No, not tonight.

I am sure you've checked this out.. but here's the EPA recommended cleanup 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.

Here is a link that might be useful: Mercury Cleanup

Thanks, funky. I did use a broom. Should I throw out the broom?

OSH, I probably wouldn't worry about it if I didn't have animals-- but since you do-- and they are small animals, I would toss the broom.

I didn't know how to clean up a broken bulb (or thermometer) until I looked it up tonight. It might be overkill since there is such a small amount of mercury in a single bulb but I just don't think I'd take a chance. My dogs are always eating stuff from the floor (treat crumbs, stray bits of kibble etc) and they lick their paws. I'd worry everytime I swept the floor.

OTOH, I vaguely remember playing with the mercury from a broken thermometer when I was a kid...

Wow, and to think I broke a thermometer once as a kid and we loved rolling the balls of mercury around in our palms. Anyone else do that and live to tell the tale? ;-)

This is one reason I won't use the CFL bulbs, but I also don't care for the light they produce. My habit is not to burn lights unnecessarily, and my plan is to keep adding to my stash of Reveal bulbs in case they don't repeal the law to stop manufacture of them by 2012. ha!

I thought once I read that if the spill was on carpet, that piece needed to be cut out. I looked over the site and didn't see that, so I'm not sure if it's been revised or was only a concern of hospitals, etc.

Susan

Yep - so far so good for me - and I remember rolling the little silver drop up and down my finger!

OMG! The clean-up alone makes me not want to buy them!
~Des

I've plaided wid mercury when I wud a kid, lotz of timse and I'm normul.

:O)

I highly doubt that tiny bit of mercury is going to cause any problems.

gee- which will prove to be the lesser of two evils CFLs or incandescents.. I think the light quality sucks but we got tired of replacing a can light in the kitchen twice a month.
OSH you should throw out your floor too!
yeah mercury balls were fun to play with... who are you and what am I doing typing..... LOL!

Let's see..... I have 3 mercury filled tubes in the pendulum of my grandfather clock - enough to brain damage my entire town, I think ;-) ......... This clock was in the homes I grew up in and came to my home 15 years ago. When I was 8, the pendulum fell and my parents had us chasing the mercury around the hardwod floors with note cards to capture it and pick it up! And like valzone, I'm fine. I drink. I mean I think.

OMG! We weren't supposed to play with those lovely magnetic like, weird liquid balls? What????
My uncle was a dentist and he used to GIVE us a tiny vial of mercury to take home!!! My brother and I would open them up and spill them onto the kitchen floor to play with!
OSH- I wouldn't worry too much!!! We're still here! I might not be the sharpest tool...

We as kids. used to take the mercury and rub it on a penny it would coat it and make a silver penny....

Don't worry!

From what I've read the amt of mercury in a CFL is around the size of a period used at the end of this sentence.

Jim

"gee- which will prove to be the lesser of two evils CFLs or incandescents.. I think the light quality sucks but we got tired of replacing a can light in the kitchen twice a month."

Sounds like unless you're running those can lights 24/7 you have something wrong in your wiring or fixture. We've been here almost a year and have yet to change a single bulb in the can lights in the kitchen (which were there for a year-plus before we moved in). IIRC frequent burning-out of light bulbs are a sign that there is a problem in the electrical system (or you're buying crappy bulbs, which you probably aren't! LOL). Get a good electrician in ASAP.

Well that's good to know the mercury amount is that small! I broke one, maybe two, years back and had no idea they were dangerous in any way.

We played with mercury balls too!

I broke a thermometer a couple years ago and I picked up the mercury balls with my fingers, maybe that was dumb but at the time I didn't think it could harm me as long as I wasn't injesting it. All the lead paint fumes I've inhaled while remodeling will probably get me before the mercury does!

We are currently having a CFL bulb issue at our house. We have one that just burned out. It's currently sitting on the counter because I have no idea what to do with it.

I live in a small town in the South. Small town southern folk are a little more relaxed about certain things. Helmets on motorcycles - we don't need 'em. Recycling - it's all just trash isn't it? Asbestos floors need to be removed - permits and air containment systems? Ha. Higher taxes for school repairs and post 1970 emergency equipment - still works, why does the government need more of my money?

