Clay Beans vs Lava Sand: The Best For Heating Pads

There are so many different heating pad products out there with their own things inserted into the bag.

Some are good for keeping heat for a long time, and some keep it just for a little time.

When we compare clay beads to lava sand, the lava sand wins because it is a better cost, it comes in a very durable pad and cover, it retains the heat longer, it contours to your body better than clay beads, and it will never give off a bad smell no matter how many times you heat it up.

Read on to find out our reasoning for lava sand.

Cost

Clay bead heating pads are relatively inexpensive to purchase.

Depending on the size you are getting, a small heating pad can be around $8, while the bigger ones can be $30 to $40.

This isn't too bad of a price for a heating pad.

And this is because the clay beads are relatively inexpensive material to use and you can make a lot of them.

It also makes it nice that they are so cheap because if they get ruined, then you don't have to spend too much money to replace it.

And that is really nice to have as an option.

The lava sand bags are a little more expensive.

The cheapest of the lava sand heating pads is $30 and the most expensive is $60.

This is because all the heating pads are hand sawn and the lava sand it hand washed before they are placed in the heating pads.

Plus, you get the added bonus of not having to buy a new heating pad all of the time.

The lava sand is pretty durable, as you can get it wet, get dirt on the cover, and make other things without having to purchase a new heating pad.

So while it is more expensive than the clay bead options, you won't have to purchase so many in so little time.

Advantage: lava sand

Durability

One of the most important questions for a heating pad is "Is it durable?"

This is an important question because when you have a heating pad, you don't want to be purchasing a new one every few months.

Most people want to stick with the new they have, because it's familiar to them and they know how to use it.

A heating pad with lava sand is pretty durable.

First, you can purchase different covers to go with your lava sand heating pad.

This means that if your cover gets dirty, you can either spot clean it, or you can take the cover completely off and throw it in the washing machine.

And if you have a second cover, then you can throw the second cover on while you are waiting for the first cover to go through the washing cycle.

Second, if you wanted to, you could put the whole heating pad into the washing machine to wash it.

Or not need to worry if the whole heating pad gets soaked.

This is because the heating pad is filled with sand and the sand won't get ruined if you get it wet.

You would just need to dry it out.

I wouldn't put it into your dryer, though.

With all of that extra weight, it could end up ruining your dryer.

No, to dry out your lava sand heating pad, it is recommended that you put your on at 200 degrees, then place your lava sand heating pad on a drying rack and place the whole thing in the oven.

It's recommended you put it on a drying rack because the racks in your oven are probably not the cleanest thing.

So putting them on a drying rack insures that the bag stays clean.

A clay bead heating bad isn't going to be as durable.

From what I've seen with most heating pads that use clay beads, you can to spot clean the heating pad and that's the only option you have for cleaning it.

No extra covers that can be taken off and replaced.

And you can't get the whole heating pad submerged in water either.

If the clay heads are covered in too much water, then they will melt and then they won't be quite as useful as a heating pad.

Then you'll have to go and buy a completely new heating pad.

So the only way you can clean your clay bead heating pad is to spot clean it.

Advantage: lava sand

Heat

The lava sand heating pad gives you some good heat.

First you have to start off by heating the lava sand heating pad for the right amount of time.

1 minute is typically too short, but 4 minutes is too long.

Somewhere between 2 and 3 minutes is a good amount of time to heat your lava sand heating pad in the microwave.

From where, you will get some good heat between 60 to 90 minutes.

And sometimes it is too hot, so you need to give yourself a break from it.

But overall this should give you a lot of heat.

The clay beads heating pads give you some heat, but not as much as the lava sand.

You heat the heating pad for about 1 minute.

And then you get 10 to 15 minutes of deep heat.

After that, another 10 to 15 minutes of soothing heat.

So overall, while it does give you some heat, it doesn't give you the same amount of heat time as a lava sand heating pad would.

Advantage: lava sand

Decay factor

Now with heating pads, you have to consider if the heating pad is going to decay on you or not.

With heating pads with grains on the inside, this becomes a problem because if they decay, they will begin to smell bad and could possibly burn on the inside.

For a clay bead or lava sand heating pad, you don't have to worry about the insides going bad or burning, thus no worry about the bad smell.

So overall, the clay bead and lava sand heating pads have no decay factor.

Advantage: Tie

Comfort

For a heating pad, it is import that the heating pad is able to shape to your body.

Otherwise, if it isn't doing this, then it gets hard for the pad to get you the heated relief that you are needing.

Lava sand is great for this because sand will contour to any shape that you need.

For instance, if you want to put the heating pad on your forehead, the sand will contour to the half-moon shape.

Or, if you want to place it around your whole ankle, the lava sand will do that as well.

So any shape you need, the lava sand heating pad can do it.

Clay bead heating pads do not give you all the shapes that you might need.

The clay beads are a little bit bigger since they need to keep heat in for the period of time for your heating pad.

This means that they don't contour to your body shapes as well as the lava sand.

So you won't get the coverage quite as well as the lava sand heating pad would.

Advantage: lava sand

Smell

The last thing you need to consider when purchasing a heating pad is the smell.

Heating pads can typically have different smells added to them.

With a clay bead heating pad, you can also some oils or flowers, but after a while the oils are going to dissipate because the clay beads won't keep the smell very well.

And eventually the flowers are going to go bad in the heating pad.

After that, the clay beads are going to smell like dirt, since they are made of clay, each time you heat them up.

Lava sand is nice because it won't give you a smell.

The lava sand is washed before being put into the heating pad and sand typically doesn't give off any smells.

And since the cover for the heating pad is washable, you should be able to put any oils or smells you want on it.

After a few uses, the oil smells are going to go ahead, so you can re-apply as needed or wash the cover all together.

So overall, the lava sand is better option for you on smell.

Advantage: lava sand

Summary

When it comes down to it, the lava sand heating pad is much better than any clay beads heating pads.

You may start off by spending a little bit more money on the lava sand heating pad, but you won't end up replacing it multiple times.

And you won't have to worry about the smell and whether or not you can go the whole heating pad wet or not.

On top of that, you can take the cover off and wash it if it gets real dirty.

So consider investing in a lava sand heating pad and you won't regret the decision.