How safe are electric overblankets?

[Barbaraanne22]

I have an elderly, rather forgetful (not dementia as far as we know) relative who is always complaining they are cold when they sit in the chair watching TV in the evenings. I saw an advert for a Relaxwell electric throw blanket which looks good, but could she have problems / risks with it? Thanks

I’ve got a Dreamland heated throw and it’s lovely. Got it from Argos. It has a setting where it will shut off after an hour. The most dangerous thing about it is tripping up over the lead, but if you have a sensibly placed plug you should be ok.

I have exactly this blanket. I am forever tripping over the wire, but only because I tidy it away when I'm not using it, and forget the best way round! If your relative sets it up with the wire behind the chair, there are no problems.

It really heats up incredibly quickly, I switch it off after 5 or 10 minutes and the blanket holds the heat. It is very soft and comfy, so useful even without the heating element!

Thanks, I think I have mother's day present cracked then!

You could put it on a timer plug for extra reassurance to make sure it is always off over night.

Plug timer is a great idea. Ive been thinking about getting one for my forever cold physically disabled teen but was worried about him having to get up and turn it off, hes often to tired to move plus forgetful on top.

never thought of the timer plug

My parents have pretty much everything in their house on timers.
Not so good if you stay up a bit late watching tv and suddenly all the lights (and the tv) go off