Vacuum Cleaners Discussions

Hi,

An invention that has impressed me much -- and saved me some money too -- is the compact flourescent bulb.  I'm crazy about them and I use them everywhere in my place. However, I was not aware that they contain mercury which is considered hazardous.  Attached is a link to an article that strongly advises not using your vacuum to suck the debris should one of these bulbs break.  It claims you may well disperse mercury into the air in your home environment. 

http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?articleId=4485da62-050d-4d02-96e2-331e8a58e596&headline=New+rule+for+new+light+bulbs

Instructions for careful clean-up are included in the article.

Here's to your good health,

Venson

Hi Venson,

Excellent post, another avid compact fluorescent user here as well.  Being a fan of "old-school", I was not too thrilled about CFLs when they first started coming onto the scene and stuck to incandescents for a while, having experienced the circular "semi-compact" fluorescents that had a horrendously short life and took a while to come on.  Now I have them in the majority of fixtures here.  It seems the technology is being perfected to where they can put out a decent amount of light and have a long life at the same time.  Two of my table lamps still have the original CFLs in them from 2003, when I bought the lamps, and show no indication of going out.   One of my overhead ceiling fans, purchased at the same time, does require incandescent bulbs due to the dimmer setup it has (remote control "soft-on").  I've tried CFLs in that and it didn't seem to take kindly to them; the bulbs themselves had a strange flicker not present in any other fixture.

Other than that, another ceiling fan, and a small desk lamp, they're everywhere.  My main complaint, though, as it has always been, is the fact that CFLs do take a few minutes to get up to full brightness, especially if the room is cold.  If someone can make one that delivers full brightness the moment you flip the switch, that will be a winner and even the incandescent diehards will be "converted", so to speak.

-MH

And of course when the incandescent finally goes by the wayside, I hope the bayonet-style appliance bulb doesn't go with it...

Hello Venson, et al:

Here in Las Vegas, the local utility had a Super Bowl commercial for the CFL bulb.  Quick and well done.  Nevada Power put an image of the CFL bulb on the screen and a voice over said:  Call or write for more information on saving energy and money.

Carmine D.