A little while ago, there was suddenly a hot, acrid smell in the house. It scared us half to death. We were sure we had an electrical fire somewhere. Then we realized it was coming from a twist bulb in the hallway that had just gone out.

I did a little research and Consumer Reports said that very rarely these bulbs will smell, turn dark, or smoke (!) when they burn out. I didn't know that.

And I never realized until lately that one has to be very careful if one gets broken--don't use a broom or vac, for example. *sigh*

Why not use a broom or vac B2U?
How is one supposed to clean up the mess?

I absolutely hate the CFL bulbs. I'm starting to stockpile incandescent bulbs. I'm completely ticked off that I'm going to be forced to use those useless lightbulbs in a few years.

They hurt my eyes, they give me headaches, I dont want to have to go thru a lot of carp to clean up a broken bulb, and I think they cause more damage to the environment than incandescent bulbs do.

I certainly dont want to have to call Hazmat to come clean up a mercury spill from the bulb if I drop one (I have MS, it's pretty much a guarantee that I'll be dropping at least one of them in my life)

The light that comes from those bulbs is just so annoying. My dad put a couple of those in our kitchen, and in a few light fixtures in the upstairs. I've been making him remove them. It drives me nuts that the bulbs take about 5 minutes to warm up and put out light that allows me to be able to see.

When I turn on a light, I want the light to actually come on as soon as I flip the switch. I dont like having to wait 5 minutes before the light comes up so that I can tell the difference in the colors of my t-shirts.

Can you tell that I dont like the CFL's?

The only reason we're going to be forced to use them is because some people in California forced congress to sign it into law. What are they going to do if I have an incandescent light on at night once they're no longer available...and they see it thru my windows? Are they going to send the light bulb "police" after me?

At least if the incandescent blubs get broken, you can just sweep it up or vaccum it up and not have to go thru a lot of carp to avoid the mercury exposure.

There's mercury in the CFL bulbs. If you break one, you have to open the windows and leave the room for FIFTEEN MINUTES! Then, you have to clean it up (you can sweep it with a broom) and you put all the broken pieces in a plastic bag. Then you wipe up the area with a wet towel. You also put the towel in the plastic bag with the broken bulb.

Then you put the plastic bag of broken bulb pieces into ANOTHER plastic bag (ziplocs) and you can NOT put it out with the regular trash. You have to dispose of it at a toxic waste disposal company. Which means you have to pay to throw it away unless your town has a free toxic waste disposal site.

That's a lot of work to do when dealing with a bulb that's supposed to be a good for the environment.

I forgot to mention, you have to wear protective clothing (safety goggles, coveralls, gloves, and a dust mask)
Some states require you to use duct tape to pick up the smaller particles of glass before you wipe down the area with the damp cloth.

And then they want you to write "universal waste - broken CFL lightbulb" on the outside of the bags (oh, the bags have to be air tight)

Some states (Maine) require that you have a hazmat team come in and sanitize the area of mercury.

I thought I was the only one who didn't like those bulbs! I had NO idea they had mercury in them too....wow...

I cant stand them at all. The light they put out is so harsh that my eyes will start to hurt after a bit. It doesnt look natural like incandescent blubs.

If I have to use nothing but CFL bulbs in my home, I'll never be able to read in the evening with the lights on because of the harshness of the light.

I also do not think that people with visual problems, like a lot of us MSers have, should not be forced into using CFL's.

Crud!
And I just bought a 3-pack not two hours ago.
I'm still going to see what the fuss is about for myself. Thanks for the thread.

Just done break any!!

When I lived in Denver all the bulbs at the house were CFL. I thought it was the MS that made them so irritating to me. Alot of times I wore yellow tinted sunglasses in the house just to survive.

I have trouble with fluorescent bulbs too. If I'm in a store too long I get disoriented and a really bad headache.

Here I thought it was so great for the environment.

Thanks for the info in case of breakage, Erin! I have heard that some cities are now providing places where you can take the burnt out bulbs for disposal. My DH put them in my Living room floor lamps... He works for a power co, so of course, he is Mr Energy Efficient.

I will say tho, that I haven't had to change a bulb in those lamps forever. They last a long time. But, I don't like the mercury content....

Your info was very helpful.... thanks again...