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Can a hot water bottle stay hot all night?

(63 Posts)
HelterSkelter1 Sat 04-Nov-23 15:40:20

I have just read a tip on Facebook how to keep a hot water bottle hot all night. Roll up 6 small balls of aluminium foil and put into the bottle before filling.
Well I shall give it a go as I have both...foil and a bottle and see what happens. Nothing ventured etc etc.

BlueBelle Sun 05-Nov-23 09:39:38

I personally and I know it’s personal, don’t like covers or wheat bags I just like it as hot as possible and yes they are still lukewarm in the morning certainly not cold but then we are both in a sleeping bag under the duvet 😂
It just felt interesting to try the experiment which fully failed 🤣

Greyisnotmycolour Sun 05-Nov-23 09:54:09

Please treat yourself, or ask family for a modern electric blanket. I have one with six heat settings and it can be left in for 1, 3, or 6 hrs. The lower settings are perfect. If I wake up in the early hours and am cold or can't get back to sleep, I put it on a 2 setting for an hour. It works a treat at getting me back to sleep. It's far safer that a hot water bottle and far more reliable.

Greyisnotmycolour Sun 05-Nov-23 09:56:43

I forgot to say that you can buy electric blankets with dual controls so your other half can set their own temperature or even leave their side cold if that's what they prefer.

JenniferEccles Sun 05-Nov-23 10:01:55

Honestly an electric blanket really is the answer.
They only cost pennies a night to run and mine would enable me to keep it on for 9 hours per night if I wanted. Generally though I set it for it for one hour but then of course I can put it on again if I want.

Then there are about six different heat settings.
There’s no way I would go back to a hot water bottle!

silverlining48 Sun 05-Nov-23 10:05:55

I have a dual electric blanket. It heats up in a few minutes which means I put it on just before I get into bed. Then I switch it off.
A hot water bottle is very good for small areas, but an electric blanket warms the bed.

henetha Sun 05-Nov-23 10:47:51

I'm vaguely uneasy about having an electric blanket. I know it's silly. But I have just bought a heated throw for daytime use.
It's the thought of sleeping on an electrical device that niggles me.

silverlining48 Sun 05-Nov-23 11:15:01

We have always had one and 55 years later, so far no problem.
A friend some years younger than me was saying how cold she was in bed and I mentioned electric blankets. I thought everyone had one.
She got one and keeps telling me how much they love it.

NonnaW Sun 05-Nov-23 13:30:59

We thought about an electric blanket but I’m fairly sure they can’t be used with our tempur mattress. Maybe someone knows differently?

Kamiso Mon 06-Nov-23 21:54:16

SnuggleSafe Microwave Wireless Heatpad. (Amazon)

I bought one of these from a pet shop some years ago and still use it now. It is heated up in the microwave and is usually still warm in the morning.

annodomini Mon 06-Nov-23 22:56:55

I would like to have an electric blanket, but I can't find one that fits my 'small double' 4' bed.

icanhandthemback Tue 07-Nov-23 12:45:34

I would never have an electric blanket being married to a retired firefighter who has seen the damage they can do. He'd have a heart attack at the very thought of it.

grandtanteJE65 Tue 07-Nov-23 12:50:29

If you want a hot water bottle that will stay hot all night, you need an old fashioned Scottish "stone pig" a closed ceramic bottle with a screw top lid that you filled with hot water, wrapped in a towel and carried up to your bed, as it was too hot to be handled when newly filled.

It stayed hot all night, as did its continental cousin that was an oval shaped zinc or copper vessel with a screw top lid.

You might find a stone pig in an antique market - the rubber gasket that prevented water leaking out of the top will have perished, but if you keep the bottle level you should have no leaks, otherwise with a little ingenuity you can replace the gasket.

Kartush Tue 07-Nov-23 12:57:38

I have a plug in hot water bottle, once it is hot it stays hot for about 8 hours

Lizzie44 Tue 07-Nov-23 13:00:23

Life-long devotee of the hot water bottle. Sometimes take two to bed with me. Stays hot enough long enough to get me off to sleep and keep me warm and cosy all night. Just have to be careful not to get bottle near to DH - judging by his behavour if he comes in contact with a HWB he must have suffered some HWB-related trauma at a young age. Luckily he doesn't feel the cold and I keep the bottle to myself. I don't fancy an electric blanket from an electrical safety point of view. What if I wet the bed? Just thinking ahead....

