Electric blankets safe with urethane foam?

Talk To The Experts MFC Canada
1

I want to add a foam topper to my mattress but the warnings on them about flammability give me pause. Is it dangerous to use an electric blanket with them?

2

Hi Sleep Deprived,

Thanks for the question.

Regarding Electric blankets (EB), it is well documented that issues with these products have continuously dropped year in and year out as the EB products have improved. Everything on your bed is flammable, including the topper, the topper cover, the sheets, etc etc. The most important issue is the safety of the EB itself as most issues related to burning of EB’s have to do with product misuse, and faulty electrical issues i.e. short circuits, bad wiring, etc. Of course, old EB’s and ones left on overnight can cause issues. Newer electric blankets have a shutoff mechanism to prevent the blanket from overheating or catching fire.

There is more information about EB’s at the Electric Blanket Institute website, wow never knew there was such an institute.

There was also some bed/mattress burning studies done at the University of MD around 2000, and much of the data shows that the cotton/polyester products on a bed will ignite quicker than polyurethane foam. Here is the link to the Maryland study. The main point is that I have not found any data that specifically says it is a safety problem to use EB w memory foam topper, but as always it is up to you to decide what comfort level you have.

Also consider that when using either an electric blanket or electric mattress pad with memory foam, it is important to remember that memory foam is temperature sensitive. This means that the use of an electric blanket or mattress pad will make your memory foam softer than it would be without additional heat. You probably know this already

Thanks for the question!

Sensei

3

Thanks a lot for your response and the links, this is really helpful.

4

Hi SleepDeprived,

You are very welcome.

Thanks,
Sensei