I just broke a CFL bulb.. now what?

Hey- I just broke a CFL bulb and my girlfriend is freaking out about the mercury. I was just wondering if anyone has done this and what they did to clean it up and how much danger do these actually pose?

Thanks in advance!

Hopefully you didn't breath in when you broke it.



Heres a link for clean up

Don't worry, you're not gonna die.

You're a dead man walking.....

just kidding....here is all you need to know on cleaning up....

Cleaning Up a Broken CFL
What to Do if a CFL Breaks in Your Home
Other Types of Light Bulbs
that Contain Mercury

Cleanup instructions
Why is it important to clean up a broken CFL properly?
What if I can't follow all the recommended steps? or I cleaned up a CFL but didn't do it properly?
epa.gov...

Oh my God! And you are still living?

Seriously though there is a hazard of mercury.

The Maine DEP study also confirmed that, despite following EPA best-practice cleanup guidelines on broken CFLs, researchers were unable to remove mercury from carpet, and agitation of the carpet — such as by young children playing — created localized concentrations as high as 0.025 mg/m3 in air close to the carpet, even weeks after the initial breakage.

Source

The article also talks about the recommended way to dispose of these bulbs at this time.

It may also pay to tell her that freaking out increases your metabolic rate and therefore increases risk of inhalation of harmful particles... even if not true, at least she will calm down!!

yea, i didn't think i would be in danger- thanks for the links and my girlfriend is the biggest worry-wart on the planet about anything. If i hadn't said something about it she probably wouldn't have known any better. I guess what mama don't know won't hurt her applies haha... but thanks again for the links =)

1st.... grab a broom... get everything together, pick it up and dump it in the kitchen garbage.
2nd. go on with your life.

You wont get better tip.

Originally posted by Ketzer22
Hey- I just broke a CFL bulb and my girlfriend is freaking out about the mercury. I was just wondering if anyone has done this and what they did to clean it up and how much danger do these actually pose?

Thanks in advance!

I'll take a wild guess for 3 points... clean it up?

Unless you have a LVL 3 Hazmat suit with a mercury filtering ventilator, I'd say there's not much else to do but carefully clean it up. Keep your pets, babies, kids away from it obviously, DON'T USE A VACUUM (unless it has an attachment hose that runs outside as you don't want to be blowing that little bit of mercury vapor all over the place) and use slow steady brush strokes with a broom to clean it up? Make sure you wear shoes and try not to touch the glass with your skin, because of the mercury and mainly because you'll need to go to the hospital if you get cut by the glass as with any fluorescent bulb. Set up a fan afterwards to blow air outside.

That's what I did in my RV, but check the manufacturers recommendations on cleanup and disposal of broken mercury vapor bulbs, you want to make sure you do the right things, which I may not have.

Cheers - Dave

I don't use those things because they hurt my eyes.

Send it to Congress. Tell them to clean up their own damn mess.
2nd line.

reply to post by boncho


omg so they have to call a environmental crew to clean it up?


hmmm I am pretty sure all you need is a dust mask and gloves. I would wear some clothing that is old and I can throw away afterwards. Long sleeve shirt etc.

have a read of this:

Cleaning up

all the best

reply to post by Ketzer22



It could be that she's freaking out because and I've heard this myself, call Hazmat to get them to clean the mess up, (Idon't think you have to go to that extreme) sorry other than this can't advise you, still got my small hoard of Edison light bulbs.

Waiting for the CFL'S to get cheaper and less of a hassle to clean them up. Good luck with the CFL'S.