Households across the UK are being advised to check for signs that a hot water bottle may need replacing. Hot water bottles are a popular and cost-effective way to stay warm during the winter months.

However, sleep experts have outlined five key signs that could indicate your hot water bottle is no longer safe to use.

Sleep and mattress experts at WinstonsBeds.com have shared that difficulty retaining heat and softened material could indicate that the bottle is no longer safe to use.

Hot water bottles should ideally be replaced every two to three years, after this period of time their material has deteriorated and continuing to use them could lead to burns and leakages.

Rebecca Swain, mattress expert at WinstonsBeds.com said: “Many of us will have dug out our hot water bottles by now to help fight the cold weather.

"While they can be a great way to stay warm it’s important to remember that they need to be replaced every couple of years to use them safely.

“Over time these bottles deteriorate from constantly being filled with warm water. It compromises their structure and as the material gets thinner, it increases the risk of splitting or bursting and causing burns.

“Water bottles should have the year they were manufactured on them so you know when they need replacing but if yours doesn’t then there are some other tell tale signs that it could be too old to use.”

Signs a hot water bottle is out of date:

Check the date

All water bottles should have a wheel on the neck with a number in the middle to show you what year it was made. For example, if the circle says 22, the hot water bottle was made in 2022.

The outer part of the wheel has 12 segments representing each of the months and these will be filled with dots to indicate which month the bottle was made in. For example, if six of the segments are filled with dots, it was manufactured in June, the sixth month.

Softened material

Hot water bottles shouldn’t feel soft and flimsy. If yours is it could be a sign that the quality of your bottle has deteriorated and has lost its durability.

Difficulty retaining heat

If you’re finding that a bottle feels as though it doesn't stay warm for long enough compared to before then this could be another indication that the material has softened.

Discoloured

A discoloured bottle could mean you have had it for too long. It is recommended that hot water bottles are replaced every two to three years and it could be time to get another.

Expansion when filled

A good quality bottle shouldn’t expand or stretch when filled with water. If your bottle is expanding after you have poured water into it it is likely the material inside has deteriorated quite a bit.