USING AN ELECTRIC BLANKET OR ELECTRIC MATTRESS PAD

On this page you will find information about:

• Modern warming bedding in the USA puts out low or gentle warmth
• Why does heated bedding have wiring connectors
• Tips on setting up your new warming product
• Can I use my electric blanket with other bedding?

LOW OR GENTLE WARMTH FOR ALL NIGHT USE

When you first use an electric blanket or electric mattress pad, it is natural to feel it with your hand to see how warm it is. DON’T trust this. As all brands of products sold in the United States go to great lengths to point out in their User Manuals, you will NOT feel much warmth with your hand on modern day USA electric blankets or pads. You must lie under the warming blanket or on top of the warming mattress pad in order to feel warmth.

Why is this? Since the late 1980’s, electric bedding in this country has been designed to be used at low wattage or a low level of heat all night long. This has prevented many of the fires that used to happen in this country and still do occur in some other countries that continue to use higher wattage products. Today the watts consumed or heat level is so low that unless your body or an over-blanket traps the generated heat, you will hardly feel the warmth. Do not be concerned over this! Try sleeping with a product and you will readily see that its heat is more than sufficient to keep you warm all night even in a very cold room (50 degrees F. or even cooler with additional bedding). (As an added benefit, people in this country can derive therapeutic benefits from the low level of heat spread over many hours -- see the Health Benefits navigation tab on the left side of this article.

(Note: In some other countries, electric mattress covers or blankets are designed to produce lots of heat to warm the bed prior to getting in and then the heated blanket or cover is unplugged for the remainder of the night. These products do not need a heat controller and many do not even have an ON/OFF switch. One plugs them in to warm up the bed and then unplugs them to stop the heating.)

REASON FOR CONNECTORS

All electric blankets and mattress pads designed for use in this country have connectors which allow their controls and cords to be disconnected so that the blanket or pad itself may be put into an automatic washer (see Care for Washing and Drying information). On warming blankets, the connector is always located at the foot of the bed. Warming mattress pads are mostly the same but some have their connector located at the head (the pillow end) of the bed allowing the controller wiring to be confined to the head end of the bed (no controller wires running on the floor under the bed). One brand even has the connector located off the horizontal sleeping surface where it can never be bumped into or felt by a body part.

SETTING UP YOUR NEW PRODUCT

You should carefully follow the manufacturer’s instructions when setting up your product. A few minutes reading the User Manual is time well spent. Electric mattress pads and blankets are not as simple as some would think. You may learn of a feature that you would not otherwise know exists or you may learn of something that may prevent a problem. You should be especially careful to read the Safety Instructions which must be inserted with your product in order to pass UL’s stringent regulations. They are very important and generalized safety instructions are included on this site (click on the Safety navigation tab on the left side of this article).

USE WITH OTHER BEDDING

Most automatic blankets or electric mattress pads allow for use of any other bedding you wish except another heated product (overheating could occur with two products operating simultaneously). For example, a common question is whether one can use a comforter on top of an electric blanket. Most brands of warming blankets allow for this although if someone is that cold, a heated mattress pad, rather than a heated blanket, along with a comforter would seem to serve the user far better.