Those Curlycue Light Bulbs!

[wendy]

Oh I know they have mercury in them. I saw on the last ones I bought they have a special place to dispose of them too. I mentioned this to some friends when they first came out and they were outlawing the other ones/stop making them whatever you call it that they are doing with the old ones. And none of my friends seemed concerened! What is a person to do
I won't even put on here what my dh thinks China is trying to do to us

Don't want a arguement or the thread to get locked.

 

[willheveland]

Quote:
I know what you mean.I have replaced just about all my builbs with them.I do think you can save with them,I does cut your wattage useage down.I have a decorative one(not curly) in my henhouse on a timer to kick on at 430am until about 730am.I like it because it starts out slow and gets brighter over a few minutes(thats why it was no good in the bathroom,your done before it gets bright enough)

On the bad side a few weeks ago I seen a clip from the House of Representatives where a rep from Texas was pleading why the USA should not use them.He mentioned that our government wants us to have these in every home in the US in a few years and outlaw the old ones.He also mentioned that they only can be bought and manufactured from China,they contain mercury.The warning on the box explained in detail what to do if one is broken in your house.Windows up and evacquate the house for 15 min.He took one out of the box,promising to be very careful not to drop so they wouldn't have to evacquate the House of Representatives.The real bad part is getting rid of them.They are 100% not environmentally freindly.A big problem for our childrens generations to deal with down the road.
The point he was making basically "save it now or choke on it later." Will

 

[CarolMinnesota]

It's hard to know what to believe, but I heard an interview with a Minnesota Pollution Control person who said the amount of mercury in a compact fluorescent bulb is less than the amount of mercury released into the atmosphere to produce the electricity to run it. And way less than the amount from a "regular" bulb.

And living in an area where we can no longer daily eat the fish from our lake because of the mercury released into the atmosphere by the electricity producers, my vote is for the CFs. If I break one, I can clean it up. I can't clean up my lake.

Carol in Minnesota

 

[willheveland]

Quote:
Once you clean it up,then where does it go?If it goes in the ground it will eventually go in your lake. Will

 

[HennysMom]

My entire house has these bulbs - including the outside flood lights. House is 2212 sqft and we operate the entire houses' lighting needs (inside and out) on the equivalent of approx. 7 standard light bulbs rated at 60 watts each. And no - they do not put out heat so if you're looking for a heat source, you're going to have to find something else to provide it.

Yes they contain mercury but I've never had one break (we've had ours for 3 years (the oldest ones now)) and just added a ton more and we are very very careful. The way I see it (and the age I grew up in - as most on here did I"m sure) - when I was little, I used to play with a mercury thermometer when it broke (yeah..I remember doing that..pushing those little silver balls around on the floor - "Hey Mom...watch THIS!"

We survived lead paint on everything including our cribs, we didnt ride in car seats either, drank out of garden hoses, ate raw hot dogs, bologna, cake batter, and didnt have anti-bacterial soap either. I'm still here as are countless others.

I think sometimes we take things a little too far and we've become a "germaphobic" society. Now that doesnt mean I dont use antibacterial soap LOL - because I do...and yes, I tested my house for lead paint (it is nearly 150 years old after all) and had a blood test ran for lead levels (yep, I freaked out just like everyone normally does) and yes, I have fallen victim to "society's standards and practices" just as everyone else has. But - its funny if you think about the way things are now going backwards - everything is now "probiotic", holistic, the trend is now organic (uhm...wasnt it like that years ago?), unprocessed and unbleached... . Uhmm..

Okay..sorry..just sort of went off there..(zooooooooom!)

Guess that milk thread posted earlier sort of got into my brain there...

ANYWAY - I think we'll survive the mercury in the lights - just as we did the mercury thermometers as kids. And - I still use one of those on my children, its tried and true...and yes...my peds dr freaks out every time he hears I use it

- yet I ask him "and what did YOUR mother use..hmmm?" That ususally shuts him up pretty fast

 

[Parson's Wife]

Here is something I have noticed about these lights. They do NOT last 5 years. However, I'm not changing bulbs on a monthly basis...usually about 5 to 6 months. Reason (I think) after talking to Lowe's lighting folks...(they were handy that day). If anything touches the bulb, it will burn out quickly. Some of the light covers touch them, even if they have open ends the edges touch them...
I have been buying different (larger and wider covers).
Hope this helps.

 

[speckledhen]

I personally hate when they take away choice. I dont want the curlicue lights. Heck, I want to remove one of the fluorescents over the kitchen island-the guy who built the house put in two of them, both with two bulbs. You could do surgery with those things! I hate them! And I am angry that the new bulbs they are going to make us use are a bio-hazard! Sheesh. Dont get me started today, LOL.

 

[HennysMom]

*hands speckledhen some candy - homemade, soas not to upset her further*

 

[Sylvie]

I use one in the coop with a clip-on diffuser shade on the bulb to make the 60 watt more like a 25 or 40 watt.

These things don't last as long as they promise on the package! If you turn your lights on and off instead of leaving them on continuously it will shorten the life of the bulb drastically. Yep.

I had one burn out in the bedroom and the smell was absolutely alarming!!! I thought I had an electrical fire in the walls someplace! I had the building inspector coming over within the hour for our addition and that was all I needed.

So far I don't see any benefit to these stupid things because I have to buy them almost as often and they aren't as cheap as a 4 pack of incandescents. They definitely need to work out the bugs before mandating these

 

[speckledhen]

They definitely need to work out the bugs before mandating these

Ah, but they never do work out the kinks, do they? And we pay the price for something that didn't have to happen in the first place. Business as usual.


And, nope, dont have even one of them. They're too expensive anyway and a bio-hazard to boot.​