Anyway - I digress. What should I do with my burned out bulb? I'm pretty sure we have no special disposal area for CFL bulbs in my town.

deee - I don't know what kind of electric company you have, but our rural co-op collects broken or burned out cfl bulbs so they can dispose of/recycle them properly. You might check into that.

Deee - Home Depot has recycling receptacles which may or may not be convienent for you. Hold onto it until it is or when you have more.

Jim

This discussion remind me of that hilarious scene in the movie "Monsters Inc." where the poor monster needs to be de-comtaminated constantly .........

Just teasing!

organic_smallhome,

I have to thank you for your post!
I had no idea of all af this and now I can not remember If I broke one of them in the past.
I also played a coulple of times with mercury balls when little and I think it was ok. Recently I asked my doctor to test my blood mercury and lead levels and the results were ok (less than normal) I was curious because I eat salmon once a week. If you guys like to eat salmon, maybe you should know that the safer salmon comes from Chile.

I have to tell my DH about this since he is the one who manages the light bulb changing and almost all of our bulbs are CFL.

I am very much into having a healthy house/environment and energy efficiency.

thanks again!

"Am I going to die?" LOL

Well that was my giggle for the morning. DH is back to work after a 4 day weekend and constant good natured (I think) ribbing about me constantly checking in on my little "cyber friends". I had to go out and let him buy a new pair of shoes to make it up to him. :)

I don't have anything to add and just dropped by to find out how you resolved the matter.

On the salmon issue, I won't buy farm-raised as that is where I've heard the mercury issue is the worst. It's especially important for pregnant women.

OMG, I just clean up the broken CFLs like a normal bulb. Recently my youngest has been on a floor lamp tipping phase and I swear I've had 4-5 broken bulbs on my living room carpet in the past 2 weeks (the last tip broke the whole lamp so I cleaned up by throwing the whole lamp out on the front yard in a massive temper tantrum, my poor family who has to put up with my temper, sigh).

As for salmon, we rarely buy that as it's easily obtained by catching them here (Alaska) never thought about mercury in my salmon.

~~Veronica

OMG hahahhaha ronniroo, that just cracked me up. I am sorry you had to throw out the whole lamp but I had a lonnnnnnng bad day and it made me laugh!

So, yeah, I played with mercury too-- and we rode around in the back of my parent' station wagon with our legs hanging out, and we ate meat for every meal, and my mother smoked all through her pregnancies. I turned out ok (twitching and drooling). Still, I'll try to remember these guidelines and use them when I next end up with mercury on the floor.

Sadly, I don't live near a trader joe's anymore but i used to buy their wild alaskan salmon. I didn't know chilean was safer.. I don't even think I knew they had salmon.

My chemistry teacher gave us mercury to place with in class one day. We were told not to touch our hands to any body parts - our own or others - and washed our hands afterwards. Probably didn't do much good, but it was fun!

I rode from central AL to Chicago in the back of a station wagon and remember riding in the floorboard too. I would curl up to nap with a pillow.

I heard tuna was more dangerous than salmon. Don't care for tuna much anyway. If I remember correctly whitefish isn't good, but sole is very safe (thank goodness!).

Susan, I'm with you - we're stockpiling all bulbs 60 watt and higher. And like others here, I won't buy those CFL bulbs, though I did find out that our town's HazMat dump will accept them. They also accept fluorescent bulbs, paint, and anything else "Hazmat", as long as you come in a certain time period on Saturday mornings!

DonnaR/CA

DH works at a place where they have those huge, industrial size fluorescent bulbs. The rule is 30/30 - stay 30 feet away for 30 minutes. But those are the HUGE ones, like 8' long.

This is why we have to get out politicians to drop that idiotic mandate that we can no longer buy incandescent bulbs as of 2012. I always hated fluorescent lighting. I am going to continue buying my regular light bulbs. I had left this one lamp in the living on - 24 - 7 - the bulb lasted at least 6 months. Only when I turned off the lamp did the bulb blow out.