Dec 10 2008
Proper Clean up of the CFL
Photo Credit: cgullworld
Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs or CFL’s are more energy efficient than the incandescent bulbs by 4-6 times, they produce 70% less heat and are safer to operate. The only downfall to these bulbs is the small amount of mercury that is sealed within the glass tubing of each bulb. The use of this element is necessary to make these light bulbs as efficient as they are; unfortunately there is no way around the use, yet!
Due to this small amount of mercury, there are some precautionary measures that you should take if one of these ‘babies’ happens to break.
According to the EPA, the correct way to handle this is by wearing a haz-mat suit, a gas mask and thick gloves and boots, or you could simply open a window to air out the room that this disaster took place in, turn off the central heating or cooling system that you have in your home and leave the room for 15 minutes or so. Scoop up the pieces with stiff cardboard and place them in a sealed plastic bag, like a sandwich baggie. Use tape to get all the little pieces and wipe the area clean with a damp paper towel and place the paper towel in the baggie with bulb pieces. If your bulb happens to break on the carpet the only difference in clean up is to use a vacuum cleaner to pick up the tiny pieces (instead of a damp paper towel) and be sure to place the vacuum bag in a sealed plastic bag, as well.
p.s. I was just kidding about the haz-mat suit….
