I am stocking up on incandescent bulbs whenever I see them on sale. I intend to live out the rest of my life with regular light. LOL

The minute amount of mercury in the new bulbs doesn't bother me but the quality of the light does. Just wait. Next we will have bulb police watching that you don't toss those new ones in the trash. They are considered hazardous waste so everyone will be DRIVING to the nearest collection site.

The only thing green about these bulbs is the cash that will be lining some city/county/state government employee's pockets. Bah.

Amazing how out of hand things get. Just one coal-fired power plant puts far more mercury into the atmosphere (that the people breathe), in one hour, than all of the CFLs in the world put together.

Worried about mercury? Then which is more dangerous? Paranoia runs wild. And there should be limits on who can send emails when they send this stuff out.

Gotta run. A Nigerian General is going to make me rich.

Sorry cynic...I thought it might be worth sharing. I didn't say I believe it....or not. Just something to pass along!

Count me with Wildchild. I'm not changing until the last incandescent bulb is an antique to be bought on ebay.

Personally, I think the CFL's are just one more hoax that's been perpetrated on the American people. They last longer? I don't think so. We've only put them in a very few lights (ones we rarely use, mind you), because of the extremely POOR quality of the light. And already, since last summer, we've had TWO of those super-expensive bulbs--that are supposed to last for years and years--burn out. But I've got incandescents in lights I use for hours every day, that have been going strong for 3-4-5 and in a few cases--more years.

Other than the fact that the CFL's are very slightly cooler than incandescents, I see no advantage to them at all. And I've got a couple of hundrend incandescent bulbs stockpiled (DH has been hoarding them for years, long before anyone knew they'd be so valuable--LOL)

I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who hates those curly q awful things...We have them in maybe 4 lights...those that we rarely use...and their in the lights on the wall that stay on all the time to light the basement stairs...

I fell for that email too...so don't beat yourself up...at least you cared enough about us to share it!!

I agree that the amount of mercury is not enough to be a concern.
What I wonder about is apparently these bulbs cannot be disposed of in a regular manner due to said mercury, as a big pile of the bulbs would equal significantly more mercury - so where are all these bulbs going to go when they are replaced?
It seems like the whole process wasn't thought through - and I use regular bulbs and will until I am forced not to.
Suzan J

Suzan...replacement is not a big problem because they last much, much longer than incandescents. Think years instead of months.
People forget that fluorescents have been the main commercial lighting for decades in this country. Incandescents are really only used in residences any more...because of cost and durability.

I've tried CFL's in 4 different lights. All burned out within a month or two. Thought maybe I had a bad batch, so bought some more. Same results. So it's back to incandescents for us.

lynne...don't buy the cheap ones...this is one big case of "you get what you pay for".
Try GE...run away from Sylvania.

Can't worry about the mercury scare. Been using the CFL's for years now. They do last a long, long time. They're great.

The first one that I bought, I put into a table lamp, near the computer, that had a shade to keep glare out of one's eyes.

After some effort, got the shade more or less perched on the cfl.

About a month later, chasing fly, hit the shade .... good-bye, cfl.

Didn't know of the mercury problem but had heard that one needed to dispose of all of the material from shattered fluorescent tubes with care, so collected the whole business carefully, put the pieces into a heavy plastic bag, then into a paper potato bag that then went into the regular garbage marked, "Glass".

I figure that the claim to produce four times the light is stretching.

Have some reservations about the quality of the light ... but getting used to it.

Have heard to use in locations where lights seldom turned off, that turning on and off means that they don't last long. Have some (unshaded, but out of line of vision) near the computer, one in what used to be a bedlamp that's now behind a board offering shading, over my desk, plus one in a table lamp in the living room.

And ... there's a tube over the sink in the kitchen and a curly one in the central ceiling fixture.

So - do I turn on and off every time I go into the kitchen after dark?

If I leave them on when kitchen unoccupied, even for a few minutes ... minimal real saving of power.

Question: do the long tubes have mercury, too? I've heard that the coating on the inside of the tube carries some kind of poisonous material, to be carful not to get it near a cut.

Question 2: Is the mercury in the curly ones in the tube?

I've heard that it's in the base, relating to the mechanism that gets the thing started.

Good wishes for getting well lit on Saturday night!

... blessed with a designated driver (if away from home - arranging for one for non-overnight-guests, if at home).

ole joyful

Joyful, Yes all fluorescent bulbs contain mercury. It is mercury vapor that produces the light. Oddly the disposal issue really never came up that much to the general public until the greenies started pushing CFLs on everyone.

Here is a pretty good article on fluorescent lights of all types. Yes it's from wiki and just like the bible it was written by several contributors so please don't kill the messenger if you spot any errors. ;-)

Here is a link that might be useful: Fluorescent Lighting

The new lights last longer and actually put off a wonderful light if you give them a chance. They have a 'burn in' period, it takes several hours of burning until they reach their peak, one they have done so they will reach that peak in a few minutes when you turn on the lamp.

As Monica says, if you buy the cheap ones at Wal-Mart or the big box stores you are getting what you paid for, if you buy them from a lighting store you will see a huge difference. We've been using them in our outdoor lamp post for 10 years, we are on our second bulb, the first lasted 7 years. And that is on every night at dusk and off at dawn.

Monica, Lynn,
Thanks, we did use high quality bulbs.

I am switching over to CFLs as bulbs need replaced in my house. I'm about halfway there now. I was banking on them lasting longer. I get tired of changing the same bulbs every couple months, especially very high ones that require a step stool. I don't know if they really will last the 4 or 7 years the package claims (they haven't been there that long yet). But so far, I have not replaced a CFL, so they are lasting longer for me than the incadescent ever did in the same lights.

I would like accurate information on how to dispose of them when the time comes. The tube in my kitchen has been there since we moved in, more than 4 years ago, so I suppose it will go sooner or later.

I've had several CFLs in my house that are now now over 3 years old, including one that has been on pretty much 24x7x365 since that time. Maybe 50 hours of downtime in that period.

The secret to getting CFLs that last is buying GOOD CFLs. Not the cheapest CFL that you can lay your hands on. I buy GE or Phillips.

I also don't find the quality of light to be objectionable at all with high-quality ones.

I have very few incandescent lights left in my house. I've switched over to either CLFs or Halogen, and I don't mind it at all.

Lynne,
If you were using high quality CFLs, you might want to have an electrician look at your wiring.