With winter quickly approaching and energy bills soaring, many of us have been searching for ways to save money on heating our homes during the colder months this year.
One of the methods that people are turning to is making their own cheap heat sources, including terracotta heaters.
The terracotta heater hack is becoming more popular as the trend goes viral on TikTok, with users being told that it is an effective way to save money on heating bills.
But experts have warned that the hack is "extremely dangerous" and comes with a number of serious risks.
Instead, they've advised to use safer heating hacks at home.
Here's why terracotta heaters are unsafe and what you can do instead.
What's a terracotta heater?
A terracotta heater is a DIY method for heating your home using a terracotta plant pot and candles.
The hack has gone viral on TikTok with videos telling people that you can create a cheap heat source by lighting a few candles and placing a terracotta flower pot upside down over the candles.
They claim that the pot will then heat up and serve as a radiator, producing heat for the room.
While a terracotta heater can help to heat your home, they are very unsafe and shouldn't be used.
Are terracotta heaters unsafe?
While a DIY terracotta heater might seem like a cheap and simple way to heat your home, fire chiefs have warned against using the hack.
The experts at Heat Adviser have explained exactly why DIY terracotta heaters are so unsafe.
Firstly, they pose a severe fire hazard, with the experts explaining: " The combination of the melted wax from the candle mixed with the terracotta of the flower pot can easily catch fire.
"If the pot were to fall or become unstable, the candles can get knocked over and come into contact with something flammable, resulting in a fire as well."
They also warned that the pot can cause "significant burns" as well as damaging surfaces in the home, adding: "The clay on the flower pot can get extremely hot and touching it can cause significant burns.
"If there was an emergency it would be nearly impossible for anyone to touch the pot without getting harmed."
The experts explained that the pots are so dangerous they can even cause explosions. "When it reaches 100 degrees Celsius, the production of steam can cause an explosion.
"It is hard to tell whether the pot is completely dry and the hidden moisture would make it hard to know that you are actually setting yourself up for an explosion."
Finally, another dangerous element to the heating hack is the impact is has on the air quality in your home.
Heat Adviser explained that tealights produce soot, which reduces the quality of air, and that paraffin wax also releases toxic chemicals which "affect development and reproduction" and "increase the risk of lung cancer".
Safe heating hacks to use this winter
Luckily, the experts at Heat Adviser offered some safer hacks for keeping warm this winter.
When it comes to heating your home, they recommended using a soapstone instead of a terracotta heater.
Soapstones have the ability to store a large amount of heat.
Explaining how to use them to heat your home, the experts said: "Soapstone can be placed near a heating source to have longer-lasting effects of the heat and to increase the temperature.
"According to HearthStone, soapstone absorbs the heat and can be placed somewhere else in the room to essentially transfer the heat there."
They also recommended using hot water bottles as another cheap method to staying warm, adding: "Conveniently carry a hot water bottle anywhere you are to warm yourself up.
"They may not warm the room up, but can warm up your blankets or keep you warm while on a walk. They are cheap and easy to use also."
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