The hot water bottle - as popular as ever
With the help of a rubber and PVC design from 1903, the hot water-filled container once known as a ‘jar’, has managed to maintain its position on the market, and the reliable heating device and several of its adaptations were big sellers across the country at Christmas.
Irish family-run business Avoca stocks novelty hot water bottles which proved a festive favourite for the store.
“They sold very well in our shops this year,” said Avoca dispatch co-ordinator Mary Doran.
“I think they will always be popular, especially at Christmas.”
Mary credits their personalised designs for their popularity over the festive period.
“It’s all the buttons and ribbons and so on that makes them unique; every year we drop some designs and introduce new ones,” she said.
There is a stereotypical notion that hot water bottles cater for an older generation, but the customer demands at Avoca tell a very different story.
“It has changed over the last couple of years,” said Mary.
“There has been a definite turnaround in people that buy them. My daughter is 17 and she loves them, and I have two of my own.”
Laura Hill, 21, a student at Cork College of Commerce, is a big fan of hot water bottles and says she is not the only one. “All the girls I have lived with throughout college had their own hot water bottle; some even had two,” she said.
“They are not just for comfort either. My radiator was broken at the beginning of one college term and my hot water bottle really came in handy.”
Tess Cronin, also 21, from Connolly in Co Clare, is a student at UCC and wouldn’t be without hers, either.
“I love having a hot water bottle because when you come home from a night out and you’re exhausted, it only takes a minute or two for the kettle to boil and your hot water bottle is ready,” she says.
“Also, being a student, you try to save all the money you can, so it’s too expensive to have the heating on all the time. It’s handier to make a hot water bottle and snuggle up with it instead!”
Her flatmate Emma Herhily adds: “I always sleep with an electric blanket at home, but it was too expensive to buy another one for college, so my mam bought me a hot water bottle instead. I absolutely love it. If I ever get too hot, it’s easy to just take it out of the bed and it’s so quick and simple to heat. I never sleep without it.”
Laura believes it’s an item used predominantly by females.
“I don’t think guys use them. I live with five boys now, and none of them have one.”
Laura has also worked as a care assistant in a nursing home and says she knows more people her own age that own a hot water bottle.
“Only one elderly person I have cared for had one, so I wouldn’t say they are just for older people.”
Lloyd’s pharmacy on the Grand Parade in Cork says hot water bottles are a popular seller for them, due to their use as a pain relief method.
“People use them for muscle and joint pain to apply heat to the area,” said Lloyd’s sales representative Lorraine Walsh.
“We also find them a popular seller for women experiencing period pain. We get an awful lot of requests all year round for them.
“Older people are also definitely using them to cut down on the cost of heating bills, as well as a source of comfort.”
An alternative hot water bottle was a popular seller for Lloyd’s at Christmas. The microwaveable version of the hot water bottle eliminates the need for hot water as it is stuffed with microwaveable materials. It also matches the heat retention of a hot water bottle.
“It’s the first year we have really noticed the popularity of microwaveable hot bottles,” said Lorraine.
Although often associated with their place in the bed, a new type of ‘hand-held’ hot water bottle has allowed them to exist outside the house.
Miniature versions of hot water bottles allowed a person to place them in their pocket, but now reusable heating pads have an added advantage as they don’t even require hot water.
These are liquid-filled pouches with a metal disk which can be activated by pressing hard on it. This causes the liquid to solidify, giving off heat.
This is not the only water-free substitute that looks set to compete with the traditional bottle.
This year distribution company McLoughlin’s brought a new product to the market — the rechargeable hot water bottle, which targets two types of customer; those who are having difficulty filling hot water bottles, and those who are worried about scalding and burns sometimes associated with the traditional model.
“It’s definitely going to gather huge pace,” said sales director Barry McLoughlin. “We can tell by sales already.”
All the units McLoughlin’s ordered in over the past four months have sold out.
This rechargeable alternative provides the benefits of a traditional hot water bottle but is plugged into a socket instead, to charge fully for 15 minutes.
In terms of heat retention it also gives the old-fashioned method of keeping warm a run for its money, as it stays warm for hours.
It also has a pouch embedded in it for people with arthritis or an injury that requires the application of heat as a medical treatment.
But will the rechargeable version replace the original rubber favourite in time? Who knows, but we’re warming to the idea.
* The hot water bottle dates back to the 16th century.
* The earliest versions contained hot coals from the fireplace to warm the bed.
* Before a rubber design, metal hot water flasks were used to withstand the heat of the hot coals or boiling water.
* Irish people often refer to the hot water bottle as a ‘jar’. Many people would have filled glass bottles with hot water and put them in their beds.
* Croatian inventor, Eduard Penkala, designed the rubber container in 1903.
* Electric blankets saw off the popularity of hot water bottles in the late 20th century.
* A range of electrical, microwavable and chemical options are now available.
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