Can a weighted stuffed animal go in the microwave or on the radiator?

A warm stuffed animal feels extra cosy, especially on cold evenings. So it makes sense that you might want to warm up your weighted stuffed animal. With most weighted stuffed animals that is not a good idea, but there are other lovely ways to add warmth. Below you can read why, what those ways are and what to do if something does go wrong. You will find all safety topics under safety.

Can a weighted stuffed animal go in the microwave?

Only if the manufacturer explicitly says so on the label or in the instructions. An ordinary weighted stuffed animal is made to be held, not to be heated up.

There are stuffed animals that are specially designed to go in the microwave. In Europe, these fall under the toy safety rules. European testing bodies drew up a separate test protocol for these heatable stuffed animals (2018). It tests how hot the surface gets with normal heating and with heating for too long, and how quickly it cools down again. A stuffed animal like this must also come with clear warnings: it may only be heated in the microwave and only by an adult, with a maximum time and a maximum power setting. It may only be heated again once it is back at room temperature.

A weighted stuffed animal that is not meant for heating has no such tests or instructions. So you do not know how it will react.

What can go wrong when you heat it?

The test protocol mentions two risks with heatable stuffed animals.

Burns. A stuffed animal can heat up unevenly in the microwave, which creates unexpected hot spots. According to the protocol, the temperature can rise even further after heating.

Fire. In stuffed animals and bags filled with seeds or fruit stones, the filling can catch fire. According to the protocol, it can first smoulder unnoticed deep inside the filling. Australian fire and consumer organisations warn about heatable wheat bags for the same reason: they can catch fire in the microwave if you heat them for too long, and there are known cases where they caught fire under the bedding.

A weighted stuffed animal with glass beads is different from a bag of grain. Even so, a weighted stuffed animal also contains fabric and soft filling, and these were not chosen to cope with heat.

Does it matter whether it contains glass or plastic?

For this advice, it does not matter. Besides grain and fruit stones, the European test protocol also mentions plastic pellets and gel as fillings for heatable stuffed animals. So whether a stuffed animal can cope with heat depends on how the manufacturer designed and tested the whole stuffed animal, not just on what the beads or pellets are made of. How glass beads or plastic pellets in an ordinary weighted stuffed animal react to heat has not been studied. What is more, the beads or pellets are usually inside an inner bag or fabric compartments, with soft filling around them.

What is inside your stuffed animal is usually on the label. You can read more about the different kinds of filling in what is inside a weighted stuffed animal. If it does not explicitly say that you can heat it, do not do it.

Why does warmth need extra care with children and older people?

The sources we consulted are extra cautious about warmth for young children and older people. The test protocol for heatable stuffed animals already points out that children's skin is more sensitive. For babies, Nederlands Centrum Jeugdgezondheid, the Dutch centre for child and youth health, advises against an electric blanket or a hot-water bottle in bed. The American Safe to Sleep programme points out that babies can overheat under weighted items. A weighted stuffed animal is not suitable for children under 3 in any case.

The Australian fire service advises against letting children or older people sleep with a heatable wheat bag. Guidelines for weighted blankets also mention temperature as something to watch. The British professional body for occupational therapists (RCOT) and the Dutch aid guide Vilans Hulpmiddelenwijzer ask whether someone can regulate their own temperature well before a weighted aid is used.

A warm weighted stuffed animal combines weight and warmth. And anyone who cannot put it aside themselves cannot escape the heat. See also the most important safety rules.

How can you add warmth safely?

Fortunately, there are lovely, safer ways to combine warmth and a weighted stuffed animal.

• A stuffed animal made for it. Some stuffed animals have a removable heat pack in a compartment of its own. Then follow the instructions exactly: heat only the pack, stick to the time and power setting, and let it cool down before you heat it again. You can read about other kinds of calming stuffed animals in calming stuffed animals.
• Warmth on the side. Put an ordinary hot-water bottle or a heat pack separately next to you, and the weighted stuffed animal on your lap. A burns specialist at a hospital in Antwerp advises always keeping something between a hot-water bottle and your skin, and not using boiling water.
• Getting warm without heat. A warm jumper, a blanket over your legs or a warm bath before you sit down can give the same cosy feeling, without extra risk.

With young children, keep warmth separate from the stuffed animal and supervise them. A hot-water bottle or heat pack does not go into bed with them.

What should you do if the stuffed animal has got too hot?

Did your stuffed animal get heated by accident, or was it against the radiator for too long? Don't panic: first let it cool down completely somewhere nothing can catch fire. Then check the fabric, the seams and the filling. Does it smell scorched, is the fabric discoloured or hardened, or does the filling feel different from before? Then do not use it any more. A damaged stuffed animal can lose beads or pellets. You can read what to look out for when checking it in quality marks and safety.