Customer Reviews

Indus-Tool FWXXX Cozy Electric Foot Warming Pad

5 star:		(72)
4 star:		(46)
3 star:		(19)
2 star:		(12)
1 star:		(19)

 

 

I must say I have been pleased with the overall performance of this product. I had contemplated getting this about a year ago after seeing mention of it in an old issue of the Lawrence Berkely National Labratory newsletter "Currents". The administration had suggested it as a energy efficient solution to many of its staff who found the cooler 68 degree settings at the lab to leave their feet cold. Previous to that individual staff members were bringing in their own 1500 watt space heaters and really driving up the electricity bills.
Anyway, I was finding that even if I had the temperature in my house up to 68-70 degrees that my feet would still get cold, especially at the computer desk. Seemed silly and very expensive to crank up the furnace even higher just to get two cold feet warmer. The rest of my body was OK but the feet just got cold and stayed cold. So after waiting another winter I finally bought one. Now with this foot warmer I find that in as little as 10 minutes I can begin to warm my feet. Sometimes I begin with only my socks on for that direct heat but that in a few more minutes it is really cranking and will heat your feet directly through your shoes.
The cost to run this mat is as close to zero as you can get. In California with our very high energy costs and a local tax it still only costs 1.2 cents per hour to operate. In most other states I imagine the cost will be only about 1 cent per hour. I have also gotten a optional Hi-Lo switch to operate it a little lower and now it only costs me about .6 cents per hour. That means I can run it for 8 hours for a nickel. It would cost me a hundred times that amount to operate the central gas heating to a level that would keep my feet equally warm.
So on a economic level it is a no brainer.

Now for some practical operational considerations. I have had mine a few months. When I first got it, like any new rubber product, it had a new rubber smell....much like you smell with any new rubber product, tires, tennis shoes, etc. This is made more evident because you are heating it to about 135 degrees. As I have used it more and more this has greatly diminished and I expect it to all but go away as the months go on. I suppose if you really wanted to speed up that process, you could turn it on and stick it out in the garage for a hundred hours. Remember, that would only cost about one dollar to power it that long. I have used it in my home office and find it quite acceptable. Oh, I suppose I can still detect the new rubber smell, but as low as it is, its an acceptable trade off to have warm feet and I imagine by the end of this winter it will be all but gone.

Another consideration is that since this unit gives off such a good amount of heat, some people with diabetes and some elderly folks should use it with great care since their feet can be ultra sensitive to any heat over 95-100 degrees. From what I can understand this will give off as much as 135 degrees and with only thin socks on it can get quite hot for some people. As it heats up, I find it more comfortable to use with shoes on or I switch it down to a low heat level with the optional Hi-Lo switch I got.

So all in all, I am pleased with the product. It sure beats trying to heat my toes up with a blow dryer or by running a 1,500 watt space heater right next to my desk for hours.

Oh, one last thing. Given the amount of heat this puts out, and since I have it on a hardwood floor, I took the precaution as instructed in the directions to place a cardboard template I cut out from the box, under it, since I was uncertain if years of use in the same spot might affect the hardwood floor finish.

I'd buy the product again and suggest it to anyone who like me was long suffering from cold feet.

I bought this last winter (2004), despite the many reviews warning about the odor emitted, and boy, do I regret it! I thought I could tough it out; most people said the horrible skunk smell would GO AWAY after some time, and, to me, warm feet would be worth a temporary annoyance. As some have suggested, I plugged this in the garage first, to try to burn off much of the odor before bringing it inside. I left it plugged in a large part of the day for about two weeks. The smell was definitely horrible, but I guess because our garage is very large, and far from airtight, the full extent of the noxious odor was not obvious, until I moved it into the office. In just a few minutes, the entire HOUSE smelled like a charred skunk. But it was more than a smell, it was a TASTE as well, and we coughed quite a bit if we tried to stay in the office with it, and I got a horrible headace. I turned it off and decided to give it another week in the garage, this time I left it plugged in all the time. The second try in the office was JUST as bad as the first, and at this point the mat had been "burning off" its smell for over 3 weeks! I stubbornly left the mat in the office for a week, forcing myself to use it, trying to adjust to or ignore the skunk that was attacking my nose with every breath. After all, it REALLY DID keep my feet nice and toasty warm. Finally I'd had it, I couldn't take it anymore. The headaches and permeating odor were simply not worth it. I took the thing and threw it in the garage, unplugged, where it remains to this day. I only wish I had been realistic and sent the thing back when I had the chance. It is an absolute nightmare. By the way, the reason I thought to write this review today is because when I sat down at my desk I was reminded of this mat , as I am every day, because I smelled the lingering, embedded stink of burning SKUNK that it left behind. And this is October 2005, nearly a year later and several carpet cleanings and after it briefly occupied this space. Does it warm your feet? Definitely. But you've been warned, it isn't worth it!

