Lava Lamp Emergency

They are bright, they glow, and you might have had one in your college dorm room in the 60’s. Lava lamps have maintained their popularity with young children and teenagers today as a fun way to decorate their bedrooms or desks. These glowing gobs of light are typically encased in glass bottles (with a metal lid to secure the top) and thus, can pose a safety issue.

Some may consider it a myth of sorts, but it is absolutely fact that if a lava lamp is left on a burning stove, it will explode. Apparently, people have put the lamp on stoves because the heating mechanism that causes the “lava” to move and make interesting shapes stopped functioning. An experiment has confirmed that when the bottle containing the lava liquid reaches a high enough temperature, it will explode. The high temperature of the bottle creates a pressure that is so great it causes the lamp to explode, sending shards of glass flying at lethal speeds.

The lamps can also become very hot on their own. Monitor how long you keep the lamp on to avoid overheating. A sign that the lamp has become too hot is if the lava liquid forms a bulbed dome at the bottom of the bottle. Keep the lamp in a clean and neat area so as to avoid papers catching on fire from the heat of the lamp. Also do not handle the lamp while it is still operating or hot. The polarized plugs that are typically included with the lamps are meant as a safety feature. The plug can only fit into a polarized outlet. Never use an extension cord.

If you have been injured by an overheated lava lamp, contact the Rhinelander personal injury lawyers of Habush, Habush, & Rottier S.C. at 1-800-369-5990 to discuss your case and legal options.