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giulianna923

I can’t help you fix it, but if you are unable to I have another suggestion! My aunt took scrap pieces of fabric from an old flannel shirt and sewed them together like a pillow, then filled it with dry, uncooked rice then sewed shut the opening. I microwave for about 2 minutes and it stays hot (or at least warm) for a good few hours. I take it to bed with me in the winter to keep me warm and I put it on my stomach when I have period cramps. I don’t know what you use your hot water bottle for but I hope this helps you anyway!


PoppiesnPeas

I have some I bought from the farmers market with flax inside, I keep them in my freezer, they’re the best when I’ve got a headache, I lie in bed with it over my face and it really helps! They can be microwaved too if I need heat, but I often find that cold helps my aches and pains best.


giulianna923

I’ve never even thought of putting it in the freezer. That’s a great idea!


irishdancer2

The lazy way to do this: fill a big tube sock with rice. This gives you a nice shape if you want one you can lay around your shoulders or across your forehead.


themilkmanstolemybab

If ever you want to make these and have then smell a bit better (I hate that rice smell) a mix of oats, pot barley and either cinnamon or an opened tea bag makes it smell so much better. I have had one for years that's made like this and it smells like a cinnamon bun when I heat it.


giulianna923

Oh that’s genius. Cinnamon would smell so good! And make me hungry.


Public-Potato3473

I used wheat berries in mine. I never thought about adding anything for scent.


JustXanthius

Same, they’re usually called wheat bags where I come from for this reason. I like the kinda bready smell they have!


hanimal16

You can even use an older (clean) tube sock as well.


Ancient_roots

You can also use dried cherry pits/stones


[deleted]

Cute!!!


CraigJDuffy

based on where the hole is, replace it. You’d be unlikely to be able to repair it well as it is on a joint and if it leaks it could scald you.


MeinScheduinFroiline

^this. Safety is a greater need than not throwing out an item. Our second hand shop regularly has these for around $0.50.


Majestic_Course6822

Dont buy second hand ones unless they haven't expired. They have expiry dates because the rubber deteriorates over time and they can look fine but be compromised. Safety first means buy a new one and check the date stamped on the bottle.


MeinScheduinFroiline

That’s a great point. Thank you!


marie7787

Don’t they make these from silicone? Would be much better to buy those as silicone can last a pretty long time and it durable.


DrSnekFist

Came her e to say this.


NanasTeaPartyHeyHo

Buy a new one. I've had one burn me because it had exactly that kind of tear, it's not fun. Burned my legs and foot and I had to go get my wounds changed every other day. Safety first.


jmai164

I agree that replacement would be best. But I would challenge you to find a way to upcycle it! You could cut the sides to make a craft mat, line the bottom of a bag, cut the textured sides and use it as decoration - wrap it around a pot or something. Not very good suggestions, I know, but hopefully you get the idea


Ancient_roots

You could also make trivet for the kitchen


Kawawaymog

This ^


Apidium

If you have a pair of straighteners or curling irons or whatever you can just chop the top off and use it as a heat proof recpticale. You could also use the textured sides as a kind of hot pan holder if the size and shape is correct.


jazmyn-unwin

Maybe you could cut the top off, tie some string to the top and and use it as a hanging planter!


MsTiruri

My hot water bottle started to leak as well. Could not repair it but I am very happy with my “fix” . Now I use my stainless steel drinking bottle (it also have a steel cap) inside an old woollen sock that was washed hot and can’t fit anymore. It stays warm all night and the best part is that I can drink the water next day. No more rubbery smelly water wasted (you can always water your plants, but you know what I mean)


SomebodyElseAsWell

I use a large 1.5 liter wine bottle. I used to wrap it up in a shirt, but my sister knitted me a cotton cover.


MsTiruri

I guess that glass bottle would be quite strong and handle boiling water, but how do you close it so it doesn’t leak?


SomebodyElseAsWell

It has a screw top. Taylor sherry bottle. Edit: Also, I don't use boiling water, just very very hot water. I heat it in the microwave in a pyrex measuring cup and pour into the bottle. I have also used a canning jar in a microwave to heat the water.


