To use a ten year old hot water bottle?

[museumum]

Are you all seriously replacing them every two years like the advice says? I honestly couldn’t send one to landfill that often.
I might be pushing it with the one I used tonight that’s marked 2014 - but I don’t use it that often.

I replaced mine last year after seeing something about it on Martin Lewis, it was pretty old before that.

Lets us know if it holds up or write this from A&E

The burns can be horrific, and depending how they heal, life changing.

I reckon mine is over 20 years old but I only put water from the tap in it. Never put water from the kettle in. Didn't know it was a thing until a friend did it a few years ago.

If you take the cover off as you fill them up, IMO you can always tell when they're getting iffy compared to when they've still got decent life in them. They get far more 'floppy' when hot the older they are, and you'll notice the back seems thin compared to when it was new. If you get a new one anyway you'll be able to tell the difference I'm talking about, brand new ones don't flop!

You can't tell any of this with the cover on it though, which I suspect is why accidents happen - they sneak up on you.

I didn't realise this, although it makes sense I guess.

I still occasionally use one I got when I was 13...I'm 35 now!

I wouldn’t.

I had one burst on my child when he was very poorly. At first I though the scream was the headache returning but then saw the red skin. It was absolutely awful. I haven't dared use a hot water bottle again since for that reason but if I did, I'd always buy a new one before when it expires. They're cheap as chips, why risk it?

I have used hot water bottles all my life, I am early 60s,I have never experienced a burst or leak.

I have burnt myself a couple of times when I fell asleep with a bit of me against the bottle. So these days all my bottles have a protective cover.

I don't think these wheat based things really do the job.

Mine leaked in my sleeping bag when camping. Fortunately it just got my feet (which I quickly moved!) and not my 4yo child who was sharing the double sleeping bag with me. She often hugged it but because she was asleep I moved it to my feet that night. Thank goodness.

Fortunately my feet were on top, not underneath and I moved quickly, so no burns, and no horrifically burnt child by an absolute fluke. A soaking sleeping bag when camping in the rain was as bad as it got, though I was shaken up.

It was about 2 years old and in a fluffy cover.

So you use plastic rather than natural rubber?

We've tried wheat bags. They're wet and attract bugs, eventually.

We have a microwave thing for Ds2's bed but don't use it very often because it doesn't seem to be very good for the microwave. It all but finished off our old one.

I'll stick with renewing hot water bottles every few years and reminding DH not to burp them on his belly if he values his bollocks.

I use a plug in heat pad instead now or a heated disc (it's the cats technically but I use it more!)
The plug in heat pad is brilliant

Get one of these, they don't use much electric, it's not as restricting as a heated blanket
I have it on my lap or sometimes put my feet on it

amzn.eu/d/ehIKrzt

Wow, they don’t make them like that anymore I mean to last.

I was the same until I had not one but two hot water bottles explode on me this year! I was unlucky that it happened twice but very lucky not to suffer any serious injury as I was able to catch it and chuck it away from me quickly both times!

They definitely don't make 'em like they used to.

I am so so glad I’ve read this thread.
I have been taking a big risk with my children’s safety - and mine. I had no idea.

Thank you!!!

This never used to happen 30 or 40 years ago they must be using poorer quality rubber these days.

I voted YABU and now I’ve read all these terrible replies about scalds and burns 😢 ….

slopes off to put bottles from 2009 in the bin

Last year I ended up with 1st & 2nd degree burns to my abdomen because of a degraded water bottle- it burst with no pressure on it, and the pain and annoyance of burnt guts has taught me my lesson. So yes they are replaced every 2-3 years. The rubber degrades with age and whilst it's never happened before- I can be 100% sure it will never happen again.

We buy new ones every second year. A 10 yo bottle is way to risky.

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/burns-surgeon-warns-check-hot-094611976.html

This article sums it up. It is the hospital that is famous for treating WW2 burns victims. I used to work here, sadly moved away, it is a lovely place and a friend still works there. She won’t have a hot water bottle in her house as she has seen the damage they can do.

So is there more of am issue with hot water bottles that have covers?
I have know a couple burst as a child, but in a thought I wet the bed type way. We never had covers for them but they would have been decades old. The filling protocol was to fil it over the sink, put the stopper in, dry it on a tea towel and give it a really good shake upside down to check for leaks. This wouldn't be possible inside a cover.
A boy at school got horrible burns from falling asleep on a hot water bottle. Not from the immediate temperate but from it being prolonged.

Don't last hours and hours like a h.w. bottle.

Are there dates on these?

Yes, rubber gets old and instead of soft and rubbery it starts to perish and gets hard and brittle. This is part of the reason gas equipment needs to be checked as rubber hosing will be flexible when installed (like under your hobs for example) but over time will breakdown and split causing a leak.

If it's an old one I'd just be careful not to put a full kettle of boiling water in. Just accept the risk it could burst or leak. If you use very hot water it could be very dangerous.

Always use a cover! You could and would burn yourself on bare rubber. Like when you put a bag of peas or ice on an injury you need a layer of cloth so you don't freeze burn your skin either