To remind people NOT to use hot water bottles?

[Laptopsas]

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

My brother suffered a severe burn from a hot water bottle where the cover slipped and the rubber bit pressed against his leg. He has been on a night out and was a little worse for wear so didn’t notice until it was practically stuck to his skin

They've definitely changed since those days. You can get ones you can sleep on top of and can leave on all night if you want. I love my electric blanket. I put it on for 15 minutes while I clean my teeth and it warms the whole bed.

I've not read all the links in the OP but what is typical with these stories in the media is that no one asked the 'victim' what they did wrongly.

There are risks to everything, even pouring boiling water from your kettle into a teapot or getting the roast out of the oven.

Years ago, before we had airfryers and oven chips, there used to be accidents and fires with chip pans. The oil would catch fire. But no one said ban chip pans.

The answer was to educate people how to use them safely.

I use them and will continue to use them. I get replace at 3 years or if the bottle is under 3 years but has done 2 full winters of use. I use hot but not boiling water, don’t overfill, expel extra air and use a cover so there is a barrier between the rubber and my skin.

I’ve had a wheat bag combust in flames a while after being taken out of a microwave so I’m not too fond of them but some of my kids prefer them.

I’ve also seen pretty much every accident known to man over the years but would never tell people not to walk on the pavement for example - had quite a few people die after cars lost control, mounted pavements and hit them. You just need to be sensible about things and accept there is risk in pretty much every single aspect of life.

So it was because he was drunk, not because he used a hot water bottle. He was too drunk to wake up when the bottle burned his skin. I hope he's ok but it's a bit like saying ban cars because the driver was killed while driving when drunk.

In the Netherlands they use metal ones with a screw top. Advantage is it can't randomly burst or come undone that easily. Of course it then needs a slightly thicker cover. But still...

😂

Advise people not to drink tea or coffee, either, OP - loads of serious burns from cups of those, too. Handles breaking on cups, uneven surfaces, accidental spillages… Lethal, I tell you, lethal…

I am life long HWB user. I will however replace both mine and DS's this winter.
I've just checked my Amazon orders and they are both coming up for 3 years old.

Sometimes I find it difficult to believe some of the nonsense people put up on here! HWBs have been around for years and years (with copper warming pans before that). I appreciate that some people are stupid and don't take the appropriate precautions around using them, but whatever happened to common sense? There is nothing more comforting than a lovely warm HWB - infinitely preferable to lying on something electrical in bed!

Total rubbish. There's nothing wrong with hot water bottles. The issue is that some people weren't taught by their mothers as kids NEVER to fill a bottle with boiling water - just in case something like this happens.

I'm not giving up my 2 (yes, 2) bottles just because some other people are too stupid to use them properly.

YABVVU.

Love a hot water bottle, much more that the other options tbh - cheaper too. I always put boiling water in (on top of a little cold) and had quite a few get a little leak on me, and still never been burned. People should be sensible but i certainly won't stop using hot water bottles.

I cut my finger badly on my kitchen knife once but I didn’t put it in the bin afterwards.

Certainly people need to be told how to use hot water bottles correctly, to minimise risk of burns.

But I don’t these posts saying “AIBU to tell you to
do this, to remind you to do that…” the irritation is up there with “gentle reminder”. You might as well tell people not to drive a car, too dangerous.

Not lucky, just sensible. I replace mine every couple of years and have never put boiling water in as guess what ? If you are sensible you don’t !!

Oh how I hate 'gentle reminder'.
The word reminder is fine.

Don’t use hot water bottles, ‘cos climate change, innit.
Don’t keep throwing away hot water bottles, ‘cos landfill, innit.
Don’t be cold at night, ‘cos the NHS can’t cope with people being ill, innit.
Something will always be “wrong”, whichever course of action we take.

Hot water bottles were crock before they used rubber - I had a crock hot water bottle at my grans house back when I was a child, she had inherited it from her mother. It was placed in the bed before I went up and then taken out and it left the bed warm for me to get in. You don't have to leave the hot water bottle in the bed, use it to warm the bed and then place on the floor as you get into bed.

This is me, I still remember my Nan screaming at me because I put the electric blanket on during the night when staying at her house in the early 80s. She never shouted at me and I was so upset. I think it’s why I refuse to allow my children to have them

i know the op is getting a hard time but I’m glad of the thread as I knew the risks of water bottles but not wheat bags which my DCs do take to bed. I’m going have to rethink things now.

When I was small we had what they called stone bottles, they fell out of the bed with an enormous chasm and woke you up.

Tbh I always hated the idea of having a bag of scalding water in bed with me.

omg when I read this last night I was thinking of when I stayed at my friends and her mum did this, from memory I think it was tizer bottles 😝

Grew up in a house with no heating upstairs, relying on hot water bottels tonheat our beds before going to sleep. Never once had an issue and knew noone who ever suffered burns from them. I know they can cause burns if your not careful, id just be cautious.

Crash

Cherry pit bags are pretty good ime. And even if there is a hole in the bag (has happened to me) they tend to fall out one at a time. You’re quite unlike to suddenly be covered by the entire bag (unlike with a burst water bottle…)

(and they’re one of he few things that help with my truly excruciating period pains whilst waiting for the painkillers to kick in…)