electric blankets--yay or nay?

[Jodi-FL]

i know years ago electric blankets were considered dangerous or unhealthy. does anyone know the current status of them? or what would you recommend after 10 years living in a southern climate and moving back north to accomodate my thin-skinned children? all they have on their beds now are sheets and a light comforter. if age matters, they are 17, 16, 15, 12, 10, 5 and 3. I definately wouldn't get an electric blanket for the youngest 2.

 

where to get decent blankets that won't break my bank, but will be good enough to be considered a "fun" Christmas present?

 

thanks-

[Renee in NC]

I would like to know too because my 15yo's room gets very, very cold at night. He is the farthest from the HVAC unit and thermostat.

[RoughCollie]

We all have electric blankets. We bought new ones at Wal-Mart a month ago. I think the twin-size ones were $35 and the king-size was $75. They didn't have the twin size on the shelves, so I asked a worker, and she brought me some "from the back".

 

Linens & Things carries more expensive ones, but those are the ones we replaced, and I didn't think they were worth what they cost.

 

Nowadays, electric blankets don't get very hot, compared to how hot I remember them getting 30 years ago. Our kids have had them since they were around 8 years old.

[Pamela H in Texas]

I don't think I want to read this thread because I'm not giving up my blanket! My mom bought us each an electric blanket last winter because she knew we couldn't afford to REALLY use the heat. They are the greatest! We love them and are very thankful. In fact, I think I'll send my mom a thank you card since we just started using them this year! LOL

 

ETA: I would almost guarantee (because I know my mom) that my mom bought ours at JCPenney

[readwithem]

I just bought electric blankets for our beds last week. I had a hard time finding them, our JCPenney didn't have them, nor did Target. I finally found them at Bed Bath and Beyond but had to search. They were still pretty steep with their coupons.

[Laura K (NC)]

I've had it a few years now, and I'm grateful for it. Everybody else in the house can sleep with merely a sheet, and I need 4 blankets, so I bought a twin size electric blanket and use it on my side of the bed. Sometimes in the middle of a really cold school day I'll bring mine out to where we do schoolwork and plug it in.

 

I think they're safe, but I have to be very careful with mine. I only set it on a 2 or 3, or else I'll wake up in a pool of sweat a few hours after falling asleep. It can get really hot, and you don't know that until it's been on a while. Mine is a cheap one and it doesn't have any timers or anything, but it does have a preheat setting. If you get one for kids, I'd emphasize that they turn it on about an hour before going to bed, and to set it low, and then remind them to turn it off in the morning. There are timers you can buy, so that a blanket can be plugged into the timer and you can set it to go on in the evening and turn back off at night.

[Ria]

The concern is that the blankets give off extremely low-frequency radiation, and since they are on top of the body, there is greater exposure. From OSHA:

 

Extremely low frequency (ELF) fields includes alternating current (AC) fields and other electromagnetic, non-ionizing radiation from 1 Hz to 300 Hz. ELF fields at 60 Hz are produced by power lines, electrical wiring, and electrical equipment. Some epidemiological studies have suggested increased cancer risk associated with magnetic field exposures near electric power lines.

 

 

Ria

[GailV]

Actually, I assumed the OP was referring to the electromagnetic field (link has specific paragraph on electric blankets). I remember reading a government publication about this that advised against using electric blankets for this very reason. This was before I had kids, when I was in the GovDoc section of the university library I worked in at the time, so it was over 10 years ago.

 

No clue if the newer blankets are safer on that count. And I think this gets argued back and forth as to whether it's really a problem.

 

Flannel sheets are wonderfully cosy. And my kids are fond of fleece blankets, some of which are light weight but very, very warm (okay, sometimes they're too warm and you wake up feeling like you're about to spontaneously combust -- but that's just that blanket we got from Bed, Bath and Beyond -- the others aren't so sweltering).

[GailV]

The concern is that the blankets give off extremely low-frequency radiation, and since they are on top of the body, there is greater exposure. From OSHA:

 

Extremely low frequency (ELF) fields includes alternating current (AC) fields and other electromagnetic, non-ionizing radiation from 1 Hz to 300 Hz. ELF fields at 60 Hz are produced by power lines, electrical wiring, and electrical equipment. Some epidemiological studies have suggested increased cancer risk associated with magnetic field exposures near electric power lines.

