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16th Oct 2023

The harmful hot water bottle mistake people are making

Kat O'Connor

My hot water bottle will be glued to me for the foreseeable future

Autumn has well and truly arrived after an unexpected rise in temperatures earlier this month. We temporarily abandoned our jumpers and hot water bottles, but cozy season is officially here.

With the weather expected to get colder, we’re preparing ourselves for chillier evenings at home.

If, like us, your hot water bottle becomes your best friend during the winter months then you need to keep reading.

Health experts have issued a warning to the public after discovering a risk associated with using hot water bottles.

Everyone’s house has atleast one hot water bottle that has been around for way too long, but we usually don’t take much notice of it.

However, using old hot water bottles is incredibly dangerous and can increase your risk of getting burned.

According to Child Accident Prevention Trust, there’s a small detail on our hot water bottle that we need to take notice of.

The experts warned: “Old hot water bottles can break and cause serious burns.”

They have advised the public to check for “signs of wear and tear” before using their hot water bottle.

You also shouldn’t use a hot water bottle if it is over two years old.

You can check how old it is by looking at the flower symbol.

“This flower symbol, found on hot water bottles, indicates exactly when it was made. The number in the middle is the year it was made, the flower segments represent the 12 months of the year and the dots inside those represent the number of weeks.”

If yours is over two years old then it is best to purchase a new one because your risk of being burned is higher.

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