I am going to be making heat packs using corn, are there certain instructions I should include with the heat pack?
You will need to use whole dried corn kernels to make your bags with. When sewing the bags make sure you use a 100% cotton thread. This is important for the microwave when you are heating them up. For your instructions tell the person that they should start off with 30 seconds and not more than 2 minutes to heat up the bag. The time it takes to warm the bag depends on the size of your microwave. That is about all they need to know about this except that the first few times you use the bag it will smell like corn. After this the smell goes away.
I assume are using feed corn or bird seed corn. Those are the safest kind to use because of how they are processed. Do not pack the bags too full so they are "bendy".
Corn does get really hot so the ones we have, our instructions said start in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time -- and flip. My big one (it is 6 by 10 inches) takes 90 sections (the tag said it could take up to 4 minutes but it gets hot in 3 intervals of 30 seconds). It is important to tell them to test this with small increments and use their lowest microwave setting (if they have more than one setting).
Mine bag also came with explicit instructions to always include a microwave safe mug with 1/2 cup of water be heated WITH the bag. I drape it around the cup. They said it was to prevent fires (YIKES).
To me it also helps keep the corn fresher and makes the heat a moist heat.
The thing I WISH the tag on mine had said is what to do if it got stains on the fleece or the fleece got smelly. What I do is keep it in the freezer AND to cut it open every few months, wash the fleece and stitch it back up. That has worked to stop smells. You probably don't want people cutting open your bags--I get that...but you should give them info on how to reduce smells and get rid of stains.
With products like these, I hope you have a lawyer checking out all of your paperwork. We are such a "lawsuit" happy society that I would be safe rather than sorry if I was selling these! Just my thought! I say this because I am also a small business owner and learned in my Small Biz 101 class that a lawyer is critical to have on your sales team.
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What type of corn do you use in a heat pack?
Deej from Phoenix, AZ
my sister makes and sells these heat packs from corn and they sell like hot cakes. she buys feed corn from our local feedstore, comes in smaller to larger size bags. she sells lots of them steadily so she buys the 25 pound bag which is like $8. i have one she made for my grandson that she made in the cars theme using polar fleece fabric.
You want to use a feed corn, whole, not cracked corn. They make great bedwarmers in the winter for people that always have cold feet.
