dirty ethel rackham Posted May 22, 2014 Share Posted May 22, 2014 What moron thought it was a good idea to make a common, fragile household product with mercury?!?! Dh touched a Compact Flouresent Bulb in our bathroom. It exploded. It is all over my hair dryer, brushes, toothbrushes - you name it. I guess I am going out tonight to buy a new hair dryer and some brushes and clips. What about my husband and son? Their clothes? What about our expensive Sonicare toothbrushes? Can we wash the bases and use new heads? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ethel Mertz Posted May 22, 2014 Share Posted May 22, 2014 Haven't had the chance to read this, but maybe this will help. http://www2.epa.gov/cfl/cleaning-broken-cfl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirty ethel rackham Posted May 22, 2014 Author Share Posted May 22, 2014 Thanks. I read it. But I still am not sure what to do about my hair brush, my blow dryer and our electric toothbrushes. Anyone have a cost effective alternative to CFLs now that incandescents are illegal? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppy Posted May 22, 2014 Share Posted May 22, 2014 For peace of mind I'd replace the hairdryer and brush head. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirty ethel rackham Posted May 22, 2014 Author Share Posted May 22, 2014 Maybe this will be incentive to declutter and have nothing out on the counters at all. I just need to reconfigure the cabinet to be able to store the toothbrushes, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dana Posted May 22, 2014 Share Posted May 22, 2014 What moron thought it was a good idea to make a common, fragile household product with mercury?!?! My sister played with the mercury from a broken thermometer when she was a child :) The LED bulbs are starting to come down in price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rachel Posted May 22, 2014 Share Posted May 22, 2014 We've been switching to LEDs. You can still buy incandescent bulbs here, but the max wattage is much less, maybe 60w. I've had trouble finding them at Walmart but Lowes and Home Depot have them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bethben Posted May 22, 2014 Share Posted May 22, 2014 We don't have any CFL bulbs in our home mainly due to these reasons: air out the room for 5-10 minutes by opening a window or door to the outdoor environment. Shut off the central forced air heating/air-conditioning system, if you have one. If practical, continue to air out the room where the bulb was broken and leave the heating/air conditioning system shut off for several hours. We live in MN and let's say this happened when we were having -40 degree windchills. Anyone see a problem with this?!?!?We stocked up enough incandescent bulbs to last us for years until the LED bulbs go down in price. I haven't seen that anyone's CFL bulbs last the years they are supposed to and I really don't want one of these bulbs exploding on me or breaking because then you have released a hazardous material into your home. I hate the things. Beth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirty ethel rackham Posted May 23, 2014 Author Share Posted May 23, 2014 Yeah. I was just thinking about how you can't get mercury thermometers anymore, but something much less study has mercury in it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katy Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 LED's at homedepot are cheaper these days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsheresomewhere Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 LEDs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spryte Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 Ikea has a good price on LEDs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dana Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 I haven't seen that anyone's CFL bulbs last the years they are supposed to and I really don't want one of these bulbs exploding on me or breaking because then you have released a hazardous material into your home. I hate the things. Beth Our first few lasted 3-4 years, to the best of my memory. They definitely last a lot longer than incandescent. We've only had one break in the house. I do feel for people who have issues with the fluorescence, but I like the CFLs much better than incandescent. We haven't gotten any LEDs yet, but that'll be next. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
applethyme Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 Costco has LED's pretty inexpensively. I've replaced most of my incandescent bulbs with them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KidsHappen Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 I cried the first time my hubby brought home one of those and then I made him return it and then we stocked up on incandescent bulbs. We haven't ran out yet but I still don't have a good plan for when that happens. He owns one lamp that has an LED light and I truly hate the bluish light that comes from it. Perhaps I will go back to oil lamps and candles. :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audrey Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 Oh. I thought this was going to be a football thread. Darn. :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 My sister played with the mercury from a broken thermometer when she was a child :) The LED bulbs are starting to come down in price. I did this as well. :huh: We are probably going to be slowly switching to LEDs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 Do the LEDs last? My CFLs don't seem to be lasting any longer than incandescent bulbs did. What gives? Am I supposed to update my fixtures to get a bulb to last for years? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsheresomewhere Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 I cried the first time my hubby brought home one of those and then I made him return it and then we stocked up on incandescent bulbs. We haven't ran out yet but I still don't have a good plan for when that happens. He owns one lamp that has an LED light and I truly hate the bluish light that comes from it. Perhaps I will go back to oil lamps and candles. :tongue_smilie: You want a warm light/daylight LED bulb. It does not give off a bluish light. Do the LEDs last? My CFLs don't seem to be lasting any longer than incandescent bulbs did. What gives? Am I supposed to update my fixtures to get a bulb to last for years? Ours are lasting so far. My oldest LED is 4.5 years. DS has one in his night light lamp and it is about 3 years. I would have replaced a regular lightbulb by now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura in CA Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 I refuse to have CFLs in the house, for all the reasons given above. Also, you can't use them in recessed sockets b/c they might overheat; you're not supposed to turn