Page 3 | To remind people NOT to use hot water bottles?

nomas · 23/09/2025 12:25

NuffSaidSam · 21/09/2025 22:41

Agree. The wheat bags are so much better, safer and easier to use.

No, they’re not. I’ve had more heat from a red pepper than a wheat bag.

TimSamandLulu · 23/09/2025 12:24

I’ve had two significant burns/scalds as a result of hot water bottles. YANBU

nomas · 23/09/2025 12:24

Jade3450 · 22/09/2025 13:28

Got any links?

I had one split once - it just made the bed a bit wet, that’s all. No big deal.

If your hot water bottle is ‘exploding’ then I would guess you’re either using far too much water or not filling it at an angle to dispel the air.

It’s not rocket science.

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Yep, OP doesn’t know how to use safely a HWB and therefore thinks no one else can either..

nomas · 23/09/2025 12:22

Laptopsas · 22/09/2025 03:29

It’s just a thread. There’s no legally binding element. Don’t get yourself upset. It’s okay.

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You sound like a scaremongerer.

What’s your next advice thread going to be:l, here are some suggestions.

Don’t have baths, you can drown
Don’t drive a car, you can crash
Don’t fly in a plane, you can explode
Don’t cross a street, you can get run over

Or you could just get out of your bedroom and away from your PC and get some fresh air.

marchmash · 23/09/2025 12:14

@scalt Yes I remember that book. I loved it! thanks for sharing the link!

Herewegoagainandagainandagain · 23/09/2025 12:11

Aerom · 22/09/2025 13:11

Hot water bottles have a date on them. There is a flower on the side or on neck. The number in the middle is the year of manufacture- 23 means 2023. Then around the edge are petals with dots. Dots represent the week of manufacture. So if 4 dots in two petals and two dots in a 3rd, mid March.

You should only use HWBs for two years as the rubber around the stopper rots/shrinks/cracks

If it is such a safety issue using beyond 2 years why not just put a clear expiry date on them instead of a secret code!

(rhetorical question, I know you are not responsible for HWB date stamping!)

Just checked one of ours in a cupboard nearby and it says 2012 🤪 (we have older ones upstairs). Reckon if they have lasted this long with no signs of wear and tear they are good for a few years yet!

scalt · 23/09/2025 10:04

I've found a video of someone reading Phoebe and the Hot Water bottles. It's well worth it for 1970s nostalgia, and for unconventional uses of hot water bottles.

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music that you love, upload original content and share it all with friends, family and the world on YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-GEePby8UY

scalt · 23/09/2025 10:00

By the way, are you (OP) Susie from Big Brother, in about 2007? She was a dour rather posh contestant, who was always moralising to her younger housemates about something or other, and one thing she warned them about was the danger of hot water bottles.

ShinyAppleDreamingOfTheSea · 23/09/2025 09:41

scalt · 23/09/2025 08:35

Does anyone remember the lovely book “Phoebe and the Hot water bottles”? It was a children’s book in the 1970s, in which Phoebe has a single father who gives her a hot water bottle every time she is good, and she has one hundred and fifty-seven of them. She plays with them like dolls, and at night she is “the warmest little girl in the world”.

The book is now sadly discredited and out of print, because she uses the hot water bottles to put out a fire, and as a reward, she is given her very own puppy, which she had always wanted. Oh how times have moved on…

I remember a story from when I was little about some faries that were freezing and a child gave them her hot water bottle so they all climbed in under the cover and warmed their toes!!

ShinyAppleDreamingOfTheSea · 23/09/2025 09:40

If the bottle is exploding then you are overfilling it and not letting the air out of the top.

scalt · 23/09/2025 08:35

Does anyone remember the lovely book “Phoebe and the Hot water bottles”? It was a children’s book in the 1970s, in which Phoebe has a single father who gives her a hot water bottle every time she is good, and she has one hundred and fifty-seven of them. She plays with them like dolls, and at night she is “the warmest little girl in the world”.

The book is now sadly discredited and out of print, because she uses the hot water bottles to put out a fire, and as a reward, she is given her very own puppy, which she had always wanted. Oh how times have moved on…

scalt · 23/09/2025 08:26

The Europeans have sex lives: the British have hot water bottles.

This was from a book “how to be a Brit”, and the illustration was of an old pottery hot water bottle.

PiggyPigalle · 22/09/2025 22:51

JasmineTea11 · 22/09/2025 10:37

Used hot water bottles my entire life, with boiling water. Never had an issue, it's user error surely.
Health and safety gone mad!

