If you’ve had your hot water bottle for longer than you can remember, you may be putting yourself at risk of severe burns, according to health experts.
According to data shared with ITV News, the number of serious burns caused by hot water bottles has almost doubled in the last five years.
Additionally, 968 people in England and Wales were admitted to burn units with these injuries in 2024, compared to 501 in 2020, according to the International Burn Injury Database.
As concerning as this data is, there’s a quick way to check if your hot water bottle is still safe to use.
How long are hot water bottles safe to use for?
David McGill, clinical lead for Care of Burns in Scotland (COBIS) and consultant plastic surgeon, said on the NHS Scotland website: “Hot water bottles have a life of two to three years, any older and they can be prone to the rubber degrading and bursting.
“In the last few years we’ve seen many lower limb and groin scalds and burns from hot water bottles. Contact burns can also happen when the bottle is filled with boiling water and used without a cover.”
How to check that your hot water bottle is still safe to use
Each hot water bottle made in the UK has a ‘flower wheel’ embossed onto the funnel of the hot water bottle, it should look something like this:
In the centre of the wheel is the year that the bottle was manufactured. Then, surrounding that, there are 12 segments with dots inside of them. The number of segments with dots pertains to which month it was made in.
With the example shown above, this hot water bottle was manufactured in April 2021 and is therefore very out of date.
How to safely use a hot water bottle
NHS Scotland recommends the following advice for hot water bottle use:
- Never use boiling water; let the water cool for a few minutes before pouring it in
- Never let a child fill a hot water bottle
- Don’t fill the bottle more than two-thirds of the way up
- Gently and carefully squeeze air out
- Secure the stopper tightly
- Always use a cover to protect skin
- Avoid sitting or lying on the bottle to prevent pressure build up and breakage
BRB, need to order a new hot water bottle.
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