This Sunbeam Heating Pad Is Maybe A Little Too Hot
This is a Sunbeam heating pad that a LiveJournal user bought for his girlfriend. After a little while she said that the heating pad was too hot, even on low, turned it off, let it cool, and set it aside.
"Fast forward about two hours later and she wakes up to a room filled with black, acrid smoke and the heating pad charring the sheets and melting into the bed. She had said before this that even on low it was still way too hot, but somehow last night even after being turned off and cooling down it still managed to do the following damage to her mattress and sheets"
"We've informed the Walgreen's we bought it from and the assistant manager said they would pull the heating pad from their shelves. We'll be contacting Sunbeam directly about this either tomorrow or Thursday. Has anyone ever dealt with something like this before or have any advice on possibly recouping some damages from a possible defect? It appears as though all operating instructions were followed and the warranty wasn't violated."We'd contact the FDA to report the issue (apparently, heating pads are regulated by the FDA and not the CPSC... ) We'd also contact Sunbeam and request compensation for the damage, though from what we can tell its not likely that you'll get it. Why do we say that? Two seconds of Googling resulted in a news story about a familiar-looking heating pad behaving in a very similar way.
Keep excellent documentation of this issue. You want want to show it to a lawyer. Maybe even this one:
Product liability attorney George McLaughlin has been involved in close to 100 cases against Sunbeam in 11 years."I have with me today four different heating pads, all of which are clearly burned," he said as he showed us the pads.
McLaughlin said most of the cases have involved electric blankets or electric mattress covers, but recently he has been getting more heating pad claims.
He said he is now planning to file a lawsuit against Sunbeam on behalf of five clients who said they were burned as a result of defective heating pads that malfunctioned.
Heating pads fall under the jurisdiction of the Food and Drug Administration because they're considered medical devices.
The FDA said it has received more than 40 complaints - reports of adverse incidents - about Sunbeam heating pads since 2001.
Any other suggestions?
An Adventure with a Walgreen's Heating Pad [LiveJournal](Thanks, Jeff!)
Potential Heating Pad Danger [ABC6]
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Comments:
Between heating pads that start fires and Icy Hot that causes second-degree burns, where is a man to go to relax his aching back?
In all seriousness, I do like those natural heating pads and pillows that you put in the microwave. You know, the ones that smell like popcorn when you heat them up? I have severe ear problems and the heat that comes from these always does the trick.
I hope that Sunbeam pulls these items immediately.
was it a small heating pad or a heated mattress pad? Because I own & use a sunbeam heated mattress pad all winter & would hate for something like this to happen!
Looks like I should keep a fire extinguisher by the bed & a smoke detector above the bed..... just in case.
My heated mattress pad is invaluable during winter.
Holy crap! Glad no one was severely hurt or killed.
I used to use a sunbeam electric mattress cover, and I never had an issue like this, so this is a surprise. I hope they'll be good about compensation.
Wow. I think I have that same heating pad. Did they provide a model number, or is there a place to see all models with failures?
When I was 12 my sister found an electric blanket (meaning it was God knows how old) in the closet (she was 9 at the time) and put it on her bed. She, being 9, didn't turn it off all the way in the morning and we went out with my parents to the mall because they needed a new mattress.
We're not sure, but we THINK the cat must have decided to nap on the warm spot and then knocked the blanket under the bed when jumping down later.
Regardless, the upstairs was an inferno by the time we got home, with the firetrucks already there from our town and a couple of other towns (3 alarm!). We went out to the mall the next weekend to get ourselves new mattresses (only the upstairs was damaged in the fire).
I will never, ever allow an electric blanket in my house as a result.
P.S. The cats were fine. :-)
Well, any device that takes electric and converts it to heat....especially when you buy one for $10-20 is bound to fail sometimes. Granted they are supposed to have thermo protection for overheating, but what do you expect?
If you are worried about your heating pad turning you into a BBQ pick up a microwavable or other type of reusable one. Yeah, they won't stay warm for hour on end, but in most cases you should only be applying heat for 10-20 minutes which is well within the "hot" window of the reusable non-electric pads.
Did she unplug it or just turn it off? I use a similar heating pad and whenever I'm done using it I always unplug it. It's a force of habit, but now I see that it might not be an egregious habit. I do the same with the toaster when I'm done using it.
@Asvetic: Me too. Pretty much anything with a heating element - toaster, coffeemaker, iron, hair dryer, curling/straightening irons, etc I always unplug when not using them. No way it can start a fire if it's not plugged in!
that is really scary; seriously. I've been using an old hot water bottle because I was too cheap to buy a heating pad. Looks like I'll keep using it and keep my house from burning down.
that is scary. what's interesting is that i find heating pads never to be quite hot enough. i do love heating pads.
Class action lawsuit...do contact an attorney about this.
"At least the bed will be warm."
-Sidney Wang
Hmm, maybe they bought a lemon. In any case, I think Sunbeam better step up to the plate and do something about this.
My parents have the exact same model (at least from what I can tell from the pics) and have been using it for a couple of years without scorching their backs or leaving burn marks in the blanket and mattress.
@friendlynerd: I didn't blame the victim, only the cheap heating pad. I also said that if people are afraid of this happening use a non-electric model. Mmmmmkay?
