Concerns Over Safety Of Electric Blankets

Electric blanket testing in Fife this year saw a high number of blankets fail safety checks.

13 events were held across Fife. 

Almost 300 blankets were tested, with 136 (47%) considered to be unsafe to use.

Dawn Adamson, Lead Trading Standards Officer, expresses concern, "The results show that people could be risking their safety by using old, unsafe blankets. Trading Standards has run blanket testing projects since 2004 with a consistently high failure rate. We still get blankets estimated at around 40 years old brought for testing, that are still in use. This is a serious safety issue.

"The main reason older blankets can be unsafe is that they don't have overheat protection found in new blankets. This safety system cuts power to the blanket in the event of a fault, reducing the risk of it catching fire. Other reasons are due to age, the material becomes worn, and wires have moved or are exposed.

Dawn explains, "All the blankets that failed had the potential to cause a fire or serious injury. Acting on our advice, all these householders removed the unsafe blankets from use. Our advice is if you have an electric blanket, check the labelling & condition and if in doubt, replace it".