Not only boiling water I hope, that perishes the rubber inside so you wouldn't know. Always hot water or some cold in first.

AbbeyGrange · 22/09/2025 21:24

Greenshed · 22/09/2025 21:05

Surely you could argue this about anything we might use in life, but the likelihood of these things happening for the vast majority are slim, eg :

Don't drive a car, you might crash
Don’t use an electric blanket, it might catch fire
Don’t use a gas fire, it might explode
Don't light candles, they might cause a fire.

OK, maybe I’m being flippant, but to be honest, using hot water bottles, if used with care (ie check they’re not leaking, check you’ve fastened them properly, do not use freshly boiled water but hot water, etc), then they’ll be fine.

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Exactly, just apply common sense to anything in life and you'll be fine, you'd never live otherwise..

Greenshed · 22/09/2025 21:05

Laptopsas · 21/09/2025 22:40

There is another thread running about cold weather and hit water bottles are being recommended as safe. They are not.

Get a heated throw or the microwaveable bags.

If you must use one, don’t use boiling water.

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5068468-to-remind-you-all-to-throw-out-old-hot-water-bottles

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5176765-water-bottle-exploded

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c2kd7k2e48jo

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cdxnez4zxkno

Surely you could argue this about anything we might use in life, but the likelihood of these things happening for the vast majority are slim, eg :

Don't drive a car, you might crash
Don’t use an electric blanket, it might catch fire
Don’t use a gas fire, it might explode
Don't light candles, they might cause a fire.

OK, maybe I’m being flippant, but to be honest, using hot water bottles, if used with care (ie check they’re not leaking, check you’ve fastened them properly, do not use freshly boiled water but hot water, etc), then they’ll be fine.

Makemineacosmo · 22/09/2025 20:40

They're perfectly safe if you use them properly.

AbbeyGrange · 22/09/2025 20:35

PinkSparklyPussyCat · 22/09/2025 20:26

Wheat bags don't hold the heat as long as a hot water bottle and they always smell funny

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Yeah they last 10 minutes max and smell of strong Lavender...

PinkSparklyPussyCat · 22/09/2025 20:26

NuffSaidSam · 21/09/2025 22:41

Agree. The wheat bags are so much better, safer and easier to use.

Wheat bags don't hold the heat as long as a hot water bottle and they always smell funny

moderate · 22/09/2025 20:19

Laptopsas · 21/09/2025 22:59

Type it into Google and there will be numerous stories over many years. It’s in the news every winter. Surprised you’ve never heard of it.

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I just typed it into Google. Several headlines say "exploded" but no article describes any explosions.

ItsNotYou852 · 22/09/2025 20:19

Severe nostalgia now! Think I'll go out and buy a bottle tomorrow, haven't had one since I was a child.
And I grew up in the days of multiple houses burning down because of electric blankets, so they are a big no foe me. Sure they've moved on but still.
I love my wheatbag for my stiff neck, sore shoulders but it's true they don't hold their heat for long.
Fortunately I don't have much of a cold bed problem as I have a cat and a dog bedwarmers.

Aerom · 22/09/2025 20:04

Also with microwave wheat bags, you can mould them around your body. Such as if you have period pain, you have more heat contact than a HWB

Wtafdidido · 22/09/2025 19:32

If you use them safely and replace them regularly they are fine. Wheat bags stink and if overheated they steam and can burn as badly as a hot water bottle.

SummerFrog25 · 22/09/2025 19:28

Randomlygeneratedname · 22/09/2025 07:11

I find as long as you replace it every other day or so it is generally fine.

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Ok, so you were joking.

that's a bit stupid on a thread like this where someone might think 'oh that's a good idea'

SummerFrog25 · 22/09/2025 19:24

Randomlygeneratedname · 22/09/2025 07:07

HWB are totally safe if used correctly.

I don't use boiling water, I put cold water in then pop it in the microwave for 5 minutes.

Totally safe.

NO ITS NOT

that's very dangerous, they should never be put in the microwave!!

(Or were you joking??)

KilkennyCats · 22/09/2025 19:14

LynetteScavo · 22/09/2025 19:11

I was shown how to correctly fill a hot water bottle as a child. There is a time and a place for hot water bottles. I would urge everyone not to use an old one and to check the expiry date on the flower on the neck, though.

Well if this thread has done nothing else, it’s made me aware of the flower.
Genuinely never knew this.