The Product

The Dreamland Heatpad, made by the well-known electric blanket manufacturers, can be picked up for around £15 from various department stores and electrical shops, as well as online stores such as amazon. I believe mine was bought from Argos, where it's currently selling for £15.98.


Why I Bought It

Well, technically, I didn't. I actually received it as a gift, but before you start thinking how disappointed you'd be to receive this as a gift, I'll just mention that I did actually request it!

Whilst I generally get far too hot far too easily (I was always the one at school who still had her jumper tied round her waist in the middle of winter, when everyone else had about 4 extra layers on!), my feet have a tendancy to turn to ice as soon as I get into bed, and often whilst I'm sat at my computer desk. I've tried wearing bedsocks, but they make no difference. I've tried using an electric blanket, but whilst it's nice getting into a warm bed, 5 minutes in one leaves me sweltering and I end up chucking the covers off. I also had a hot water bottle at one point, but it was just too much phaff for me to ever bother with. So, looking through the Argos catalogue for some other way to keep my feet warm, I came across heat pads. They were being marketed primarily as pain relief devices, but I just thought they seemed the perfect size to put at the bottom of my bed to keep my feet warm. The only reason I chose the Dreamland over other brands was that it was the cheapest.


Packaging

The product comes packaged in a white box with a picture of the product and brief descriptions of the features on it. Inside the box, the product is protected by a cellophane bag, and comes along with an instruction leaflet.


Features

In case anyone is wondering what a heatpad actually looks like, it's basically like a mini electric blanket. This model measures approx. 32 x 40cm, and has a light beige towelling cover, which is removable and hand washable, and a 3 metre cord.
The control unit is about a third of the way down the cord (from the pad end, not the plug end), and is very simple to use. There are 3 heat settings controlled by a switch, and a little window next to the switch which displays which setting the pad is on (0 being off, and 1 to 3 being low to high settings). The numbers light up to show that the pad is on, and there is also a red LED to tell you when the pad has switched itself off.

The heatpad has an auto shutdown system, which means it switches itself off automatically after 90 minutes, and overheat/over-current protection, which means it switches itself off if it develops a fault. It is also fitted with a 'special safety device' which automatically regulates the temperature by turning the power on and off at regular intervals to maintain a constant temperature.


Instructions

Check that the control unit is on the 0 setting, then plug into a mains socket.
For rapid heating, select level 3. After a few minutes, when the device is warm, place it on the body part you wish to heat and select the desired temperature.
And the award for most amusing instruction I've ever read goes to........ "Do not use the appliance to heat animals". Because I was so looking forward to heating my cat.....

For best heating results, keep the heating pad covered so that the heat is not lost when the power is turned off.
The removable cover should be hand-washed with a mild detergent, in water no warmer than 40°.


Safety and Maintenance

There's quite a long list of warnings for this product, which are mostly just common sense, but the main ones are:
-Check regularly for visible signs of damage, and do not use if any are found.
-Do not use adapters, multiple sockets and/or extension cords.
-If the heating pad or protection fuse breaks down and/or fails to work properly, turn off the appliance and do not tamper with it.
-To avoid any dangerous overheating, unwind the power cord fully during use, and unplug when not in use.
-Never immerse in water.
-Do not use the appliance with the infirm, infants or people with pacemakers or other battery-powered medical devices.
-Avoid creasing the appliance.

When not in use, the pad should be stored in a dry place, and you should avoid creasing it or placing heavy objects on top of it. If any signs of damage are noticed , it should be sent to the service centre, accompanied by proof of purchase, for repair/replacement under the terms of the guarantee.
The appliance is guaranteed for 3 years from purchase, against any defects arising from manufacturing faults.
To keep the heating pad in good condition, the removable cover should be washed regularly, and the pad wiped down with a damp cloth every once in a while.


In Practice

The 3 metre cord means it's easy to place the pad where I want it, I don't need to sit next to a socket in order to use it, which is always good. After plugging it in and switching it to the 3rd heat setting as suggested in the instructions, the pad starts to heat up within just a few seconds. It then takes about 5 minutes to get as hot as it's going to get.

The heat settings on this thing are a complete joke. There may as well be only 1setting as the first 2 are pointless, you can hardly even tell it's switched on. The third setting is the only one worth bothering with, but even that's not as warm as I'd like, or as I would have expected. Don't get me wrong, it is enough to stop my feet from freezing, but it just doesn't give me that warm feeling I was after. According to the information leaflet, the temperature is the maximum allowed by IEC standards to guarantee user safety, but if this is true then practically every electric blanket in existence must be in breach of these safety regulations.

The size of it is great for me, as it fits nicely at the bottom of my bed and neatly under my computer desk to keep my feet warm when they need it. The towelling cover feels quite nice, and I tend to find myself opening the single press-stud fastening and putting my feet inside the cover so that they're directly on the pad itself, which helps to make them feel warmer.
The 'automatic temperature regulation' is another completely useless, and rather annoying feature of this heatpad. In fact, I don't know how they can call it temperature regulation, when all it does is switch itself off and quickly turn cold, rather than maintaining a constant temperature as it's supposed to. I tend to find myself turning it off and on again as soon as it goes cold, so that it warms up again quicker.

When it comes to using the pad for it's intended purpose, I feel it's design is rather flawed. The size of the pad is just too big to be used comfortably or effectively on any body part other than the back or the abdomen. I tried to test out its effectiveness on a pain I had in the front of my upper thigh, but quickly gave up, as I couldn't get it in a position that was comfortable whilst allowing enough contact for me to be able to feel the warmth.
I have tried the pad out on a pain I sometimes get in my lower back, and whilst it was much easier to use on this particular body area, I didn't feel it was in any way effective at relieving the pain. I did, however, find it effective at relieving menstrual cramps, so it's quite useful around that time of the month. When using it for pain relief I find it's best to do away with the cover and place the pad onto you directly, as this allows you to feel the heat more.


The Conclusion

All things considered, I'm not greatly impressed by this product. It does perform the function I bought it for, but not especially well. I'm not convinced that it helps with aches and pains (apart from period pains - but so does a warm bath!), which is what it's designed to do, and it seems flawed in many ways. It's not something I would buy again, and I certainly wouldn't recommend it for any purpose.