Why Charging Under Your Pillow is a Disaster Waiting to Happen
Laptops, tablets, and iPhones all use lithium-ion batteries, which have a large energy storage capacity in a small package. A pillow or blanket traps heat, which leads to the battery overheating, expanding, and igniting.
Firefighters warn that a phone fire can reach temperatures of over 600°C and start in just a few minutes. Flames can spread quickly before you even wake up if this occurs while you’re asleep.
This is happening, not merely a warning. A phone charger left on a bed in November 2022 ignited a fire in a Buckinghamshire family’s bedroom. The overheated charger ignited the bedding, and the rapidly spreading flames caused significant damage.
Over 50% of unintentional home fires are now electrical fires, with overnight charging being one of the main causes, according to the London Fire Brigade.
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