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Maybe it's because I am British but hot water bottles have been something I've owned and used forever. They just exist as a thing you use. To warm the bed, or y
by jgrahamc 5y ago
Maybe it's because I am British but hot water bottles have been something I've owned and used forever. They just exist as a thing you use. To warm the bed, or your feet, or your back. Given that the British also have electric kettles for warming water they are simple to use.
I did try to buy one here in Portugal and I was sent to the pharmacy where they had a tiny little one that you might use for pain relief.
- kranner 5y agoThey're common in India as well. My dad uses one every day in the (North Indian) winters.
- chrisseaton 5y agoIn my British household we call the cylinder foot warmer ones 'mother cats'.
- masklinn 5y agoWhat is the "proper" name for these? Last time I looked for foot warmers all I got was electric bootstie things, or hotplates for foot. So I got a small radiant heater instead. Though I guess a microwavable grain bag on a normal footrest would also work.
- Someone 5y agoWikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foot_stove https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foot_stove) says its restricted to wooden ones with hot charcoal, but I would call them “Foot Stove” regardless of construction material or heat source.
- thom 5y agoNever seen one of these, but my dad used to have charcoal hand warmers similar to this: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pocket-Hand-warmer-charcoal-including/dp/B002VKO19S https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pocket-Hand-warmer-charcoal-includi... We used to take them to football matches but eventually they became the sort of thing they'd confiscate cos fire and idiots don't mix.
- mattl 5y agoYeah, British expat now American here... I buy people kettles and hot water bottles if I'm going to be at their home for any extended amount of time. Also a toaster.
- 7thaccount 5y agoI normally just throw on a blanket or turn up the thermostat, but I know you normally don't adjust the thermostat at someone else's house.
- Jill_the_Pill 5y agoI think the idea of the article is, in part, that heating people is more efficient/economical than heating space.
- 7thaccount 5y agoFair enough. I mean I guess these methods were pretty effective for centuries where people somehow didn't freeze to death.
- landmass 5y agoRecommendations for American electric kettles for use with hard water? Cleaning calcium residue out through a narrow opening sent me back to my microwave...
- djrogers 5y ago> Also a toaster Err, wha? I don't know anyone here without a toaster - or 2...
- jimmaswell 5y agoHighly recommended toaster: http://automaticbeyondbelief.org/ http://automaticbeyondbelief.org/
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- hotpotamus 5y agoI've never put much thought into this but my mother who spent some of her teenage years in the UK in the 70's used to use a hot water bottle. Here in the US, we had a mid-century ideal of "energy too cheap to meter" that would have been provided by the burgeoning nuclear industry. It never really panned out, but a lot of houses had things like radiant heaters in floors and room wrapping baseboard heaters installed for comfort which is nicer than having to deal with a fluid filled bladder, but obviously much more costly.
- soperj 5y agoI didn't think you were supposed to put boiling water in a hot water bottle? at least the rubber ones...
- jimnotgym 5y ago...but everyone does. I just let it go off the boil and then use it.
- thrwy_ywrht 5y agoEvery hot water bottle tells you not to use boiling water in it, but at the same time everyone I know who regularly uses hot water bottles uses boiling water from an electric kettle.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- blacksmith_tb 5y agoI do see that there are silicone ones available, those should take boiling water in stride (though you'd need to wrap them in a thicker cover to avoid boiling yourself...)
- pandemicsoul 5y agoThe article also says you shouldn't use boiling water and recommends just using hot tap water.
- aulin 5y agoUsed to know a girl with about half of the skin of a darker color, from face to toes, burnt by a water bottle burst when she was little. Still I regularly fill them with boiling hot water. Same for everyone I know. Sometimes we're just that stupid...
- tsupiroti 5y agoHot water bottles are quite common in Portugal. You should be able to find one at any large supermarket (e.g. Continente).
- juanuicich 5y agoI can confirm Continente stocks them in all branches I’ve been to, but only at the beginning of winter. By late January they’re hard to find already.
- time_to_smile 5y agoAs an American I've been shocked how they've basically disappeared. Hot water bottles used to be a staple of American household. While they are easy to find on Amazon, they don't seem to be as ubiquitous as they once were.
- vanderZwan 5y ago> Maybe it's because I am British Nah, they're also not uncommon in the Netherlands, where I'm from, and Germany, where my partner's from (don't know if I'd call them "common" though). What I found truly surprising is that they're impossible to find in Sweden, where we live. You'd think that hot water bottles would become more common the further up north you go.
- hilbert42 5y ago"...they're impossible to find in Sweden," Ha, you're just too modern up there. Come to think of it I've not seen one either down here in Australia for many decades. Maybe they've finally died out altogether.
- atulatul 5y agoOf course, girls like Bobby Wickham ask you to pierce someone's hot water bottle with sharp implements while they are sleeping in bed. At least that's what the title reminded me of. Oh, what fun! Ref: Wodehouse... Bertie Wooster. Around 15 min in https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uWIGhNPl0g https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uWIGhNPl0g