Common Hot Water Bottle Questions

For a single bed the best place is right in the centre to warm the middle area. Best to place it about 15 minutes before going to bed. When you go to bed either take the bottle out if you’re warm enough, or move it to the bottom of the bed to keep your feet cosy and warm.

If you like your bottle close to you for the warmth, keep it next to you but don’t lie on it or roll over onto it.

For a double, king or queen size bed you may need a bigger bottle, we suggest a jumbo 3.0 litre bottle or a long hot water bottle. Sharing a bed does not mean you have to share a bottle, many of our customers have one each. So if you like to keep warm all night but your partner only likes to have toasty toes, you’re both covered. 

So, get a bottle each and put it in the bed on your side and make sure it's not too far over the other side as your sleeping partner may not appreciate the extra warmth.

The life of your hot water bottle will depend on how often it’s used and how well it’s been looked after. A good quality hot water bottle with normal usage will last 2 to 3 years. We recommend not waiting until your bottle leaks before buying a new one. Before a bottle leaks there are tell-tale signs. Look for thinning around the belly of the bottle, check for cracks and creases, and take a minute to recall how long you’ve been using the bottle.

There have been and always will be different grades and price points for all budgets on all sort of household goods. Higher quality items are better designed, finished and manufactured using higher grade components to last longer and will cost more than budget items. A budget bottle is often manufactured to hit a price point, they are not necessarily made to last but appeal to the budget market.

If your current bottle is a budget one, you may need to replace it after 6 months. Look for a hot water bottle that meets British Standard  All the bottles we sell are manufactured to exceed British Standard.

The life of your hot water bottle starts when you use it for the first time.

Hot water bottles do not have a sell by date or a use by date. The ‘date daisy’ on bottles that are manufactured according to British Standard show the date of manufacture. This is to help trace back the exact production time of a product, in the very unlikely case of a product fault.

A bottle purchased years ago and stored correctly could be safe to use, just check before filling and using. However, if stored poorly such as in damp conditions or in direct sunlight, the bottle could perish. A bottle in poor condition could have weak spots that may prove dangerous if filled with hot water.

Rubber is not a perishable product if it’s stored and kept in recommended form. Once the bottle is being used, the ageing process starts.

We recommend replacing your hot water bottle every 2 years from when you start using it, and always check the bottle before filling.

We have heard that a hot water bottle has been used to help alleviate pain as Dr. Brian King presented to the Physiological Society. Reporting that the pain of colic, cystitis and menstrual period pain is caused by a temporary reduction in blood flow to organs, causing local tissue damage and activating pain receptors. The heat doesn't just provide comfort and have a placebo effect it actually deactivates the pain at a molecular level in much the same way as pharmaceutical painkillers work. We have discovered how this molecular process works menstrual pain is one of the most common gynaecological complaints in women of reproductive age.

There are a few alternatives, one option is an electric blanket, another is heat packs either wheat filled or gel filled and of course just turn the heating on and crank it up. Throw an extra blanket on is OK but it's not instant heat. Wear extra layers in bed, lots of options, the trick is knowing what you want and what to expect from all the options out there. Unlike a hot water bottle turning on the heating is not economical or very ecological for warming a small area. An electric blanket needs to be plugged in (check first if it's compatible with your bedding, many are not these days) and should never be used with a bottle, either use one or the other.

Hot water bottles have long been used as an aid to sleep, due to the warmth and comfort they provide. Many of our customers tell us that they don’t get a good night’s sleep unless their hot water bottle is tucked in with them.

If you’re worried you might accidentally roll onto the bottle, try moving it to the very edge of the bed so if you roll it will slip down harmlessly away.

