Brits have been warned of the horrific injuries that people can suffer from using hot water bottles and are being urged to check a hidden code to check its age.
With temperatures dropping as winter approaches and the cost of living crisis that is seeing energy bills spike, many people are looking to alternatives to using central heating in their homes.
And consumer expert Alice Beer appeared on This Morning last Monday to share an important piece of safety advice for all those looking to use hot water bottles, reported the Manchester Evening News.
She was contacted on Instagram by a parent whose child suffered third-degree burns after her hot water bottle had burst.
Alice explained how this had become a common issue, with Chelsea and Westminster hospital seeing people suffering hot water bottle burns at least once a week.
"Half of hot water bottle injuries need skin grafts and surgeries," she told the ITV show. "These are not surface burns, these go really deep."
She added that a regular hot water bottle should last up to three years before people consider finding a replacement. Alice also advised anyone with a hot water bottle to check their date of manufacture to see how long they've had it.
Alice demonstrated how to find the date of manufacture through a hidden code on the product.
She said: "You don't know about it because this is a brand new hot water bottle in a fluffy cover. Why would you ever take it off unless it got dirty. I'm sorry, but I think this is the worst system for printing a date because it's so confusing."
She continued: "Inside you have got a daisy wheel date. It's got 12 segments and in the middle of this one you have got a 22. This one was made in 2022. Then you have 12 segments around the outside and those are the months.
"You can tell the month it was manufactured from when the dots end. It's got dots in eight segments so it was made in August."
The number of dots on a hot water bottle indicates the week it was made. Alice also highlighted that people should not pour boiling water into their bottle and should remove the cover when filling it up so you can accurately check the condition it's in.
