Place towels in the glass jar or plastic bag.
Broken cfl lightbulb on carpet.
If a fluorescent light comes crashing down onto your kitchen floor releasing the mercury trapped within you don t need to panic.
Wipe the area clean with damp paper towels or disposable wet wipes.
Like any glass product cfls tend to break occasionally causing many homeowners to worry about potential mercury exposure and adverse health effects.
In this episode of spec.
If you break a compact fluorescent light bulb over carpet carefully pick up glass fragments and place them in a glass jar with metal lid.
However because cfl bulbs contain mercury the process for cleaning it up is a bit more complicated than simply picking up glass.
Sense vance shows how to safely clean up a broken cfl bulb.
Compact fluorescent light bulbs cfls use 75 less energy than traditional incandescent bulbs and last about six times longer but it s no secret that cfls contain a small amount of mercury about 4 milligrams per bulb on average.
If every american home replaced just one standard incandescent light bulb with a long lasting cfl the resultant energy savings would eliminate greenhouse gases equal to the emissions of 800 000.
Do not use a vacuum or broom to clean up the broken bulb on hard surfaces.
You can consider using a drop cloth e g plastic sheet or beach towel when changing a fluorescent light bulb in case a breakage should occur.
It s a rather simple process that doesn t require a professional and can be completed within a few minutes.
A small percentage of this mercury can be released into the air if the bulbs are broken.
How to clean up a broken cfl bulb.
Broken glass from a shattered cup vase or light bulb is not only a nuisance to clean off of carpeting but also represents a hazard to anyone who walks in the.
How to clean broken glass off carpet.
How to clean up broken cfl bulb.
While cfls are being promoted because they are energy efficient their use has also raised health concerns as they contain a very small amount of mercury inside the lamp.
Compact fluorescent light bulbs cfls contain small amounts of mercury.
These types of bulbs look more like incandescent bulbs and may be more durable if dropped.
The amount of mercury in a cfl may be up to about 5 milligrams mg.
Cleaning up broken cfl light bulbs more canadians are replacing regular incandescent light bulbs with more energy efficient products such as compact fluorescent lamps cfls.
Mercury also can be released into the environment if bulbs are not recycled properly.
