I've always felt they were safe and used one for many years. I no longer use one because I have to get up so much at night and when I'm that warm I can't stand to get cold by getting out from under the electric blanket. Sounds like you really need to use one though.

I can tell you that Jasper doesn't need a warming pad. His fur will keep him plenty warm and you don't want him getting too hot.

Have you tried flannel sheets? They make a huge difference! Of course, several Golden Retrievers help too ;)

Sue

We used one for several years....then when the dog started sleeping with us, I stopped putting it on because I was afraid she would maybe bite the wire....and eventually got rid of it.
I sleep under a pile of down! 2 comforters and maybe a throw on cold nights.
You don't need an electric blanket often enough to give it house room....get a down comforter...much more luxurious.

Do you have a sewing machine? If so, you can make yourself a very nice heavy chenille bedspread. I made one from fabric I got at work from our textile department, and it weighs 35 pounds (for a queen size bed). It's very thick rayon chenille, and it keeps me very warm. I think I used only six yards, but it was very wide fabric. I have central heating now, but when I lived in Venice I needed it for warmth, since we had only one wall heater, and it mostly just heated the living room.

I agree with Linda that a down comforter is a better idea than an electric blanket and a lot prettier. Also, what if you have a power outage? I tend to think in low-tech terms when it comes to what I need for survival.

Lars

You and me both Bobby--freezing that is! It's 28 degrees right now, are you kidding me??

Thanks for the reminder. I forgot I have a down comforter that I got many years ago in Germany. I loved sleeping under them whenever we were in Europe in winter so I left clothing behind and bought and packed one thinking we didn't have any real down comforters in FLA. Tonight I'm going to try the comforter.

Last year I got an electric kitty bed for Buster and Noel she loved it; he won't have anything to do with it.

Bobby, my husband experiences a lot of cold since his chemo. I purchased a down blanket at Tuesday Morning for $87 and he loves it. We had an electric blanket but washing it was a trial, I never felt it was clean, and it dried his skin out something fierce. The down works, it's light and didn't cost as much as the electric blanket.

Good luck in your search. Weatherman promises the weather is going to warm up!

My mom loves hers and has always had one. I use a down comforter and wouldn't trade. However, the electric blanket warms the bed for you. I just can't stand the look of the wires and the control. I already have too many things to plug in in my bedroom -- tv, lamps, phone handset, hair dryer, clock radio, so I don't need another thing to plug in.

How funny you bring this up Bobby, hubs and I were just talking about electric blankets last night. As we slid into our COLD flannel sheets.

We both agreed, there was nothing like a good old waterbed.... crank that thermostat up for warmer and down for cooler.

Sure do miss our waterbed!

Down and flannel for this Northerner. I remember an electric blanket from my childhood. I was always afraid of the thing, and hated the coils in it. I'd never be able to sleep worrying about what might happen. Down comforters are so light and so warm. Good quality flannel sheets feel like sleeping with a teddy bear!! Doesn't take long for body heat to make the bed warm.

seagrass

I didn't even consider a down comforter! I do need a new comforter anyway. Beverly, do you think that the heating pad can hurt Jasper? I keep it on low and keep a towel over it so he doesn't poke the wires.... and I know he likes it because he hasn't gotten off of it since I plugged it in except to eat and give me a nose kissy!

Lars, do I have a sewing machine? DO I HAVE A SEWING MACHINE... me the appliance freak, do I have a sewing machine? Try two! LOL Here's a Youtube vid of me showing my sewing machines :o)

Here is a link that might be useful: My sewing machines

I like electric blankets. If you have a good down comforter, the electric blanket is only handy to warm up the bed before you get in. In which case a hot water bottle (low tech) or an electric hot pad (also useful for aches, muscle pain, etc) works fine too. And less bulky to store in the 50 weeks of the year that you don't need it.

I bought a Sunbeam electric mattress pad in the fall and have been enjoying how it warms the bed. I don't turn it up very high - just preheat the bed to take the chill off. I do have a down comforter, but the bed was still always just cold enough when I got in it that I'd wear socks to bed and then have to pull them off in the middle of the night b/c my feet were too hot. The heating pad does the trick, for me anyway!

I've slept on one my whole life. I can't imagine not having one.
That said, the past few years I have been using an electric heated mattress pad and prefer that to a blanket. I can't feel the wires at all with my toes as I would with a blanket - which was annoying. And I very rarely have to wash it like I would with a blanket.
I also use flannel sheets, a fleece blanket and a heavy faux fur throw on top of all that. Typically, I keep the mattress pad on medium all night.
We keep the thermostat at night at 65 and I run the ceiling fan in the bedroom all night for white noise and to lower the temperature even a bit more.

My mattress pad is dual controlled and I safety pin the controls to the sheets so they don't fall off all the time.

