How to Tell That it's Time to Replace Your Electric Blanket

How to Tell That it’s Time to Replace Your Electric Blanket

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If you’re anything like us, you’ll get a lot of use out of your electric blanket on those cold winter nights! Electric blankets have come a long way in recent years, but they don’t last forever. There are a few telltale signs that show you might need to replace your electric blanket, so if you have an old electric blanket that’s seen better days, make sure to check it over for one of these signs before you use it!

It’s Over 10 Years Old

The fire service recommends that you replace your electric blanket after 10 years. If you’ve got an ancient heated blanket that’s been sat in the cupboard for ages, have a think about when you bought it before you plug it in. This is one reason you should never buy a second-hand electric blanket – you don’t know exactly how old it is! Any blankets that are more than a decade old should be replaced, even if you think it’s working fine and it doesn’t appear to be damaged. You may still need to replace your electric blanket before it’s 10 years old, so if you spot any of the signs below, you should get rid of it no matter how old it is!

The Fabric is Frayed

If your electric blanket is looking a bit battered and threadbare, you should definitely pick up a new one. Electric blankets contain a metal wire which gets really hot, however this heat is absorbed by the fabric of your blanket, meaning it’s distributed evenly and doesn’t burn you. If the fabric of your blanket gets frayed, the heating element inside can be exposed and come into contact with your skin. This puts you at a real risk of burns, so make sure you regularly check for bare patches on your electric blanket.

The Fabric is Creased or Folded in an Unusual Way

Electric blankets are very carefully designed. The heating element inside them is made of a single wire, which is covered with a protective coating. The wire is shaped in a way that distributes heat across the whole blanket evenly (or it should be if it’s a decent blanket!). If your blanket gets rucked or creased, this can bend the wire out of shape, meaning warmth won’t be distributed evenly. This doesn’t just mean you end up with hot and cold patches all over your blanket – it’s a real safety risk, too. If the wire gets bent out of shape, the protective coating on it can be damaged, leading to a potential burn hazard. You can prevent this from happening by storing your electric blanket away properly. Electric blankets should be rolled, not folded, to ensure that the wire inside doesn’t bend or break. You should also be careful when putting your blanket in the washing machine; again, roll, don’t fold and make sure you wash it on a gentle setting.

Your Electric Blanket is Discoloured or Scorch Marked

If you notice your blanket is looking a little scorched or discoloured, don’t use it! This is a sign that it’s overheating. Most modern blankets are fitted with overheat protection to ensure they never get too hot, but older or cheaply-made blankets may not have this feature. If your blanket is getting hot enough to scorch its own fabric, it goes without saying that you shouldn’t want it anywhere near you. Replace it with a new model.

The Controller Makes a Buzzing Sound or Smells Funny

Your electric blanket doesn’t actually contain any electrical components except for its heating element. That’s why modern blankets are safe to be put in the washing machine! All the sensitive electrical components are housed inside your blanket’s power cord and controller. This is what controls the temperature and timer settings of your blanket, so you always want it to be working properly. If your controller is making a buzzing sound, or if it starts to smell like burning, this is a sign that there’s a fault with your electric blanket control. In this case, you might be able to get away with replacing the controller, but if you want to be on the safe side you can replace the whole blanket.

The Power Cord is Damaged

The power cord is the most sensitive part of your electric blanket. It provides power and contains your blanket’s control unit. Make sure you check your power cord – including the connector where it attaches to the blanket itself – regularly for damage. Keep an eye out for strains or splits in the cord as well as any potential discolouration or scorch marks.  

Alternative to Electric Blanket

With the potential dangers associated with electric blankets, the question becomes, “are electric blankets our only option?” Fortunately, we are not without alternatives to a heating pad or heated blankets. If you have

If you are concerned about the safety of using an electric blanket, there are quite a few options and even safer alternatives to help keep you warm.

Below are a few safe options to explore.

Throw Blankets

That's right.— Try a good, old-fashioned, non-electric blanket to get snug as a bug. This continues to be the easiest way to warm up your bed and keep you warm all night long. When it's time to choose a blanket, make sure it will help you stay warm.

The warmest materials for blankets are cotton, wool, cashmere, and fleece. You can always double down on warmth by making sure your bed sheets are made from these warmer materials. Just be sure to follow the washing instructions with those wool and cashmere ones.

If one is warm, then two will certainly be warmer. If you're still cold, keep piling on the blankets until you're completely warm.

For more fleece electric heated throw supplierinformation, please contact us. We will provide professional answers.

Water-Heated Blanket

A study found that an increased core temperature can cause a significant decline in sleep efficiency – the total time a person is asleep in bed. This can occur by creating a continuously heated environment, interfering with our body's sleep cycles.

With the help of the best cooling blanket, you can improve your sleep! The Cool Luxe is a 15-pound cooling weighted blanket that helps you settle into deep sleep that won't trap your body heat. How? Well, it circulates channels of water to neutralize ambient temperature from 55-115°F. It can be used as a heating blanket or weighted blanket.

Why Water? Water has natural thermal advantages that make our temperature-regulated weighted blanket very effective in heating and cooling.

Flannel Sheet

To help you keep your bed warm, try removing your standard sheets and replacing them with flannel sheets. Flannel traps heat in insulating air pockets. So, when in bed, your body heat is trapped, and the pockets help retain it. Basically, it insulates you while you’re sleeping.

Did You Know: Even though you aren’t in your bed, the pockets continue to retain the warm air.

Pajamas

Sometimes a warm set of pajamas is all it takes to keep cozy when it's cold out. There are plenty of fabrics to choose from to keep warm for a great night's sleep. Flannel, wool, cotton, fleece, silk, and thermal are just a few that help you stay warm during the cold weather, making getting out of bed during the night a little easier.

Sleeping Tip: If you’re concerned about getting too warm, flannel is the most breathable listed above.

Like Ralphie in the movie "Christmas Story," you could even channel your inner childhood and wear a bright pink bunny suit with big floppy ears to stay warm.

Sleeping with Socks

As strange as it seems, there are benefits to sleeping with socks. When thinking about wearing socks to sleep, it’s expected to think your feet would overheat. But, in reality, doing so may assist in lowering the body’s core temperature regulation, helping you achieve better sleep.

Not only does wearing them help you get better sleep, but a study reported that individuals who sleep with them fell asleep faster. [6]

Do You Wear Socks in Bed? Twenty-eight percent of people love wearing socks when they go to bed while 44% mentioned they hate going to bed with them on. [7]

Hot Water Bottles

Regardless of how old-fashioned it may be, the hot water bottle is still effective in keeping you warm. Holding a plastic container with boiling hot water at the foot of your bed is hardly peril-free.

In addition to the safety risks associated with using this antiquated method, there is also a time limit to the efficacy of this method.

The heat dissipates with every minute the hot water bottle is exposed to the laws of thermodynamics. But you won't have to worry about setting your alarm because once the heat wears off, the cold will wake you up!

Sleep Tip: Are you interested in giving this method a try? Leave the hot water bottle underneath your blanket for approximately 5-10 minutes before you plan to enter the bed. At this point, it's going to be nice and warm!

For more information, please visit electric heating pad for neck and shoulders.