Foxyferret Tue 07-Nov-23 13:05:24

You will all probably fall about laughing but I have one of those Belling bed warmers that look like a flying saucer. Probably from the 50s or 60s. Plug it in 15 minutes before bed and everything lovely and warm when you get into bed.

Damdee Tue 07-Nov-23 13:10:05

Kamiso mentioned the snugglesafe - originally bought one for the cat in a petshop, but now use one for me too. Mostly still warm in the morning. Heat lasts far longer than a hwb.

cc Tue 07-Nov-23 14:20:13

JenniferEccles

Honestly an electric blanket really is the answer.
They only cost pennies a night to run and mine would enable me to keep it on for 9 hours per night if I wanted. Generally though I set it for it for one hour but then of course I can put it on again if I want.

Then there are about six different heat settings.
There’s no way I would go back to a hot water bottle!

Yes, I agree with this. We had them in our old guest bedrooms and many people said how much they liked them, though they'd never used them before. I alway feel that if you get into a warm bed you're OK all night, even if you don't leave it on. You can always put it on for a short time if you have to get out of bed in the night.
Personally I'm a very hot sleeper and use a thin duvet all year round!

cc Tue 07-Nov-23 14:23:13

annodomini

I would like to have an electric blanket, but I can't find one that fits my 'small double' 4' bed.

Some electric blankets have fitted sides that cover the mattress so need to be the exact size. However quite a few are just flat blankets with ties. These are always smaller than the mattress size given and we used to use a double on a 4 foot bed, it almost reached the edges and had ties that went under the mattress.

cc Tue 07-Nov-23 14:23:54

NonnaW

We thought about an electric blanket but I’m fairly sure they can’t be used with our tempur mattress. Maybe someone knows differently?

I think that you are right, I remember being told this when I bought a Tempur.

Gundy Tue 07-Nov-23 14:29:57

I’ve never heard of the foil trick. Let us know how it works.

Me - I would forget the water bottle and get a heating pad that you can regulate the heat settings. Don’t worry about the cost - it’s pennies!

Where to place heating pads, water bottles to get you warmed up the fastest? Lay it across your thighs. There are major blood arteries that will circulate the heat through your body rapidly, from toes to fingers to forehead.
Cozy!
USA Gundy

cc Tue 07-Nov-23 14:30:45

I just looked one up at random on the Argos site, it says it's a small double,
www.argos.co.uk/product/3150658?clickPR=plp:3:6

Sue162 Tue 07-Nov-23 15:49:21

NonnaW: We have tempur mattresses on linked beds, making a super king bed. We each have a single electric duvet (Dreamland, I think) which solves the problem of not being able to have an electric underblanket on a tempur mattress. They are fabulous, many heat settings and can be washed (one at a time) in the washing machine in the summer. We then hang them out to dry in the sun and stow them away until winter. My DH is an electronics engineer and is totally happy with the safety of these duvets! smile

mokryna Tue 07-Nov-23 15:57:06

cc

NonnaW

We thought about an electric blanket but I’m fairly sure they can’t be used with our tempur mattress. Maybe someone knows differently?

I think that you are right, I remember being told this when I bought a Tempur.

Oh dear, I never knew that or maybe I did but have forgotten. What have I been doing for the last eight years.😨

twiglet77 Tue 07-Nov-23 16:33:39

I love my heated throws and much prefer having an electric throw OVER the duvet than the old electric blanket under the sheet. I have a fleece throw over the electric one as the dog and cat sleep with me. I’m sure they’d give it full marks too!

I keep my hot water bottles handy in case of power cuts, and having recently read the tip on ageing them from the flower symbol on the neck, I’ll be replacing them before winter. One has a knitted cover and one fleecy, they’re both still warm in the morning if I’ve 3/4 filled them from the kettle at bedtime. I put one under my feet and hug the other, if I’m not hugging my dog.

Greciangirl Tue 07-Nov-23 16:52:00

I have a fluffy cover but the heat doesn’t come through as expected.

It’s lovely and cosy, but not hot enough for me.

I’m contemplating an electric heat pad now.