them on and off a lot (just keep them on? really?). They don't last any longer for us; I don't like fluorescent light; clean-up is a bear; disposal is a hassle. Ellen, I sympathize. :( Our crunchy-granola-green-homeschooling friends were horrified at first, but some of them have recently grudgingly admitted I have some points ... especially about disposal. When they do burn out (which for us is distressingly often) you're supposed to take them (in their original container, ideally) to some kind of (inconveniently located, infrequently open) hazardous waste facility. Really? If you're going to make something mandatory, make it easy to comply with. In Asia we saw collection boxes for fluorescent bulbs (and batteries) at post offices. What a good idea! Oh -- this doesn't help you, Ellen, but we stocked up on incandescent bulbs a few years ago. I'm sure I got the idea from these boards, haha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canadianmumof5 Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 Oh. I thought this was going to be a football thread. Darn. :( LOL Me too! I thought that it was pretty cool that someone was talking about Canadian football......although truth be told - it really isn't that exciting :tongue_smilie: Ok Canadian folks - nothing to see here. Move along. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wildcat Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 Do the LEDs last? My CFLs don't seem to be lasting any longer than incandescent bulbs did. What gives? Am I supposed to update my fixtures to get a bulb to last for years? We just installed LED in our outdoor spotlights, so I sure hope so! I hate dragging out the extension ladder to have to change those things! As for CFL bulbs, in my house, no, they don't last longer. In fact, they seem to blow our more often in our recessed lighting. :-( In the kitchen we have eight recessed CFL bulbs and I kid you not, I replace a bulb a month. I'm sick of it!! I refuse to have CFLs in the house, for all the reasons given above. Also, you can't use them in recessed sockets b/c they might overheat; you're not supposed to turn them on and off a lot (just keep them on? really?). They don't last any longer for us; I don't like fluorescent light; clean-up is a bear; disposal is a hassle. Ellen, I sympathize. :( Our crunchy-granola-green-homeschooling friends were horrified at first, but some of them have recently grudgingly admitted I have some points ... especially about disposal. When they do burn out (which for us is distressingly often) you're supposed to take them (in their original container, ideally) to some kind of (inconveniently located, infrequently open) hazardous waste facility. Really? If you're going to make something mandatory, make it easy to comply with. In Asia we saw collection boxes for fluorescent bulbs (and batteries) at post offices. What a good idea! Oh -- this doesn't help you, Ellen, but we stocked up on incandescent bulbs a few years ago. I'm sure I got the idea from these boards, haha. See my comment above about our recessed lights in the kitchen. I hate CFL bulbs. I have tons of incandescent bulbs in various watts, but our house has a million different lighting needs, and there is/was no way to plan ahead and stock up on all that we need. Our kids have those CFLs in their bathrooms, and after reading about the exploding one, I think I'm going to look for LEDs for them. As for disposal of burned out ones, I have six in my garage right now awaiting the next hazardous waste disposal day. I fear they will get broken before it rolls around. I wonder how many people are doing what they are supposed to and are actually disposing of them in the proper manner? I shudder to think of how many are in our landfills. Have I said how much I hate CFLs? What scares me about them is the garbage becomes airborne! My dad used to play with mercury in science class and said they would roll it around their fingers, etc, but they weren't inhaling it. I miss my incandescent bulbs. :crying: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyforlatin Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 I've replaced some bulbs with LEDs, various brands, but the only thing I strongly suggest is to go with warm light. White light is just too weird, but I bought some since I read they mimic daylight and are thus better for the eyes. No, it does not feel better on the eyes. I'm stuck with these, and they'll last longer than me or DH. These have no mercury but you won't get the same savings, http://www.amazon.com/Philips-409821-EcoVantage-100-Watt-Equivalent/dp/B0078MXJ38/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1400822105&sr=8-4&keywords=philips+ecovantage+light+bulb I try to be mindful of the environment, but LEDs are expensive, so I may just have to temporarily use EcoVantage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjzimmer1 Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 When they do burn out (which for us is distressingly often) you're supposed to take them (in their original container, ideally) to some kind of (inconveniently located, infrequently open) hazardous waste facility. Really? If you're going to make something mandatory, make it easy to comply with. In Asia we saw collection boxes for fluorescent bulbs (and batteries) at post offices. What a good idea! Oh -- this doesn't help you, Ellen, but we stocked up on incandescent bulbs a few years ago. I'm sure I got the idea from these boards, haha. Interesting, around here anywhere that sells flourescent bulbs is required to take used ones back for disposal. So other than the hassle of remembering to take them back to the store, disposal is easy. Every grocery store, Walmart, Target, home improvement store, Costco etc takes them. It doesn't matter if you bought them there in the first place or not. I assumed this was a national law but apparently it must be a local one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TechWife Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 I refuse to have CFLs in the house, for all the reasons given above. Also, you can't use them in recessed sockets b/c they might overheat. Please enlighten me. What is a recessed socket? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wildcat Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 Please enlighten me. What is a recessed socket? It's where the lights are recessed into the ceiling making the ends of the bulb 'flush' with the ceiling so there are no hanging pieces. Around here, people often use the terms 'recessed lighting' and 'canned lighting' the same way. The LED bulbs I bought for my spotlights outside came with a warning saying they weren't for 'enclosed' fixtures. Recessed and canned light fixtures don't allow enough airflow around the bulbs and can cause overheating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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