Beware! Bursting hot water bottles!

July 6th, 2012

Appliance News Heating & Cooling

For the second time this winter the Australian Consumer and Competition Commission (ACCC) has recalled a hot water bottle for fear of it bursting and burning people.

It is a timely reminder to never fill a hot water with boiling water.

In both cases there have been no reported incidents of burst bottles and the issue lies in a lack of safety warnings.

The bottles offer this warning: “Warning: Hot Water bottles can cause burns. Avoid prolonged direct contact with the skin.”

The missing warning should caution consumers that filling the hot water bottle with boiling water may result in it bursting during use, causing severe scalding.

The latest recall concerns Symbion natural rubber hot water bottles, in red and blue. An unopened package features the barcode 9316100648563; otherwise the bottles may be identified with a flower motif on the front of the bottle that says “11” in the middle and there are dots in 3 of the petals of the flower.

The hot water bottles were sold from May 2011 to June 2012 nationally in various pharmacies.

Consumers have been encouraged not to use the hot water bottles and to return them to the place of purchase for a full refund.

In June, Cheap as Chips hot water bottles were recalled for the same reason.