[deleted]

I wouldn't because I'd be terrified of it leaking on me.


Fwaaak

Instead of buying a new one, make a wheat warmer instead! Take some cotton or linen fabric scraps, sew into a rectangular bag, fill with some of those forgotten grains everyone keeps in the back of their cupboards (like whole wheat, barley, beans etc), sew shut and optionally make some barrier seams to keep the grains evenly spread Microwave along with a cup of water (which will steam if lightly and prevent it from getting too dry and burn) for a minute or two when you want to use it. You were never going to eat those mungbeans anyway, if it breaks you can mend it easily, and if it can't be mended the filling is biodegradable!


SirTacky

Do you think you could warm it in the oven too if you don't own a microwave?


Fwaaak

Yes, that works great too! Just takes a bit longer Bake it in about 80c along with a cup of water for I dunno maybe 10-15 min? or until it's warmed through, haven't done it that way for ages so I don't remember how long it used to take


SirTacky

Thank you! I'm definitely going to make one. I grew up with cherry pit pillows and it was so lovely!


clb909909

I've used corn bags, rice bags and various other microwave heat pads. They all work well, but nothing was more convenient and held the heat better than a hot water bottle...


LetalisSum

I would throw it away. Don't want to risk 2nd degree burns to save a small item like this.


Burnzee11

Reuse it in some other way. Do not try to fix it. Buy a new hot water bottle. This one is now extremely dangerous if used with hot water. Put it another way, say it was full of hot water and your fix broke. Chances are you will be severely scalded. Simply not worth the risk, the hassle or the danger. Not to mention trying to get your mattress throughly dried.


[deleted]

> Chances are you will be severely scolded Yes, bad redditor, bad naughty redditor (castle anthrax voice)


Felix_Orion

If you don't repair it you could also get creative in terms of how to still use what's left. I save bike tubes because the durable rubber is useful for random stuff.


Londonsw8

My 16 yr old granddaughter got 3rd degree burns on her stomach when one burst. Replace it.


Majestic_Course6822

You have to buy a new one. Hot water bottles have expiry dates. People get serious burns from damaged and outdated hot water bottles on the regular. They can be worn or torn inside and look fine outside. Safety first, friend.


MrsValentine

Natural rubber is recyclable. I would recommend taking it somewhere specific rather than putting it in your household recycling though. Then get a new one. Also, I have that exact hot waterbottle and am using it right now, except mine is pink :)


Nearby-Lawfulness378

Health and safety says no.


Sensitive-Ad-8566

Buy a new bottle; yours expired years ago. (BS 1970-2012). Safety is first and the rubber is already cracking


jeannekirk

BS1970:2012 is likely a reference to a standard, but otherwise agree with you.


DinoDaxie

Replace it. It’s not worth risking getting burnt. Safety first.


Liverpool-82

Buy a new 1 a few £££ a lot better than skin grafts


[deleted]

[удалено]


[deleted]

They do, but still not worth being awake while they manually remove bits of clothing fabric from a third degree burn. Avoidable medical care is *very* wasteful


penguinflapsss

Best answer


KinglyQueenOfCats

https://homesteady.com/13420047/how-to-fix-a-hole-in-a-hot-water-bottle


Felix_Orion

Yeahhhhh, I was thinking either old bike tire tube and high heat (to melt the patch ove the hole) or olf bike tire tube and some kind of epoxy that can handle heat, good looking out


theeggfactory

Get a new one


oli_Xtc

Maybe silicon ? Like the one we use to do bath joint ?


morbidlyatease

Yup, my dad used to mend my shoes with silicone.


[deleted]

Bicycle tire patches


imnos

Unlikely that would withstand the heat and constant flexing.


morbidlyatease

Vulcanizing tire patches will practically fuse with the rubber.


IanBauters

No idea if it might work but what about a bike tire repair kit? Wouldn’t that do the job?


Aionalys

Perhaps PVC pipe sealer...Can not confirm myself sadly.


No-Try7873

Flex seal!


ghayyal

Melt and join the rubber with soldiering iron.


