Who invented heating pads

He did so as part of a treatment for tuberculosis. Doctors wanted to be able to produce a moist heat that they felt would be good for TB patients. The pad he invented was wrapped with wet towels and produced the effect. It was later used by itself and also developed into the electric blanket. Northern Electric was started to manufacture the pads and blankets. In its earliest incarnation, a hot water bottle was sometimes filled with burning coals, which were, in turn, used to warm a bed.

The primary difference between the antiquated water bottles of old and the electrical heating pads of today resides in the versatility, convenience, and impact that today's models offer. The number of settings on an electrical heating pad has gone from zero to infinity. In addition, there are built-in features that keep today's models from overheating. There are also auto-timers that tell the pad when to turn off. Certain non-electrical pads lock in their warmth from a microwave, and these pads are often designed to function as cooling pads , as well.

The electric heating pad has been around since the early S. It was originally introduced as a bed warmer that would sit beneath the fitted sheet, providing warmth and comfort throughout the night. He distributed his model widely around Ontario, convincing his customers that they represented an improvement on the fueled irons of that generation that utilized whale oil, kerosene, ethanol and even gasoline.

He then prevailed upon the company he worked for to generate power all day every Tuesday, which he promoted as ironing day, so power customers could use his new iron. He reasoned that if sufficient electric irons were in use, customers would demand more power and through a wider cusomer base and economies of scale the high electrical rates then being levied could be reduced. This proved to be the case. In , Richardson left the power company and started up the Pacific Electric Heating Company on Euclid Avenue just below the railroad tracks to manufacture electric irons.

An initial flaw in the early model of his irons was that they grew too hot in the center of the ironing plate. His wife suggested that he redesign the heating element closer to the top point of the iron to facilitate pressing around buttonholes, ruffles and pleats. He fabricated a version incorporating this change and had several local laundresses test it as to its serviceability. Beginning in and continuing until , Richardson found other innovative ways to electrify household appliances.