Have you ever seen that Seinfeld where Jerry's car is attacked by BO that doesn't go away, and lingers on anything that crosses its path? This has the same disease. Plus, it was clearly a used item - the packaging was repacked and the foot warmer was dirty. Gross, but it's a foot warmer so I thought I'd give it a chance regardless. In its defense, it *does* work - my terminally cold wife liked the warm footsy feel; unfortunately she has a sense of smell. The room we had it in is still stinky! Get this thing outta our house!!! :)

This product must be "baked" outside in the sun, plugged in, for about one week. The reason is that the rubber compound emits an obnoxious odor for the first few days of use. I would not recommend it for a foot warmer inside a confined area. My intended use is as a boot drier in the garage. Do not purchase this product if you are sensitive to chemical odors from plasticizers and rubber.

No smells. The company changed the material and the mat does not emit any odors at all.

I use this mat daily with the accessory Hi - Lo switch on Lo. It's on all day long and has been a great product.

I hope that the older reviews won't scare new customers away.

Update Sept. 28, 2011: I have had this mat for over a year now, no smells, and it works great. No smells!!!!!

Update Oct. 3, 2011: just bought a second mat for a co-worker. Be sure to buy the high - low switch if you want to use the mat barefoot or in socks, because high is hot, but low is just right for socks.

I got the office version of this mat, meaning it is carpeted all the way around and doesn't smell. It's called Cozy-Toes Portable Foot Warmer, it has a gray carpeted top. Life is grand with warm feet! No smell at all.

02-06-2010 Before I bought this electric floor heating mat, I did my normal research. The biggest complaint that I found, albeit a somewhat dated one, was that when this floor mat got hot, it smelled, terribly. I even called the manufacturer and what they said, was that the problem was remedied by a change in the rubber compound. And that it would, even with the new compound still smell for a few days. At least they were being honest about it. They also suggested that if the smell was going to be a problem, just plug it in outdoors, in a protected area from the weather, etc., for a few days and that would work. I decided to take a chance, and bought it. When it arrived I just set it up on the floor, under my computer desk, which is in an unheated room of the house. It did smell for a few days, and to my thinking not to terrible. This is 'subjective' on my part, those of you who buy it, may find that the odor is objectionable. If so just plug it in outdoors for a few days, as suggested earlier. After about five days of continuous use the smell just faded away. The smell is now COMPLETELY gone, not a trace. My feet are warm, toasty, and I'm a happy camper. Three more comments/complaints. First)This mat does get quite warm, 90 watts of heat, 'great' if you're standing on it with shoes on, not so great, if you're seated, as I am at a desk, and kick your shoes off, and have either sock feet, or bare feet on it. It gets too warm for that. If I'm not mistaken there is an additional item that you can buy that will cut the heat down some, although I forget what it's called. It amounts to some sort of a temperature control. Second)This item comes with NO on/off switch. Somewhat inconvenient to always have to plug and unplug it, in order to turn it on and off. (I never go away from the house and leave this item plugged in, and suggest that no one go away and leave this item or any other item like it plugged in, for safety reasons.) The least they could have done was to install an inline power switch. Minor complaint, I guess. The item mentioned above that can be purchased separately to control the temperature, may, or may not, have a power switch with it, I just don't recall. Third)And this is just a comment, not a complaint. This mat does take a few minutes (5-10 min) to warm up. It also will take a few minutes to warm your feet as well, if you are wearing shoes or boots. All in all, I'm pleased with it, and my tootsies are toasty. I'm just sorry that I didn't buy it sooner. I hope this review is helpful to those of you who may be contemplating buying this item. Signed, Warm Feet, Frazier Park, Ca.

One of the reasons I love Amazon is because of the customer reviews. I enjoy researching a product and making informed decisions. The reviews of this product scared me to death. I put it in my cart and removed it several times. After spending a few days researching every foot warmer on the web I kept coming back to this product, it was exactly what I was looking for. I went ahead and bought it.

It's perfect. NO SMELL. Not even a hint of rubber odor. It's not too hot. I have it under my computer desk and I spend a lot of time at the computer. I gave if 4 stars because it does not have a switch. My power outlet is under my desk and I didn't want to crawl under the desk to plug and unplug it. I rigged it up with a short extension cord that has a switch and hung it from the end of my desk. Problem solved! Now it's easy on and easy off.

Perhaps I have a new and improved version, the other worst reviews are a few years old.

I got this for my wife, and was really looking forward to it. We have different "temperature preferences", and she spends much of her time at home complaining about being too cold. That, or I complain about being too hot.

Anyhow, the Indus does warm up. In fact, it gets downright hot -- you need socks or something else between you and it once it's going at full tilt. It's a very effective foot warmer.

But then there's the smell. Once it gets warmed up, it gives off a powerful smell of hot rubber. The smell doesn't go away very fast once it's turned off, either. In fact, I had to wash the comforter that we'd had over the Indus repeatedly to get rid of the burning rubber smell. The house still smells faintly of hot rubber, and it's been days since we used it.

If I had no sense of smell, I'd love the Indus. Unfortunately, as it is, we can't use it. With luck, perhaps Indus can find a material to use that won't react this way upon heating.

It was great for keeping your feet warm or drying shoes, but it has a rubbery smell when it's working that just doesn't work in my living room. It'd be fabulous up north for a garage to dry snow-ful shoes.