period. I use the small blanket type plug in hotties, they cost 1p or so per hour and are safe. I’ll never use a hot water bottle again.

Well, you live and learn even when you’re an oldie!
Thanks for that, Dee I shall check mine out though I don’t use them regularly, more for pain relief really.

I had no idea that the flower indicates the date of manufacture! Mine are both BSI kitemarked, as most are now, but seeing that one was made in 2014 and one in 2017 has been a surprise!

I have heated throws upstairs and downstairs so the HWBs aren’t used so much, but they’re good to have for winter power cuts. I’ll be looking for new ones. Thank you for the tip!

That must have been horrendous for you, having had a scold myself, I can empathise. Hot water bottles,the most dangerous household item there is.
Dislike them with a vengeance. Treat yourself to an electric blanket, cheap to run, and switch off before getting into bed.
Many other safer things around for aches and pains etc.

Here again having checked them. I was astonished to see they were 10 years old . I guess they’ll have to go even if not used much. They were quality Boots ones, made in Germany and probably new ones will be made in China….

I asked my Dh what he thought the mark meant. Ever the engineer, he suggested it was the grade of rubber used in manufacturing. My HWB says it dates from April 2010. I’m astonished, as I am sure it’s been replaced in the past five years or so. Maybe it had been hanging around in the small chemist where I bought it for the previous eight years.

Freya my friend’s son is a firefighter. He has forbidden his family from using electric blankets because so many fires start in them, so maybe they’re not that safe.