What Does The Preheat Setting On A Sunbeam Mattress Pad Do?

Heated mattress pads fit on the bed mattress. Unlike a heating blanket, which you cannot lay on top of when the controls are turned on, the mattress pad can be laid on while the heat is on. The control for the mattress pad has different functions, including preheat settings.

The preheat function for a Sunbeam mattress pad control is used for up to 30 minutes before you want to go to bed at a desired temperature that you select. After 30 minutes of warming heat, the control will return to where it was set before you moved the setting to preheat. If the control was set on "Off," the control will shut off. On some digital controls that have clocks, you can preset the control to warm the bed each night at a specific time.

Mattress pad controls have an auto shut off feature that is intended to conserve energy. Some controllers such as the EasySet Pro and StyleSmart II will shut off after 10 hours of heating. Other models such as the ChoicePlus can be programmed to shut off automatically after two, six or 10 hours. This is also a safety feature. If you ever leave the bed or house and forget to turn off the control for the mattress pad, it will shut off automatically.

The mattress pad is placed on the mattress with the control cord connector facing up at the foot of the bed. The cord that comes out of the control is plugged into to the control cord connector. If you need to wash the mattress pad or remove it from the bed for any reason, you must unplug the control plug from the wall outlet before unplugging the control cord connector.

If you have a ChoicePlus, SelectTouch, ComfortSet, StyleSmart II, DesignSmart or ChoiceTouch controller, there is an alert feature that flashes "F2," "F1" or "FF," depending on which unit you have on the mattress pad. This feature is telling you that there may be something wrong with the controller or the mattress pad. You should check the pad and controller for any signs of visual damage. If you can't find any damage, you can reset the controller according to the flag tag that is attached to the controller cord. If you can't find a problem and the reset doesn't work, you may have a faulty controller or damaged heating elements inside of the mattress pad.