Despite rising energy prices, don’t follow this TikTok hack

With days getting shorter and temperatures dropping, winter is on the way and many people are preparing to confront the cold in various ways. Some web users are looking to TikTok for heating hacks that offer cost savings.

One “trick involves” creating a heating system with clay pots.

The social network is full of videos explaining how this type of homemade heater — or “terracotta heater” in the jargon of TikTokers — works. To make it, the weekend DIYer just needs a flower pot, small candles and a saucer, also made of terracotta. The principle is simple — even basic.

@philipleemoore Terracotta pot heater cost me £15 to make, works well but you need three candles the one candle doesn’t give out enough heat, lasts three and a half hours #terracotta #terracottaheater #savemoney #heating #cheapheating #PhilipLMoore #DiPiuFilms ♬ Aesthetic – Tollan Kim

One places several candles in the centre of the saucer, which then serves as a heat source. The whole thing is topped with a terracotta pot, and that’s it. Some versions see users placing small ceramic elements on the saucer to raise the base of this DIY heater. 

The simplicity and low cost of manufacturing a “terracotta heater” or tea-light oven explain the success of the hack on TikTok seen recently over several weeks. The hashtag #terracottapotheater counts 2.1 million views on the platform, and its variant #terracottaheater has over 802,000. 

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Many users of the social network praise the merits of this alternative heating method, despite its drawbacks. Indeed, indoor candles are often made of kerosene, a component obtained in refineries from oil.

Their combustion releases volatile organic compounds such as benzene and formaldehyde. While these are not dangerous in themselves, they can be extremely harmful if you suffer from a respiratory disease such as asthma. 

Furthermore, a terracotta heater is not recommended if you have children or pets at home because they may touch it and get badly burned.

The risk of fire is also significant with this homemade heater, as Carsten-Michael Pix, a fire protection specialist with the Germany’s Fire service association, pointed out to German international broadcaster Deutsche Welle.

“They’re still an open flame that can easily be knocked over or quickly turn into a larger flame. At the end of the day, they won’t heat your room. You’d need hundreds of tealights for that.”