So you might want to clean your halogen light bulb. Or maybe, you just want to remove the halogen light bulb from the socket to check some connectivity issues or to replace it. But wait! Is your halogen light bulb safe to touch? Can you touch a halogen bulb?
It is not recommended to touch a halogen bulb because it can be extremely hot and it can even burn your skin if touched with bare hands. Also, if the halogen bulb is touched, a residue is left behind on the bulb which leads the bulb to heat up unevenly and shatter as a result.
Let’s dive in deeper and discuss more in detail why it is not safe to touch the halogen light bulbs. Plus, how can you install light bulbs without touching and some other related topics. So without further ado let’s get started!
Table of Contents
Why You Should Not Touch Halogen Light Bulbs?
#1. The Halogen Bulb Can Be Hot And Can Burn The Skin If Touched
Halogen bulbs are usually made of temperature-resistant quartz glass. So as a result, the halogen bulbs can attain a much higher temperature as compared to the incandescent bulbs.
So if you touch the halogen bulb while it is extremely hot then your skin can get burned. Hence, you shouldn’t touch the halogen light bulb directly with bare hands.
You may also like to read my article about whether or not fluorescent light bulbs get hot.
#2. Uneven Heating Can Cause The Bulb To Shatter
Now you may not know but your fingers can have a lot of oil produced to keep your skin healthy. However, that oil that is beneficial for you can be harmful to your halogen bulb.
Actually, the oil from your fingers can damage the quartz glass of the halogen bulb and can create a hot spot on the bulb when illuminated.
Now, this localized heat on the bulb surface works just like the oil in a pan. These hot spots can make the glass of the bulb weak and can even allow the essential gases to leak out. Also, the bulb can explode and shatter because of the uneven heating.
Hence, it is not suggested to touch halogen light bulbs with bare hands in order to prevent the oil from your hand to get deposited on the halogen bulb.
Do You Need Gloves For Halogen Bulbs?
Since oil from the skin can shorten the life of the halogen bulb or may even cause it to break, it becomes necessary to not touch the bulb with bare hands.
So wearing a nice protective glove while handling the halogen bulb is highly recommended. In general, a pair of vinyl or latex gloves.
However, what to do if you don’t have any gloves near you and also you are forced to handle the bulb? Well, then, you can also use a clean lint-free cloth.
Now in case your old halogen bulb has already burned out and you are thinking of replacing it, then I highly encourage you to check out my complete disposal guide of halogen light bulbs.
How To Install Halogen Light Bulbs Without Touching?
You shouldn’t directly touch a halogen light bulb with bare skin. So if you have to install a halogen light bulb then how can you do that without touching it? Well, the simple answer and the SOLUTION to the problem is by using gloves.
If you are installing a new halogen bulb and a new socket then you can just wear a glove and then install the halogen light bulb in that socket.
However, if the socket where you want to install the halogen light bulb already has an old halogen light bulb that you have to remove. Then first make sure you turn off the light.
Then allow the halogen bulb to cool down for at least half an hour or so. And then, wearing a glove firstly remove the old halogen bulb from the socket and install the new halogen bulb safely in the proper place.
If you use light socket adapters then I would also encourage you to have a look at my article on are light socket adapters safe.
How Do You Clean Halogen Bulb After Touching?
Even though it is recommended not to touch halogen bulbs with a bare hand, sometimes by mistake we may touch the halogen light bulb.
And if we touch the halogen bulb then the oil and deposits from our skin can get deposited on the bulb surface and cause issues later on which we wouldn’t want. Hence, it becomes necessary to clean the halogen light bulb after touching it.
So the question is, how do you clean a halogen light bulb after touching it? So, you can clean the halogen bulb and remove the deposits from your hand by rubbing the bulb with alcohol.
Here’s how you can clean a halogen light bulb after touching it:
- Firstly, wear gloves on and then hold the metal part of the halogen bulb
- Take some cloth that is lint-free and dip it in some amount of alcohol. (Note that only using water will not help you to get rid of the oil)
- Then take the alcohol wet cloth and gently rub or wipe over the halogen bulb’s glass surface.
- After that, again use a lint-free cloth but this time a dry one.
- Then using the dry lint-free cloth wipe over the entire halogen bulb’s glass surface to wipe away all traces of alcohol we uses earlier.
- Then considering you are still wearing the gloves, safely reinstall the halogen light bulb.
One key thing to remember when you are about to clean the halogen bulb is to put on rubber gloves. You won’t like to have more oil marks and other deposits of your hand on the bulb. Right?
Precautions To Be Taken While Handling The Halogen Bulb
- Let the bulb to cool down before you actually handle it atleast for half an hour or so.
- Whenever you handle the halogen bulb make sure you wear gloves for protection.
Conclusion
In short, you can’t touch halogen light bulbs with bare hands because your skin can get damaged, and also the bulb can get affected because of the oily deposits from your hand. So as a precaution, you must wear a clean glove or use a lint-free cloth while handling the halogen light bulb.
That’s it! Hope you found this article helpful. Now, in case you are looking for the best bulbs for a desk lamp, I would highly encourage you to check out my detailed guide on how to choose the best bulb for a desk lamp here.
