ITV’s This Morning is urging people to ensure they replace their hot water bottles when they expire as they launch an “urgent campaign to prevent the worrying number of serious burns being caused by old and dangerous hot water bottles”. ITV revealed that “several high street retailers currently selling hot water bottles made before October 2022”.
This is worrying as “despite the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents advising they should be replaced two years after being manufactured” ITV say they have uncovered many being sold on the high street that goes against this advice.
Consumer Editor Alice Beer warned viewers watching the show: “The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents say there is an expiry date of hot water bottles which is two years after the date of manufacture.”
How can you tell when a hot water bottle expires?
Alice noted that you can tell when your hot water bottle’s expiry date is by looking at the “daisy wheel system”. You should see a number, such as ’22’, followed by dots going around the number, which are separated into sections. If you see dots in three of the sections, this indicates the third month, which is March, and if you see it in nine sections around the number ’22’, then this means the ninth month, aka September.
If we take the latter as an example, this means it was manufactured in September 2022. Alice further noted that it is important when buying a hot water bottle it has the British standard mark which should look like ‘BS 1970:2012’.
Hot water bottle burn warning
When asked if you should put boiling water in a hot water bottle, Alice replied quickly “absolutely not” stating that the injuries hospitals and AandE are seeing are because people are using such hot water pointing out that they are made from rubber and one of the things that can “degrade” rubber – such as that used to make a hot water bottle – is boiling water.
Talking on the show with Alice was Yazmin Hardy who is being investigated for endometriosis – a common health condition which can cause painful periods. Because of this, she used a hot water bottled to try and ease some of her pain. However she soon found out just how dangerous old water bottles can be when hers burst, leaving her with agonising burns and scarring. She now cannot use a hot water bottle, saying she has been left “traumatised” by the event.
Yazmin, who used hot water bottles regularly to ease the pain caused by endometriosis, said: “It literally just split down the side of the seam. I boiled the kettle and poured the water straight in, I sat on the sofa and within 30 seconds… I just never thought that was a possibility so I thought maybe I hadn’t screwed the lid on properly. It just poured all over me.”
Dos and don’ts of hot water bottles
According to ITV, you should:
- Fill with a mixture of cold and hot water
- Squeeze as much air as you can out of the bottle before closing it – If there’s air left in the bottle, the water can heat the air, meaning it expands, which may burst the bottle.
- Screw in the stopper until hand-tight
- Check the bottle for leaks
Don’t:
- Don’t use it if it’s cracked, worn, or leaking
- Never fill with boiling water
- Don’t heat by using the microwave or oven
- Don’t fill more than two-thirds full unless the bottle is designed to be fully filled
- Don’t place the bottle in direct contact with your skin – always have a cover, towel or clothing
- Avoid putting pressure or weight on the bottle
- Don’t sleep with the bottle in bed overnight
When storing the bottle, you should empty it and hang it upside-down to drain. “You can hang it upside down or lie it flat to store it and avoid placing anything on top of it to prevent damage,” ITV said.