 

 

Ria

 

Ria, we seem to be wondering around the board cross-posting. What thread are you going to next?

[abbeyej]

I won't use them. In addition to the theoretical risks others have mentioned, there have also been studies that linked maternal use to higher SIDS rates. I'm afraid that was plenty for me. (But both my mother and one of her sisters lost babies to SIDS, so I'm mildly paranoid about that...)

 

I prefer to just layer blankets (especially down, if there are no allergies). Hot water bottles and heated rice/buckwheat pillows can also help warm up cold beds before hopping in.

[Peek a Boo]

we've used them for years since I was a kid. love them!

 

I do agree w/ Laura that some basic common sense precautions are prudent.

 

a couple things i noticed in the link:

"By 1990, over one hundred studies had been conducted worldwide. Of these, at least two dozen epidemiological studies on humans indicated a link between EMFs and serious health problems."

 

so of a hundred studies, about 75% indicated no link? :001_huh:

 

I'm also not surprised that miscarriages are linked to a higher heat --pregnant women have been warned about hot baths and saunas for years. i loved our old waterbed and would love to get one of those new ones w/ the tubes....

 

and does this mean that the flourescent lights that are supposed to save the planet are gonna do so by killing off humans w/ EMF?? ;)

 

"But as Discover Magazine postulated, aside from making our life easier, is electricity also making our lives shorter? "

 

statistics? most of the statistics I've seen show a longer lifespan from a couple hundred years ago.

 

I'm not swayed by "some experts believe there might probably be a bit of a definite link to a possible cause of cancer"

 

but since I'll probably die of the plastics, vaccinations, pollution, BBQ, fluoride, or any other controversial substance, at least i'll be warm when i do :D

[GailV]

and does this mean that the flourescent lights that are supposed to save the planet are gonna do so by killing off humans w/ EMF?? ;)

 

 

 

Nah, it'll be the mercury that's in them that gets into the environment when we throw them out. Not a fan of fluorescent lights here. Sorry.

 

Hey, I didn't claim it was the best link ever. It was the first one I found when I googled the first terms that popped into my head (electromagnetic field electric blanket). If you google electric blankets and cancer you'll probably come up with better hits. Also, I've come to the conclusion on many of these websites that say "X% of studies show blah blah blah" that you pretty much need to find the studies and ponder the methodology, as several of them are so sloppy we wouldn't let our kids get away with such nonsense in a science class. But, of course, that's why it's fun to find them and discuss them with our kids and with each other -- to sharpen our abilities to discern which studies are worthwhile.

[Peek a Boo]

Nah, it'll be the mercury that's in them that gets into the environment when we throw them out.

:lol:

 

Hey, I didn't claim it was the best link ever. It was the first one I found when I googled the first terms that popped into my head (electromagnetic field electric blanket). If you google electric blankets and cancer you'll probably come up with better hits. Also, I've come to the conclusion on many of these websites that say "X% of studies show blah blah blah" that you pretty much need to find the studies and ponder the methodology, as several of them are so sloppy we wouldn't let our kids get away with such nonsense in a science class. But, of course, that's why it's fun to find them and discuss them with our kids and with each other -- to sharpen our abilities to discern which studies are worthwhile.

 

 

:iagree:

[Pretty in Pink]

they make me nervous but we own one, it was a gift from a relative who had no clue what to buy for me, so he got me an electric blanket...? anywho, ours sits in the closet year round. once or twice during the winter months my boys will be to break it out and i let them cover their legs with it while we watch a movie in the living room.

[momto2Cs]

Actually, I assumed the OP was referring to the electromagnetic field (link has specific paragraph on electric blankets). I remember reading a government publication about this that advised against using electric blankets for this very reason. This was before I had kids, when I was in the GovDoc section of the university library I worked in at the time, so it was over 10 years ago.

