PSA on CFLs

Lastnight I walked into our bedroom and was confronted with a strong chemical-type odor. I knew it wasn't natural gas, but it still alarmed me to the point I walked into other rooms to see if it was anywhere else in the house, or in the garage which is right under our bedroom. All was clear and I returned to the bedroom to the same electrical-type smell, and after some investigation, I figured out the odor was coming from the CFL bulbs in our ceiling fan light.

The light had been on for awhile, so I switched it off and turned on the bedside lamp to let things cool down. The smell was overwhelming and there even seemed to be a slight haze in the room. I was a little concerned because I know CFLs contain a small amount of mercury, so I also opened the windows to air things out. After a bit I donned some rubber gloves took out each of the bulbs except for one I know I just replaced a couple months ago. I boxed up the used bulbs for recycling and replaced with some new ones. Shortly thereafter the odor was gone.

I did a little research today and found that this is not an unknown consequence of failing CFL bulbs. Very rarely, it can result in fire, but this has only been proven with older bulbs (generally manufactured around 2003 or earlier). Early signs of failure include flickering, a bright orange or red glow, popping sounds, an odor, or browning of the ballast enclosure (base). Obviously I had the odor, but upon further inspection, there was also some dried brown goo on the base, where the bulb meets the ballast cover. This article gives a good description of why this happens.

I am a proponent of CFLs when used correctly. They save energy and over time, save money. Read more about the 11 myths about CFLs here, and get any question you ever had about CFLs answered here.

My point is, I'm not writing this to discourage use of CFLs, but to make you aware of some things that can happen, especially if you have older bulbs in your home (pre-2003). Our house was filled with CFL bulbs when we bought it, so we're not sure of the age of some of them. I'll be checking every bulb for some of the signs listed above, and replacing with new where necessary. Please do the same!