Electric Blankets: Reviews

Choosing the best electric blanket is tricky

Although electric blankets have a bit of a bad rap, that's largely based on outdated blankets that had problems with overheating and short circuits. Today's electric blankets are low-voltage appliances that are safe to use and have seen few widespread problems over the years. On the downside, today's electric blankets don't get as warm as those you might remember from your grandmother's house.

The most relevant comparison test we found is from Good Housekeeping, which identified the best electric blankets by testing seven models for efficient (and sufficient) heating, ease of use and the ability to hold up to washing and drying. Of course, seven models is only the tip of the iceberg, so there's hardly a consensus on the best electric blankets. So for this short report, we looked for heated blankets that garner at least some user reviews, along with coverage by Good Housekeeping.

Sunbeam is the most visible brand among electric blankets; they are certainly the easiest to find in stores, and the most economical. But Sunbeam also makes products with a confusing array of product names, fabric types and colors, making it hard to comparison shop.

One Sunbeam blanket that we did see consistently reviewed is the Sunbeam Microplush Heated Blanket, which comes in nine colors. This electric blanket is top-rated at Good Housekeeping, and in contrast to some other Sunbeam blankets, it gets solid support in user reviews too. About 90 owners posting to Walmart.com give it near-perfect ratings (only five people got lemons). Another plus is the five-year warranty. (With all electric blankets, keep the receipt because we did read plenty of reports of product failure, usually within the first year of ownership.) The downside in the Good Housekeeping review is the confusing instruction manual. But low energy use, good heat and fabric that held up well in the wash were pluses. We also read good user reviews for the smaller throw version of this electric blanket, the Sunbeam Microplush Warming Throw (*Est. $50); this version has three heat settings, a three-hour safety shutoff and comes in 15 colors/patterns.

Sunbeam makes a big deal of energy savings, saying that you could save $131 per year in heating costs by using this Sunbeam electric blanket at night. ConsumerReports.org doesn't actually review heated blankets, but they do test Sunbeam's claim, finding that you could actually save more than Sunbeam claims if you turn your thermostat down 8 degrees during sleeping hours.

Other electric blanket brands aren't reviewed as often

We didn't find as much review support for other blankets, and some get mixed reviews. For example, the Soft Heat Microfleece Warming Blanket (*Est. $100 to $190) took more than an hour to heat up and never reached 70 degrees. The Sealy Classic Electric Blanket (*Est. $80 to $190) didn't hold up well in the wash, with shrinking and pilling. Five of the 16 reviews at JCPenney.com say that the blanket stopped working after they washed it.

Biddeford and Perfect Fit are the two other brands we saw mentioned here and there. The Perfect Fit Plush Warming Blanket (*Est. $70 to $115) took 45 minutes to heat up to 70 degrees at Good Housekeeping, but it was judged best-looking. This brand is hard to find, however. Biddeford electric blankets aren't tested at Good Housekeeping, but they do get a handful of good user reviews. The Biddeford Delightful Nights Electric Warming Blanket (*Est. $90 to $200) gets mainly good reviews at Amazon.com, but there just aren't as many reviews for this blanket as for the Sunbeam Microplush Heated Blanket which costs less.