When I have aches and pains or it's freezing, there is nothing like a heated blanket.

Bobby, I love your video. SO fun to see and hear you. Some day I'll show you my ancient White sewing machine. Wish I'd kept my grandmother's treadle machine.

Bobby, that's neat to see what you can do with a sewing machine. I think I have a brand new Brother still in the box in the attic; that's how far I've progressed with sewing lately. And to think I once won a blue ribbon for the 3-piece suit I entered in the state fair. Now I send my pants out to be altered.

BTW, last night I replaced the blankets with a down comforter. DH was in heaven, he was toasty warm without the bulk of blankets.

We have a Ceramat mattress pad....an infrared heat/negative ion contraption. DH is cold all the time since he lost weight and this has dual controls so I don't have to bake all night. Very relaxing, healing heat.

Bobby, that's a gorgeous quilt, I love the colours and how well they go together! You have a very good eye for colour and balance IMO :-)
In Australia all the electric blankets are what I think you would call electric mattress pads, they go under the bottom sheet and you sleep on them. I've never seen one that drapes over the sleeper like a regular blanket. One thing we do is turn it on a while before going to bed, then turn it off when we get in. That way the bed is pre warmed but you don't get over heated. We also use down doonas (which you would call a comforter I guess).

On sewing machines - SWMBO got a PFAFF (sp?) that she is very excited about. It belonged to her friend who made fantastic clothes until he dropped dead of a heart attack during a dance performance - he was a professional dancer and dance teacher too. Keith had three sewing machines. His partner gave this one to SWMBO, so it has sentimental value. My question is, are these good machines? I've never heard of them, not that I know the first thing about sewing machines either.

New electric blankets are generally safe.

A 150 watt blanket works out to be around 80 ohms (110v) of resistance. A dry human body is about 1200 to a million ohms of resistance. Electricity seeks the path of least resistance, it will travel thru the blanket mostly, and not thru you. However, when the thermosat of the blanket shuts down after the temperature has reached, if you happen to touch both sides (hot and neutral) of the power, or touching a ground source, the entire power will be going thru you.

You should not use a blanket that's over ten years old. 90% of the blanket fires are caused by blankets over 10 years.

In areas of 220 vac, the danger is higher.

dcarch

Bobby, I'm sorry it took so long to answer about Jasper lying on the heating pad. No, I don't think it will hurt him. I've experiences heating pads which has a broken thermostat though and they can get extremely hot and stay that way. Of course if it got too hot I assume Jasper would have enough sense to get off of it. After all, look how many lives cats seem to have. ; )

Heated mattress pads are 50% off at JCPenney this weekend- and probably on sale elsewhere, too.

Bobby, if you're worried about Jasper on a heating pad I saw a post the other day about a disc thing which you heat in the microwave then slip under your pet's bedding like a hot water bottle that is pet proof. Apparently it keeps warm for hours.

Pfaff is a good sewing machine also (depending on the year and model), but I have a Viking Husqvarna, which is completely manual (i.e. not computerized), and I bought it 20 years ago for $750, which was cheap compared to the Bernina that I really wanted. The old Berninas maintain their value because they work perfectly, and you can still get parts for machines 30 years old. Vikings are also very well made and have a similar reputation. Brother is newer and less expensive, and so I do not know that the tract record for it will be, but the one you showed in the video looks very good. It also looks like you have a good selection of stitches for knits, which was a major factor for my selection. I used to make a lot of clothes out of lycra, including bathing suits, and I still sew other knits and jerseys that need special stitches that will stretch.

Right now I am in the market for a new down comforter, as they one I have is old and is the wrong size for the bed. I don't need much to keep me warm, and I keep the thermostat set to 68 degrees for nighttime sleeping.

I enjoyed the Brother sewing machine video!

Lars

This post was edited by publickman on Thu, Dec 27, 12 at 1:33

I have electric blankets, one in the house, one in the RV. Love them, but don't often leave them on after I get in bed. I warm the bed with it first. I also have a heated throw that sounds good right about now! And, somewhere, a down comforter that I really should dig out.

I like your quilt! I am color challanged. I think my graphic artist DB got all the color talent. Picking colors/designs that go together is very difficult for me. You did a great job!

I have two treadle machines, one belonged to DH's grandmother, the other was my great grandmothers. I also have my great aunt's electric portable Singer. DH won't let me use it because of the antient and deteriating cord. He is an electrician and says no way! I won't have it re-wired either. I also have my aunt's electric machine, with out going to the basement, I have no idea what brand. Those are my antique machines. I also have a Kenmore that I got as a graduation gift in 1977, and a Husvarna Viking 500. And a Brother PE-150 embroidery machine. I don't sew much any more. I got burned out sewing for the kids and myself for so many years when money was sooooo tight. I don't even want to look a a machine much any more!

Loved meeting you in your video!

Tami