 

No clue if the newer blankets are safer on that count. And I think this gets argued back and forth as to whether it's really a problem.

 

Flannel sheets are wonderfully cosy. And my kids are fond of fleece blankets, some of which are light weight but very, very warm (okay, sometimes they're too warm and you wake up feeling like you're about to spontaneously combust -- but that's just that blanket we got from Bed, Bath and Beyond -- the others aren't so sweltering).

 

:iagree:

 

Flannel sheets and lightweight fleece blankets are a great way to go vs. electric blankets.

[Quad Shot Academy]

I have heard that they lead to birth defects so I don't use ours while prego. I have a heated mattress pad and it works much better than the blanket. I think there is less risk of fire because the mattress pad doesn't get folded over on its self. I also don't wake up in a pool of sweat, like when underneath. I don't think I would let my kids have them for fear of leukemia and such, but I did buy all of them $20 down throws at Costco a few years ago and those work very well!

[SapphireStitch]

We don't have them for a number of reasons: the real or supposed dangers, the hot spots they develop if they get folded, the wire running over to the outlet which I will trip over and injure myself. :)

 

What we do is use several lightweight layers. (We live in NC, obviously this won't work as well for those further north unless the layers are more substantial!) Last night the temps were in the 20s and in the house it was in the upper 50s to lower 60s; we haven't turned our heat on yet. We stayed really nice and toasty in our bed with these layers:

 

Flannel sheets (I use a flannel top sheet year round, and add the bottom sheet for winter)

 

Cotton thermal blanket (our year round blanket)

 

Down alternative blanket (this is super toasty and very lightweight)

 

12 pound cat ;)

 

We also have a mattelasse coverlet that we can pull up over everything if we're still cold.

[TXMomof4]

I have heard that they lead to birth defects so I don't use ours while prego. I have a heated mattress pad and it works much better than the blanket. I think there is less risk of fire because the mattress pad doesn't get folded over on its self. I also don't wake up in a pool of sweat, like when underneath. I don't think I would let my kids have them for fear of leukemia and such, but I did buy all of them $20 down throws at Costco a few years ago and those work very well!

 

 

I love, love, love my heated mattress pad. I crank it up about 30 minutes before I go to bed and then turn it either way down, or off depending on how cold it's supposed to get. The blankets are all warm when I get in, my feet are warm.....it's the greatest invention! That and a down comforter are plenty, even at my parents where it gets super cold (for TX).

[Anne]

We live in Alaska - so it gets cold. :lol:

 

We use flannel sheets year round. During the winter, we use a blanket plus a down comforter. Temperatures in the house at night are usually about 55.

 

I have thought about a heated mattress pad just to warm the bed before I get in it - I don't think I'd want to sleep with it on all night, but having a warm bed to get into might be really nice. My dh would love it if I could heat it only on my side....

 

Anne

[CalicoKat]

we like the electric matress pads best.

[Jodi-FL]

I think I'll forego them for now. My memory is still from 20 years ago when I was having my first miscarriages and reading info about them being a cause. The month we stopped using our electric blanket (and dh went to boxers from whitey tighties) we were pregnant with our now almost 18yo.

 

so...flannel sheets and blankets it will be. I can't wait to see the first time my under 12 yos wake up to snow for the first time---magic that even Disney can't equal!

 

jodi

[Oakblossoms]

It's all about how you layer. I do flannel sheets, a polar fleece blanket (not a throw get one the size or one larger of your bed), a thick comforter (we do something washable), and then one more comforter if needed. We don't have the heat on and my husband is from So. Cali. It works fine for us.

 

Robes, slippers, and good pj's are a nice treat though.

[catalinakel]

Blech. I cannot imagine putting myself undersomething that is electric. Call me spoiled, but I want cotton or wool-or really nice down. But, I am from southern California, and now live in the desert. It gets into the 30's here, but not much. So I am spoiled. but still. Maybe because I used to wet the bed.....yea, that's it. And I cannot stand polyester bedding. Ever.

[texascamps]

I like my electric mattress pad. The lowest number is even a little warm for me. I like turning it on before I turn down the covers. Then its toasty when we get in. I usually turn it off just before I drift off because it gets too warm.

