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In the comments on our post about abandoning the microwave, Homie Blackoutcat schooled us all on how to get the benefits of a hot water bottle without having to purchase a hot water bottle…
If you don’t have an actual rubbery hot water bottle use my method…Grab a two litre pop bottle, turn the tap on full hot and wait until it’s steamy, carefully fill the bottle, cap it tight and wrap in a thin blanket. It’s super-easy, cheap, and works wonders. If you keep the bottle under the covers with you at night it will still be warm in the morning. Good for cold feet, cramps, stiff muscles, and general cuddling.
I keep a two litre bottle around just for my period cramps and bad foot circulation.
Be sure to NEVER drink anything from that plastic bottle again. The heat causes stuff to leech into the water from the bottle.
What other hot water bottle hacks do you guys have?
I do this for period pain too! it tucks nicely in near the tummy and if you kind of roll it on your back it adds a lil massagey action which really helps my cramps – im actually quite surprised noones tried to consumerise the shape and ease the bottle has!
Off-topic, but I WANT THOSE SOCKS! Where did you get them?
My husband got them for me, but I’m not sure where! But Amazon totally has some rainbow toe socks.
This is fucking brilliant! I’m so trying this later tonight!
(Added advantage: I can do this at work, and NO ONE WILL NOTICE!)
Just a warning – don’t pour BOILING water in a plastic water bottle. I tried that in high school and the bottle shrunk to about 1/2 its normal size. Which, I admit, was pretty cool, but very unexpected.
Might want to use a kettle to heat the water instead of running it from the tap. I don’t know about you but it takes a long time at my place to heat up until it’s steaming, and that’s a lot of wasted water.
Also, before taking it to bed with you (teehee) — and that goes for the rubbery kind too — test it for leaks, especially around the cap. Speaking from experience, you don’t want a hot water bottle leaking into your bed during the night. It makes for an icky, humid and cold morning.
I was just going to say the same thing. Seal those water bottles up tight.
This is a trick I use while winter camping. Heat up some water on the camp stove, pour it into a water bottle and tuck it into the sleeping bag with you& have a warm cozy night of sleeping in the snow. While on a group camping trip a friend didn’t seal his tightly and it leaked all over him during the night. He had a very cold night.
Niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice.
i used to have the old fashioned rubber kind, but, eventually, it cracked and leaked. i used it so rarely i never replaced it, this is an *excellent* hack that means i don’t have to buy a new thing.
I have some of those long fabric tubes that are filled with things like rice or cherry pits – they sell them for sore muscles. You pop them in the microwave for a bit (or rather, pop them in, take them out, shake ’em around, pop them in again, for maximally even warmness) and then can either put them in your bed to warm things up or wrap them around your feet since they’re long and floppy. Or of course, use them for muscles. Or shove them in the waistband of your pants for cramps. They are basically fantastic, the only downside is that there’s not a good way to clean them without cooking the rice inside so you pretty much just want to replace it when it gets gross. (I haven’t tried washing the cherry pit one, but that one might actually be washable…)
If you put them in the microwave with a glass of water, it stays clean for longer, because it basically steams itself clean each time.
I make them for all my pregnant friends, for back pain etc, and they rave about them.
My grandma is handy with a sewing machine, so she makes washable covers for mine.
That is brilliant! I’m imagining little velcro tabs so it stays put… oh man, why don’t they sell those with the things themselves??
I’ve saved 3 seasons worth of cherry pits and made a baggie that my partner and I love. I might have to increase cherry consumption next year. They’re really awesome.
To clean the cherry pits, I’ve boiled them, soaked them with percarbonate (organic whitener and desinfectant), rinsed and boiled again, then dried in the oven. Awesome.