Perfect Fit lowers voltage on new products

-- Home Textiles Today, 12/18/2002 5:37:00 PM

Charlotte, NC — Touting a safer electric blanket or mattress pad that provides the same amount of heat, Perfect Fit Industries (PFI) has introduced new lower-voltage models of both products.

The blanket and mattress pad uses less than 25 volts and "takes the safety factor to another level," said Allen Robinson, director of marketing for PFI. Traditionally, electric blankets have used 120 volts.

According to Robinson, PFI engineers said the engineering was possible due to developments in the heating element wires used to warm the blanket and pad which were originally very bulky and visible, as well as somewhat uncomfortable. The new wires utilized in both products are roughly one-fifth the size of their older counterparts, are thinner and more supple and are not visible through the construction of either. "It's almost as if you wouldn't notice the wires at all," Robinson told HTT.

The blankets are available in a full range of sizes and colors, with ivory representing the core offering. No patterns or prints are planned. Two constructions are also available — regular fleece and micro-fleece. Both are constructed from 100 percent polyester with the micro-fleece construction representing a higher-end price point. The mattress pad is also offered in the full range of sizes.