This happened to my fiancée's parents' couch two weeks ago. I believe they had the same model heating pad. They called Walgreen's and then SunBeam. SunBeam is replacing the couch for them. It melted the cushions a little but they noticed before it got out of hand.
@loquaciousmusic: I have one of those; it's filled with pinto beans. I also have severe ear problems and it works wonders for me as well.
thats one red hot story!!
My dog is my heating pad if I get cold I call him up on the bed and pull the covers over us both, nice and warm toasty, plus he is soft and huggable.
Terrifying! I have the exact same model and I use it for my shoulders sometimes. I would hate to have my shoulders end up looking like that!
I do only use it for 20 or so minutes at a time, and I do unplug it, but that looks like it was a quick flareup considering the amount of blackening your mattress (!) received through many layers of cloth.
@loquaciousmusic: Where can I get one of these "natural" heating pads? Popcorn smell + no horrific burning sounds good to me.
I have one of those heating pads and it CLEARLY states in the directions that it is not to be put between surfaces. It is designed to be used as a wrap for your ankle or shoulder. They specifically say not to use it as a seat or bed warmer. It needs one side to be in the open air to have the correct heat dissipation.
@engunneer: she may or may not have been following directions but that is besides the point.
it should not be burning HOLES into mattreses when turned off....whether or not it should be used on a bed or chair. if it is so hot it is burning huge holes into things...and possibly starting fires (at any point, on or off)...then it is TOO hot. i don't understand how anyone could find a device that heats up so high actually useful.
@engunneer: I think you've hit on the problem here. The warnings are clear on the product. The way they used it on a mattress indicates both surfaces were covered during use. I don't think this incident will win any court case because of the customer's failure to use the product within its stated safe usage parameters.
When you place anything over a heating pad that cuts off direct contact with the air on BOTH SIDES of the pad will cause it to overheat because it can't disperse the heat adequately through the additional surface, resulting in the pad overheating.
I've got a frail cat that needs heat and SnuggleSafe is a gel filled disk that warms up in the microwave and lasts for hours. Using a heating pad scared me with all those sharp claws. It works great. I might use it for myself sometime.
[www.snugglesafe.co.uk]
@kimsama: If you know how to sew a pillow you can make your own. Choose some pretty fabric, start like you are making a pillow, but instead of fluff, fill it with Rice or beans. I filled one of mine with some rice I sprayed with perfume, making it like the $30 aromatherapy ones they sell at sharper image type stores. Just don't over fill it, it's tempting to make it plump like a pillow, but then it doesn't drape very well over your body, or lay well under you if you are laying on top of it.
@K-Bo: This also makes a great gift giving idea for broke college students. Buy scrap fabric for less than a dollar, and a huge bag of rice cost almost nothing, with just a little bit of time, you could make these for less than a dollar each. I did this one year a long time ago, my mom still uses hers all the time. If you are really ambitious, you can sew a zippered cover for it that can be removed and washed.
@K-Bo: Excellent, thank you!
Does it matter what type of fabric you use? I would assume sticking to cotton or something natural would be best, right?
I think I'll fill mine with jasmine rice...that would smell unbelievably good.
Great. I just bought one of those yesterday.
I usually use tshirt like material, just because that's the most comfortable to me against my skin. Only real problem I could see fabric wise is if it wasn't strong ( the rice does try to stretch it out)or if it had metallic threads in it ( cause of the microwave.) There are probably websites that tell in more detail how to do it, I just kinda tried it on my own after seeing a friends break open and realizing how much people are getting ripped off for $1-2 worth of materials when they buy them.
Be careful at first microwaving it, times vary by size and shape, and you don't want to burn yourself or set it on fire. I usually start with 1 min, then do 30 seconds checking it over and over until it is right, then remember that time for that heating pad.
Semi OT: bean/rice-filled heating thingy.
My Ma uses hers on her arthritic neck, but after it's been freezered for 3 hours or more. COLD works best for inflammation relief.
E.
Wow. I also have that same heating pad. But it has never acted up ... just soothed my aching muscles. Scaryyyy!
I think they say not to use them in bed, etc. But all those things scare me. Especially electric blankets. Why anyone would wrap themselves in low resistance wiring and then go to sleep is boggling.
I will never fall asleep with a heated electric blanket on me ever again. Very scarry...
Look on the bright side... Woot.com might be able to buy these for a really good price now and you might get one in a bag of crap, or perhaps 2 for Tuesday.
so i've been thinking about this issue. i don't think sunbeam is to blame because the damage was caused due to lack of supervision. had she been using it while it was turned on, she would have felt it was too hot and turned it off. nothing would have burned. the safety instructions clearly state not to leave it on unsupervised. that looks like unsupervised damage to me. should is sue a candle company because i left a candle unsupervised and my house burned down?
@unklegwar: they're just so comfortable with all that heat! but i agree, its too nerve-wrecking and i quit using my electric blanket because when i did i had nightmares of my house burning down.
I'm gonna buy one to see if it catches fire.
It states clearly in the article:
"even after being turned off and cooling down"
She turned it off. RTFA!!
Oh please to the critics - the dang thing was defective. The details just aren't going to overcome the burning core it turned into. There should be nothing short of setting it on fire in your fireplace that should make it look like that one did.
The homeowner should check to see if they have any electircal issues. I mean, shouldn't the circuit breaker kick in?
amazon.com has lots of reviews noting this problem with sunbeam. It's bizarre this product is still on the market.