Although the standard size is universally called a 2.0 litre bottle it is a category size and would not hold 2.0 litre of water. Always read and follow the instructions and never fill your bottle to the top, three quarters will do and expel any air before replacing the stopper. The exact size of a standard hot water bottle is 32cm from top to bottom, and 20cm wide

This is easy, choose the one that suits your needs, simple as that. If you have a latex allergy or not keen on the smell of rubber buy a PVC thermoplastic hot water bottle.   If you want to knit a cover or keep your old favourite cover buy the right size and chose a colour that matches. If you want a bottle for camping buy a mini bottle, want one to cover a large area buy a giant one, or want to wrap yourself inside one buy the long type. As for the make avoid generic and cheap budget ones, go for a good branded one and buy from a reputable seller that will still be around next year and the year after.

No. The bottle could explode, burn and scald when taking it out. Burns are a very serious risk when handling hot water, so follow the instructions. They are printed to help avoid any dangers and allow safe use of a hot water bottle.

We have seen the result after it's been in a microwave and the outer layer peels away leaving a very thin layer between your skin and hot water.

Modern hot water bottles are designed with safety in mind. Stoppers are an integral part of the bottle and they only need to be finger tight. If you overtighten, or force the stopper, the neck of the bottle will stretch. The continued pressure will, over time, cause the stopper to fail.

If the stopper gets stuck in the neck of the bottle and it's not been overtighten its most likely due to boiling water, this will draw the stopper inwards and can stick fast. If used correctly there is no need for pliers and the hot water bottle will last much longer.

The short answer is no. A rubber or thermoplastic hot water bottle would become brittle from the freezing process changing the structure of the bottle with a certainty to leak or tear. They can be used to keep cool, the best way is to fill the bottle with cold water and keeping it chill by putting into a fridge but not the freezer part. It is a great way to keep cool, we have heard of a customer using his hot water bottle filled with cold water on his lap as the computer used for playing memory hungry games omitted so much heat he needed something to keep him cool.

This might seem a good way to keep it going and reduce waste but it's the way a hot water bottle will wear that will scupper this method. On an old rubber bottle the rubber will start to perish and come away in layers from inside the bottle. Patching outside may not cover all the wear, there could still be weak areas. We'd also not recommend the use of repair kits, fine on a bike but with hot water there is a significant risk of burns and scolding should it burst. To be green and reduce waste just send your old bottle away for recycling, they make great floor mats, cables and electrical insulators as a second life. A new hot water bottle will give you peace of mind and for a few pounds worth the investment.

We suggest starting with the material, either rubber or PVC. If you’re allergic to latex or you don’t like the smell of rubber, choose a PVC bottle. For a traditional hot water bottle choose rubber. 

Next, decide which size will best suit your needs. Our bottles range from 3.0 litre to 0.3 litre, with many sizes in between. You can view the entire range on our hot water bottle page.

With a cover or without? If you already have a cover that you love then you can select a bottle by itself. Or take a look at our wide range of  hot water bottle covers .

Choose a good quality one that is right for you and up to the job, it will be with you for a few good years and is very personal to you as you share your bed with it.

Probably the most asked question is just how hot should a hot water bottle be. Always use a kettle, boil the water and wait before filling your bottle. With regular use it becomes easier to judge the right temperature for you. Leaving the kettle a long time to cool may not give enough heat, not leaving long enough and the bottle will be too hot. A bottle will be as hot or as cold as the water put in. An old bottle may also feel hotter as they wear out from the inside out, the belly of an old rubber bottle can get very thin, near breaking point so inevitably this will feel very hot to the touch. A new hot water bottle manufactured to British Standards will conform to prescribed thickness and tolerance. This is for safety to prevent spillage from weakness in the manufacture.

So make your bottle hot to your liking but never pour boiling water in and you will find the right temperature to suit you.

Yes, but be sensible about it. Never put the water back into the kettle or use for any human or animal consumption. Tip the water (when cooled) into a pot plant or garden plants. Avoid any ericaceous plants just in case, these need rainwater rather than tap water. You can even try pouring down the toilet for a quick flush, a great way to save on water.