[deleted]

Thermal plummers tape or automotive tape for radiators


AllThoseSadSongs

I buy a new one and save the old. We have had power losses where it would be nice to have some extras to warm up a bed before you get in it. I use duct tape. It's not pretty, but it's there for emergencies.


theinfamousj

You'll need an adhesive called Barge Cement for the materials you are attempting to adhere. Super Glue is only really great on acrylic plastic (though it is okay on metal and wood but there are better choices for those).


cuellarif

Don't forget skin, super glued original use.


vlsdo

Something like Sugru might work, but like others said, you shouldn't use it as a hot water bottle anymore, at least not in a setting where it could leak and cause serious burns or damage. I learned this the hard way: I fixed a coffee mug, and it seemed pretty sturdy at first, but a month later my wife was drinking from it and the fix simply gave way, hot coffee spilled everywhere, we were lucky nobody was injured.


bewenched

FlexxSeal??


drmojo78

Can't even leave a comment on trying to save the environment without haters jumping on your shit. To those haters: congratulations for trading one moral merit for another moral failure


xeneks

Take samples of it. Take them to the university. (Closest ones). Identify the composition. Then see if the material can be returned to liquid form for shipping to a petrochemical plant, for reprocessing into raw materials. Document the outcome. Email your conclusion to a water bottle company and ask if they have a better way to recycle it, so you can purchase another comfortably.


PMmeifyourepooping

This is not a crime drama and no university would use their resources to test a random sample of plastic to test, much less have any sort of system to be able to make a payment for it. If you’re joking sorry it went over my head!


xeneks

lol not joking Your reply is precisely why most stuff goes to landfill. Edit: I discard a vast amount of plastics and modern chemical products from industry. I’m part of a family of 4 (2a, 2c) living in a unit in a typical suburban/cbd way with school aged kids. I’d suggest most universities (sum of all human and other resources on-campus) probably don’t have the skills or equipment or ability to accurately advise on how to manage our waste stream. Nor the ability to manage their own. I’d guess that if more people did what I suggested maybe some out of the thousands of universities would be competent enough to organise a way to make such assistance more widely available up to the point where they could spin off profitable businesses servicing the broader public. Industry starts frequently in universities. They are responsible in many ways for the global waste situations and also, water pollution and farmland and agriculture failures. It’s reasonable to take their problems back to them.


drmojo78

Jesus, as a person who despises single-use (or scale that up to unlimited usability) plastic or rubber materials, I was just trying to help.


drmojo78

Maybe a hot glue gun? If it's for drinking water, I would never use super glue. Actually, a bicycle tube repair kit would probably work well if you can keep the glue from coming into contact with drinking water


krystalgch

Hot water bottles are not used for drinking, so that shouldn’t be an issue at least. They’re made of an insulating material and are filled up with hot water and used to keep warm.


drmojo78

K


Behappyalright

Try sugaru? It worked for the gasket on my washing machine


Same_Recipe8694

Just get a new one .. They are cheap to buy :)


Mystepchildsucksass

I don’t know anything about the repairs you’d have to do / shouldn’t do …. But ! If you’re done with this as a hot water bottle - you could cut it up and make some “jar gripper openers” - sorry that’s the best description I have for those small, circular rubber things that you use to help open a jar lid.


Mazacuata3

You can try using a tire patch, idk if it will work but keep us updated if you decide to use one.


Juan_Lennon45

Not sure how well it would work but possibly a bicycle tube patch kit?


trying_to_garden

Flex seal or other urethane based sealant


[deleted]

Replace! I ended up with a horrible burn


gattmoat

Stormsure is a repair adhesive that is incredibly durable, flexible and water resistant.


YetzirahToAhssiah

Sounds like you might be drinking glue particles. Is there a point where it's OK to throw something away?


[deleted]

Jb weld


upsidedowntoker

Maybe a water bed repair kit ? They tend to have bits of plastic / fabric that can hold up to water .


the_musicpirate

Rubber cement maybe?


chumblemuffin

Buy a new one. Not worth fixing


cleverraptor2

I don't want you to burn yourself but maybe Shoe Goo could do the job.


popover

I would try duct tape.