These days, Cjay Dillman has taken to using her laptop computer in the great outdoors — with a water hose nearby.

That's because the North Shore resident is worried her Hewlett Packard (HP) computer will burn her house down.

And she has good reason for her fear.

Last Friday (July 17), Dillman was using her computer as it sat on her lap when, suddenly, the PC became a little too hot.

"I jumped up," she told KTW.

"I ripped my pants off because it was burning and I found a bunch of blisters."

It turns out Dillman suffered second-degree burns to her legs where the laptop had rested.

She said the computer had only been on for 10 minutes, after being kept on standby.

Dillman has owned the computer for 18 months, noting it does get fairly warm from time to time — but never as hot as it did last week.

She contacted the manufacturer and simply wanted a replacement computer, but the response was anything but warm.

During the last few days, Dillman said she's been told by HP customer-care representatives through online contact that someone from the company will get back to her to solve the problem.

So far, no one has.

While her computer is still under warranty, Dillman said HP refuses to give her a new one; instead, is only offering to fix her old one.

And a new battery won't do, because she is sure the problem lies in the mainframe itself.

In May, HP did issue a recall of some batteries — but her brand was not included in the notice. Besides, she said, the machine gets scorching hot even with the battery removed.

"That's not the issue, I don't want a computer in the house that's burnt me and has the possibility of burning my children or my house down," she said.

"I just want a new computer."

As for the burns, Dillman said they hurt, but it's something she can live with.

KTW has calls in to Hewlett Packard and is awaiting a response.