EU banning hoovers over 900 watts

[ghostisonthecanvas]

I just heard a snippet on the news. For the environment? Did I understand correctly? They want us to hoover for twice as long? Is anyone able to give more info?

Sorry I like my Miele fridge. Very much. But the hoover has a very dodgy floor to tube angle that makes the pushing feel pointless, like the floorhead is going up in the air when you push instead of along the floor.

NOT GOOD

but it is a few years old. It was always the same though.

Bloody EU and their rules.
I can't get the lightbulbs I want. Grrr!!!

The lightbulbs fiasco is the stupidest thing.
If you work in the NHS you will know that the EU dictated that all equipment containing mercury had to be destroyed and replaced several years ago. So that was all thermometers and all blood pressure machines.

OK - so they are all electronic now so not an issue, but at the time it was a very expensive exercise.

Now we can only use energy saving light bulbs. Which all contain mercury.

I have a Henry, I think he is 1200w, what happens with people who already own powerful vaccum cleaners, do we have to get rid? I hope not.

Hello, threelittlefrogs.

Do you know how much mercury is in a modern energy saving lamp?

And do you know how much mercury is released into the atmosphere by burning the extra coal needed to power an inefficient incandescent bulb?

Did you know that the second is greater than the first?

Dons flameproof suit.
presumably the electronic equipment contributes to mercury being released from burning coal.

Keeps suit firmly on.
Is there more mercury in the bulbs than was in the original hospital equipment? So therefore disposing of said equipment was pointless. Gradual phasing out as equipment needed replaced would have been more sensible.

Keeps suit on for the foreseeable.

A modern cfl contains about 1mg of mercury. Some older ones may contain 5mg. One milligram is equal to 0.001 grams.

A typical mercury clinical thermometer contains between 0.5 and 3g of mercury.

A mercury Sphygmomanometer, I don't know, but it looks like quite a lot. 50g? 100g?

I am very much in favour of safely recycling old lamps, but even so, there can be more mercury in one thermometer than in 500 to 3000 modern lamps. A single mercury Sphygmomanometer, I don't know, but I wouldn't be surprised if it contained more mercury than all the energy-saving lamps in the world.

I love my sebo.

Just give me a vacuum that requires effort to push along the carpet and where I can hear the dust chundling up the tube, even if the carpet looks clean, and I won't care about wattage.

I read about this the other day and felt instantly irritated. So many other things bad for the environment and they're focusing on hoovers.

I need to buy a new hoover before the ruling too I think. Then I'll keep it going by ordering spare parts on espares for years and years

Pigletjohn, I am in awe. Also away to look up syphthingymabober.
Love my sebo too.

I was ready to be astonished there was any mercury in coal. So no, not really surprised there's more in a modern light bulb.

It's not mercury that's the issue with coal; it's carbon (once oxidised), sulphur and various other stuff.