When you are considering getting a new heat pad because you need to use them to help your tense muscles relax, need a general heating source or to help an injury heal faster you should know the differences between the different types of heat pads on the market.

Everybody knows the classical hot water bottle which is made out of a rubberlike material where you pour in boiling hot water, but because they are not controllable with the temperature more people seem to use the other types available on the market.

The microwaveable heat pad is normally made out of a soft but yet strong fabric filled with a grain sort which is capable of retaining heat when heathen up in the microwave to a certain temperature. And they only take 2-3 minutes to prepare and keep the heat for a considerably long period of time. These heat pads does not have a controllable temperature and will be very warm in the beginning and slowly become more and more cold as we know it from the hot water bottle.

The chemical heat pad contains two or more substances of different chemical material which will create a chemical reaction with heat as a by-product. These cannot be controlled in temperature either because the chemical reaction cannot be controlled as such; neither can a chemical reaction happen twice without a new added catalyst. This means most of these chemical pads can only be used once.

The electrical heat pads largest benefit is the possibility to adjust the temperature through a thermostat connected to the incorporated electrical heating element inside the pad. The heating pad is very adaptable to your needs and delivers a great soothing heat to relief pain in the body because of tense muscles. Their only drawback is the fact you need to be close to an electrical source to be able to use them.