To turn off the lava lamp

[StuntNun]

DS3 (14 months) has a lava lamp in his room. DH keeps leaving it on with the velour curtain draped over it to diffuse the light. I keep turning it off because I worry that it is a fire hazard being so close to the curtain and also because I think it is too bright and DS3 would sleep better in a dark room. He woke us up six times last night resulting in DH turning the lava lamp on when he went in and me turning it off on my turns to go in. DH gave me a row at DS3's bedtime tonight and specifically instructed me not to turn it off as I was just 'being silly' about it being a fire risk. AIBU to turn the lamp off anyway?

[doorbellringer]

They are incredibly hot! I don't understand why you would have it in there in the first place. Use a nightlight.

[TwatWeevil]

YANBU. Those lamps get very hot.

[Lalaloopsydaisy]

Those lava lamps get very hot so I wouldn't leave it on all night. Why not get a safe night light?

[DiaryOfAWimpyMum]

YANBU this is a fire hazard, I couldn't sleep with a curtain draped over a lamp but I get edgy about chargers being plugged in etc.

[2beornot]

Those things do get incredibly hot. I wouldn't leave it on overnight at all, especially in a 14 months olds room, especially with the curtain draped over it!!!

[Toecheese]

Buy a night light?

[formerbabe]

A curtain over the light!!! Oh my god! Seriously, that is an extremely stupid thing to do.

[ShadowFall]

YANBU, they do get very hot.

I would get a proper nightlight and remove the lava lamp from the room altogether.

[Toecheese]

I wouldn't use the lava lamp as a night light. Pop to your local hardware shop and pick up a proper nightlight for a few pounds.

[InPursuitOfOblivion]

Yanbu.
I agree it is a fire hazard. Why not get a night light that is designed to be on all night?

[HopeClearwater]

Christ, take the lava lamp away. It's meant to be something to look at, not to act as a functional source of light. It should never be left unattended, never mind have a curtain draped on it. Your DH must have some very strange ideas about risk.

[HopeClearwater]

Phone up the fire service and ask for their advice. I'm pretty sure I can guess what they'll say...

[AnUnearthlyChild]

Major fire risk.

If the safety of your child is too .'big' for him to think rationally about then try imagining the damage even a small no injury fire would cause.

If your insurers found out you were deliberately draping a curtain over a hot lamp and there was damage to fixtures and fittings I'm guessing they'd use it to wriggle out of paying up.

Get a proper night light.

[Mikkii]

I think if you check the paperwork there is a maximum period that these should be left on for. We did used to use one for DS, but put it on when he went to bed, turned it off when we went up.

If you don't have the paperwork, check the make and look it up online.

[Topaz25]

YADNBU, a curtain over a lamp is a fire risk. You could compromise with a light that is designed to be used as a nightlight and left unattended.

[Dahlen]

If your DH is of the opinion that night lights are often a bit too dark to be comforting and it's a faff to have to regularly switch between normal lamp and night light (just anticipating excuses here), why not buy a touch lamp? Argos do pairs of them for £15, Ikea sell them for about the same, and if you have a local independent hardware store, you may well find similar for cheaper (I bought one from a local independent near me for £5). The beauty of these is that they come with three settings - night light, intermediate and normal strength.

[StuntNun]

I have a touch lamp going spare actually as we had a pair of bedside lamps in our room and when one broke we couldn't get a direct replacement so bought a new pair of a different design. I don't know why DH is so keen on the lava lamp. It's nice enough, just not suitable as a night light in my opinion.

[TheFutureMrsB]

Yanbu, my db had one in his room which exploded in the night after he put it back on after my dm turning it off! Was lucky he was facing the other way with his blankets pulled up over his head, was hot wax everywhere.

[LittleprincessinGOLDrocks]

Can I recommend this Nightlight ?
It is cheap and is energy saving too. More importantly it is designed to be left on all night.

We were given the gift of a mini lava lamp when DD was tiny to use as a nightlight, it was brand new in box. We plugged it in and it was on about 10 minutes before it kind of ruptured / exploded. So glad it happened when we were in the room!
I will never have anything like a Lava lamp again.

[Dahlen]

You could tell him that a significant number of house-fires have been caused doing exactly what he's doing now. Ask him how he;d feel if your DS died in a house-fire as a result of that - especially now he's been explicitly warned so wouldn't even be able to claim he thought it was ok... (Emotional blackmail I know, but if he wasn't being a prat about it emotional blackmail wouldn't be necessary).

[asandwichshort]

I bought one for my dd and promptly confiscated it when I realised how hot to the touch they get. That, plus a curtain added into the mix would make it a hazard in my opinion. Remove it and hide it!! And get a plug in night light x

[MoominMammasHandbag]

Lava lamps are only supposed to be on for 4 hours max. We have ours in the living room and always try to remember not to leave it on for too long.

[CromeYellow]

yanbu, don't allow him to cover the lamp, it's a serious fire hazard, he's an idiot, a dangerous idiot.

[TheCunnyFuntIsGettingMarried]

Bloody hell! Your DH is an idiot! My 2yo nephew threw a soft toy across a room recently and it landed on top of a 'normal' lamp (with a cone shade woth a hole in the top), the toy didn't touch the bulb and was there no more than 10 minutes before we noticed the smoke, the toy was all scorched where it had been close to the bulb.

My sister had a lava lamp and they get unbelievably hot. Does your DH think that because the curtain isn't touching a bulb that it won't catch fire? If I were you i would actually get rid of the lava lamp incase your DH carried on using it even with a different lamp in there.