Magic bean blanket7/13/2023 Using a 1.65 kilowatt microwave, we heated each of the pads for thirty seconds. We chose to compare them by volume rather than weight because that’s the limitation on your sewn warming pad. To test our fillers we made three 5½” x 5½” test pads from scrap cotton fabric and filled each with 1½ cups of the various fillers. We wanted to know which of our three finalists – rice, dried corn, and flaxseed – would perform best in a “highly scientific test.” Which heating pad filler is best? Our scientific analysis. We chose to use food grade fillers for all our tests and have not experienced any issues with pests – even in pads that have been used over and over for years. Some people swear by the convenience and/or cost of buying feed or seed corn at a local feed store, but there were also many concerns about “buggies” showing up in corn. If you’re making more than a few heating pads, this is something to consider. Additionally, we like the fact you can buy any of these rather inexpensively in the bulk food section at most supermarkets. But the ones that appear to be the most popular (and in our experience the most practical) are: rice, dried corn, and flaxseed.Īll three meet the requirements of retaining heat, having a pleasant smell, and feeling good against your skin. The more exotic range from silica beads to cherry pits. Talking with our Sew4Home team and then looking at what’s recommended on the web, we found a huge number of different fillers people have tried. This last reason is probably why neck warmers filled with driveway gravel never caught on. And finally, it should have a nice feel against your skin. It should have a nice smell or no odor when heated. It should stay warm for an extended period of time. The benefit to using the organic fillers is they require very little time to heat thoroughly, fifteen to thirty seconds is usually plenty.īut what about the filler? What should you put inside your heating pad to get the best results?įirst of all, you want your filler material to be microwaveable that eliminates anything with a metallic component, which will spark. Of course, like anything you put in the microwave, even cotton will eventually burn if you cook it too long. It can get very warm without melting and has a nice feel against your skin. ![]() You can use other substrates, our original pad project featured fleece and cotton ticking, but the traditional choice for anything microwaveable is 100% cotton. Cotton on the outside, but what should go inside? So we thought we’d do a little testing to see if we could find out which one is best. Everybody who makes them seems to have a favorite filler. Most likely, it’s because they’re not only functional, they’re also really easy to make. The rice-filled warming pad project we did here at Sew4Home is one of the most popular gift items ever featured. Their combination of toasty warmth and good smell are a natural remedy you can enjoy every day without side effects. Microwavable heating pads with organic fillers are a wonderful way to soothe sore muscles or just warm up on a cold day.
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