Everyone is looking for ways to stay warm this winter without racking up a huge energy bill, and hot water bottles can be an effective way to avoid turning on the heating.  

Cheaper than an electric blanket, you can pick up one for around £5 and stay toasty for as much as five or six hours if used in bed under the covers.

It costs around 6.8 pence to boil a full kettle of water, making a hot water bottle an economical solution - even if you're filling it up twice  day.  

Here, FEMAIL has compiled some top tips for making the most of your hot water bottles...

LOOK FOR THE DAISY

Most modern hot water bottles have a daisy wheel on them to let consumers know when they were made. 

Many people have taken to social media to explain how the floral symbol is actually used, including Facebook user Kaylee Whormsley, from North Wales. 

Kaylee urged people to check their old hot water bottles after seeing a This Morning segment in November where Dr Amir explained people should throw away the device after three years of use.

Old water bottles could possibly rip on their owners and cause serious burns by emptying their boiling contents on their skin. 

In her post, which has since gone viral, Kaylee explained that a flower symbol on each bottle tells you about the year you bought it, and the month and the week on which it was made to help you calculate how long you should use it for.

'All hot water bottles should have this flower symbol on them. The number in the middle is the year it was made, the flower segments represent the 12 months of the year and the dots inside those represent the number of weeks,' she explained.

She photographed her own bottle to illustrate and explained it was made the first week of June 2019, and that she needed to change it.

The recommended usage for a hot water bottle is two to three years maximum, after which the hot water bottle should be replaced.

DON'T FILL IT WITH BOILING WATER  

You might want to make your bottle as hot as possible to avoid refilling, but that doesn't mean adding boiling water. 

TheHotWaterBottleShop.com recommends: 'Once the water had boiled allow it to stand for a couple of minutes before filling your bottle.

'Filling a bottle with boiling water can cause splash back, which may cause burns.'

They suggest you hold the bottle by the neck in an upright position and to fill slowly, and only ever to the maximum of two-thirds capacity.  

Then you should expel the air from the bottle by lowering it carefully onto a flat surface until the water appears at the opening and then screw the stopper sufficiently tight to ensure there is no leakage. 

STORAGE SOLUTIONS

When you have finished using your hot water bottle it is important to empty the water contents. 

The Hot Water Bottle Shop explained that what is left inside may contain impurities that can degrade the bottle itself.   

Then when it is no longer in use, remove the stopper and store the hot water bottle away from direct sources of heat or sunlight. 

The expert store suggests a cupboard, drawer or wardrobe for storage, encouraging you to avoid airing cupboards, boiler cupboards or heat sources such as radiators. 

Finally, it is wise to not put anything on top of them because continued fluctuations in temperature can adversely affect the bottle. 

SIZE MATTERS 

Shoppers have been raving over £7.99 Aldi's long hot water bottle - saying it could be the answer to not putting the heating on this winter.

The Kirkton House long hot water bottle holds 1.7 litres of water and is 78cm long - ideal for putting in your bed or across the sofa when the nights turn cold.

It also has a faux fur cover, making it perfect for snuggling, and the long shape can heat up many parts of the body at the same time.

According to Manchester Evening News, the water bottle can be warm on just 500ml of water, the equivalent of two cups of tea.

They calculated that, with current electricity costs, the cost of boiling your kettle for the hot water bottle would be 2p, rising to between 4p and 8p to fill the whole bottle.

Flooded with five star reviews on the Aldi website, shoppers are saying the product is great for staying warm and even helps with aches and pains.

Amazon and Argos also stock long hot water bottles. 

THINK ABOUT THE ALTERNATIVES 

Martin Lewis also urged people to try out wheat bags. 

Putting a wheat bag in microwave on high heat for just three minutes can keep someone warm for up to an hour in the right circumstances, with the bag itself costing as little as £4 and the electricity to heat it costing 1p an hour.

Elsewhere the financial guru suggested electric blankets and sitting in a sleeping bag. 

It may seem odd to sit in one while in your own home, but the properties that make a good sleeping bag make it extremely useful at keeping you warm.

Designed for use in the great outdoors, where it is regularly colder than in your home, the bag provides an extra layer around your entire body and helps keep the heat in.

Martin Lewis told viewers on his ITV programme, The Martin Lewis Money Show, that his special hack is to sit in the sleeping bag and put a hot water bottle inside as well, with the bag trapping the heat and making it stay warm for longer.