Reasons to avoid CFL lamps in your home:

[Nobar King]

After reading this article by the EPA I've decided to throw out all of my low-watt compact-florescent bulbs and replace them with good-old warm incandescent bulbs. The advertising on the CFL bulbs is attractive, and the rebates, too, but these bulbs have lots of problems. The light is flat, and they don't light up instantly. They flicker. They're not even as bright as advertised.

Read this article, and then decide whether you want these poison lamps in your house:

The problem with CFLs is not the mercury spread into the environment during production, is the spot concentrations of mercury 1. in your home, when you break a bulb, and 2. in the landfill, when people toss them out like regular bulbs, not understanding that these are hazardous waste and need to be disposed of in the proper facilities.

When you break a lamp, the state of Maine [maine.gov] says "The next time you replace a lamp, consider putting a drop cloth on the floor so that any accidental breakage can be easily cleaned up. If consumers remain concerned regarding safety, they may consider not utilizing fluorescent lamps in situations where they could easily be broken. Consumers may also consider avoiding CFL usage in bedrooms or carpeted areas frequented by infants, small children, or pregnant women. "

Here's what the EPA says to do if a CFL bulb breaks in your home 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.

Clean-up Steps for Clothing, Bedding and Other Soft Materials

• If clothing or bedding materials come in direct contact with broken glass or mercury-containing powder from inside the bulb that may stick to the fabric, the clothing or bedding should be thrown away. Do not wash such clothing or bedding because mercury fragments in the clothing may contaminate the machine and/or pollute sewage.
• You can, however, wash clothing or other materials that have been exposed to the mercury vapor from a broken CFL, such as the clothing you are wearing when you cleaned up the broken CFL, as long as that clothing has not come into direct contact with the materials from the broken bulb.
• If shoes come into direct contact with broken glass or mercury-containing powder from the bulb, wipe them off with damp paper towels or disposable wet wipes. Place the towels or wipes in a glass jar or plastic bag for disposal.

Disposal of Clean-up Materials

• Immediately place all clean-up materials outdoors in a trash container or protected area for the next normal trash pickup.
• Wash your hands after disposing of the jars or plastic bags containing clean-up materials.
• Check with your local or state government about disposal requirements in your specific area. Some states do not allow such trash disposal. Instead, they require that broken and unbroken mercury-containing bulbs be taken to a local recycling center.

Future Cleaning of Carpeting or Rug: Air Out the Room During and After Vacuuming

• The next several times you vacuum, shut off the central forced-air heating/air conditioning system and open a window before vacuuming.
• Keep the central heating/air conditioning system shut off and the window open for at least 15 minutes after vacuuming is completed.

Changing lightbulbs: a good chore for kids.

[Ezekiel Bathfire]

Re: Reasons to avoid CFL lamps in your home:

Consumers may also consider avoiding CFL usage in bedrooms or carpeted areas frequented by infants, small children, or pregnant women. "

Brother Nobar, you may rest assured that I would never, ever use a CFL bulb in a pregnant woman! The whole idea is repulsive.

[JennyD]

Re: Reasons to avoid CFL lamps in your home:

They say the LED lights are a worthwhile option, and last about forever, but over at The Monthly Visitor, everyone just loves my restored gas lighting.

Sure, it may be the most expensive way to light a house, and really ratchets up the electric bill for air conditioning in summer, but think of the ambience!