[Allearia]

I used these all the time as a kid. Once when I was a teenager I felt it getting very hot at my feet and it was smoldering. If you do use these make sure your kids make their beds! It was all crumpled near the foot of the bed. I probably had it up pretty high. Nothing bad happened, just some smoke and smoldering through some of the other blankets, it could have been bad though!

[Carol in Cal.]

Hate worrying about leukemia. Hate worrying about fire.

 

However, if you already have one, put it between the sheet and the comforter. You'd be surprised how much heat an extra little layer like that will give you.

 

I use a sheet, a light comforter, and a thermal blanket in between them. We turn our heat way down at night. If I'm still cold, I pull my robe over the comforter, and that is plenty.

[Peela]

Well, I wont let the kids have them because of the electro magnetic frequency- they are kids, there is enough crap in the world without giving their sensitive systems more to deal with. However, this year I did buy myself one :) I decided, what the heck. I never sleep on it. I only used it to heat the bed and sometimes while I read- but I always turn it off before I sleep. I can't trust my kids to do that- they would end up falling asleep forgetting to turn it off. Instead they have wheat bags and hot water bottles.

[keptwoman]

We have electric mattress pads. I love that thing!! I absolutely could not live without it.

[5knights3maidens]

I bought my dd an electric 'mattress cover' from Walmart. I can't remember how much it was but it wasn't expensive. (It's washable.)

[KayT]

I quit using them when oldest dd, then 12, had a restless night, probably too hot, and got the cord folded between her legs. The wire overheated and the electricity blow right through the wire burning and shocking her. She a nice black burned spot on her leg not to mention the rude awakening!

 

I am thankful that it was her leg and not the blankets or mattress, because that would have caused a fire...fast!!

 

I threw all the electric blankets in the trash that day and haven't had another one since.

 

AND YUCK about every thing else I have read on this thread, I had no idea!!

[JFSinIL]

Hubby and I have one with dual controls - we try and remember to run upstairs and turn then on to preheat the bed (it sure gets cold upstairs in this house!...and I HAVE to sleep with the window open a few inches or I suffocate and die!!!) but once in bed I turn my side off. Hubby keeps his side on and piles on more blankets, too. Wimp (of course, I do have a layer of blubber to help me stay warm....!;))

[lauranav]

We used to have an electric blanket but it was getting old and frayed so we tossed it. As the cold weather comes in, we switch to flannel sheets and pull out the big down comforter and we stay pretty toasty. Of course, that just makes it harder to get up in the morning.

 

If that isn't enough, get a cat and have them lie down with you.

 

What I really want is a mock turtleneck or loose cowl neck pajama top to keep the neck and shoulders warm.

[cillakat]

We have heated mattress pads that we use to *warm up the bed only*, then when we climb in, I unplug them. I don't want them on or plugged in while we're in bed.

 

Getting warmer comforters is key (IKEA level '3' comforters are perfect).....and warmer pj's - ie 'blanket' sleepers or long underwear jammies.

 

In my youngest's room, I keep an electric fan spaceheater. Her room gets exceptionally cold....colder than the 55 at which the thermostat is set. I keep the spaceheater set at 65.

 

We also have buckwheat filled items that get microwaved before hopping into bed....starting out warm is half the battle....the other half is having a comforter on the bed that traps that warmth.

 

:)

K

[Renthead Mommy]

Okay, here's my warning: If you get a dual control one, make sure you plug it in correctly!

 

My old boyfriend had a dual control one. When he was by himself, He'd sleep in the middle of the bed. When I'd come home from college on weekends and sleep over there, that's when the trouble started. He'd have to move from the middle to 'his' side.

 

Well, you guessed it, the controls were screwed up and his side controlled my side of the bed, and my control worked his! So I'd be cold, so I'd turn "my" controller up. Well then he'd get hot, so he'd turn 'his' side down. Which made me colder! So I'd turn my up more! And well, you get the idea! LOL!

 

It took a while to figure out what was going on with that! We weren't too bright at 18 I guess! LOL!