Father's Day Edition - Heart & Home Newsletter - Providing professional child-proofing products & services, customized for your home

Happy Father's Day from Heart & Home Baby Safety. In honor of Father's Day we put our "Pop" to work in writing this edition's main article! John Zawislak, owner of Your Handyman (and father of Heart & Home's co-owners, Amy and Carrie) brings a very important safety topic to light.

Energy-Saver Light Bulbs Contain Mercury: What Every Parent Needs to Know

Most everyone today is interested in helping the environment, especially if it means saving some money. One way to save money as well as the environment is to convert your lighting from old incandescent light bulbs to the new energy-saver Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs, those curly glass tubes). What most consumers are not aware of is the fact that CFLs, as with all fluorescent lighting, contain mercury. If the CFL breaks, proper clean up is of the utmost importance for your family's safety.

Unfortunately, we don't see much in the press or product marketing that alerts you to the safety hazards of this lighting alternative. But if you look closely at the packaging, you will see the warning, just like on a pack of cigarettes or a bottle of alcohol. And just like those warnings, we may easily dismiss them.

Mercury allows the bulb to be an efficient light source, and the mercury used is not a problem as long as the CFL stays whole. But if it breaks you will find a powdery substance containing mercury in the debris. A toxic vapor is released into the air that you breathe. The amount may not be enough to cause most adults much harm, but it could be very harmful for a child or expectant woman of they breathe the vapors or touch the debris. Mercury and mercury vapors are very hazardous to our health, and can cause brain damage. As you probably know, this is one of the reasons mercury thermometers have been legally banned in favor of digital thermometers.

Skeptical about the hazards of a broken CFL? Read what the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) published as the proper (and extensive!) clean-up procedures:

Before Clean-up: Air Out the Room

• Have people and pets leave the room, and don't let anyone walk through the breakage area on their way out.
• Open a window and leave the room for 15 minutes or more.
• Shut off the central forced-air heating/air conditioning system, if you have one.

Clean-Up Steps for Hard Surfaces

• Carefully scoop up glass pieces and powder using stiff paper or cardboard and place them in a glass jar with metal lid (such as a canning jar) or in a sealed plastic bag.
• Use sticky tape, such as duct tape, to pick up any remaining small glass fragments and powder.
• Wipe the area clean with damp paper towels or disposable wet wipes. Place towels in the glass jar or plastic bag.
• Do not use a vacuum or broom to clean up the broken bulb on hard surfaces.

Clean-up Steps for Carpeting or Rug

• Carefully pick up glass fragments and place them in a glass jar with metal lid (such as a canning jar) or in a sealed plastic bag.
• Use sticky tape, such as duct tape, to pick up any remaining small glass fragments and powder.
• If vacuuming is needed after all visible materials are removed, vacuum the area where the bulb was broken.
• Remove the vacuum bag (or empty and wipe the canister), and put the bag or vacuum debris in a sealed plastic bag.

Clean-up Steps for Clothing, Bedding and Other Soft Materials

• If clothing or bedding materials come in direct contact with broken glass or mercury-containing powder from inside the bulb that may stick to the fabric, the clothing or bedding should be thrown away. Do not wash such clothing or bedding because mercury fragments in the clothing may contaminate the machine and/or pollute sewage.
• You can, however, wash clothing or other materials that have been exposed to the mercury vapor from a broken CFL, such as the clothing you are wearing when you cleaned up the broken CFL, as long as that clothing has not come into direct contact with the materials from the broken bulb.
• If shoes come into direct contact with broken glass or mercury-containing powder from the bulb, wipe them off with damp paper towels or disposable wet wipes. Place the towels or wipes in a glass jar or plastic bag for disposal.

Disposal of Clean-up Materials

• Immediately place all clean-up materials outdoors in a trash container or protected area for the next normal trash pickup.
• Wash your hands after disposing of the jars or plastic bags containing clean-up materials.
• Check with your local or state government about disposal requirements in your specific area. Some states do not allow such trash disposal. Instead, they require that broken and unbroken mercury-containing bulbs be taken to a local recycling center.

Future Cleaning of Carpeting or Rug: Air Out the Room During and After Vacuuming

• The next several times you vacuum, shut off the central forced-air heating/air conditioning system and open a window before vacuuming.
• Keep the central heating/air conditioning system shut off and the window open for at least 15 minutes after vacuuming is completed.

Bottom line: CFLs are definitely more energy-efficient than incandescent light bulbs and therefore better for the environment and your household electric bill. However, my recommendation is to carefully avoid breaking a CFL in your home. If you do, please understand the hazards and take the appropriate steps for clean up to keep your family safe. I also recommend disposing of any spent CFLs through a certified recycling facility. Do not throw them out with the trash. There are enough sources of mercury already harming our environment and food chain.

Visit www.LampRecycle.org to learn more. Visit www.Earth911.com to quickly find a recycle facility near you. Just enter "CFL" in the "Find recycling centers for" field. Home Depot and IKEA also accept CFLs for recycling. If you are curious about recycling any other household items, and you are not sure about how to recycle them, you might want to start by looking at The Internet Consumer Recycling Guide: www.Obviously.com/recycle