The salt lamp is one of the hottest home decor trends on the market. Their flickering flames and soothing glow are perfect for any table or room in your home.
However, one slight problem you should be aware of before buying one is their leak.
What is this leak all about? It all comes to the style that your lamp is made.
Unlike some locally-made Himalayan lamps baked with hand-carved designs, most salt lamps worldwide come from a few factories in China and India, where machines form them.
Salt lamps are a popular choice for home decor and are said to have many benefits, such as reducing stress, purifying the air quality, and promoting better sleep.
What do you do if the salt lamp starts to leak?
In this article, we’ll explain why salt lamps can leak and give you tips on how to fix them!
What is a Salt Lamp?
A salt lamp is a natural air purifier to help relieve allergies and asthma symptoms. The lamp is made of salt rock, mined in the Himalayan mountains.
Salt crystal lamps are believed to work by emitting negative ions into the air, which helps remove pollutants like cigarette smoke and dust.
The natural salt crystals also absorb moisture and release it back into the air when heated up by the lamp, which helps alleviate stuffiness in small spaces like bedrooms or offices.
A salt lamp is a lamp that emits negative ions. It’s made by pouring salt into a ceramic or glass container and lighting it. The flame heats the salt, which emits negative ions into the air.
Benefits of using a Salt Lamp
The benefits of using a salt lamp are numerous: it can help you sleep better at night, improve your mood and concentration levels, increase your energy, and balance out your body’s pH levels (which means it’s suitable for people with acne), fight allergies, and more.
Salt lamps are typically used as decoration but can also be used as a night light or as an alternative to traditional air purifiers.
In addition to their aesthetic appeal, they’re often used by people who want to reduce their exposure to electromagnetic radiation and other forms of pollution.
Why Salt Lamps Leak?
Many people are surprised that their salt lamp is sweating or leaking water, and it isn’t a cause for alarm-it’s completely normal!
There are a few reasons that your salt lamp may be leaking water. Most often, the reason is that the lamp isn’t placed on an even surface.
If the lamp isn’t correctly leveled, water may collect in the base before it can leak out.
Another common reason a salt lamp will have excessive leaking is if placed in a humid environment.
The air inside a bathroom, for example, is often much more humid than the rest of the house, and it can cause the salt to sweat and eventually leak water.
Salt lamps begin to weep or leak water when exposed to high moisture levels. The humidity in your home can cause this, but it can also be caused by placing your lamp near a window or somewhere else where it has direct access to rainwater.
Don’t be concerned if you see water flowing from your salt lamp! It’s performing the way it should! Which is to clean the air and release negative ions into the air. To stop the leak, allow the lamp to air dry before turning it on and on.
Fortunately, salt lamps don’t weep or leak water because they’re sad. They do it because they’re happy!
The water you see coming out of your salt lamp is a sign that it’s working, and it’s a process called “hygroscopy,” which means that the lamp is absorbing moisture from the air and releasing it back into the air as water vapor.
It happens when the salt lamp becomes warm, which is why it might make sense to put your lamp in a place where it gets some sunlight-the sun’s warmth will help it stay at a consistent temperature.
The best way to know if your lamp needs to be recharged is by touching it: if there’s no heat present, you’ll need to recharge the lamp with more salt (and give it some time in direct sunlight).
Salt lamps are composed of salt crystals, which are formed from water. When the lamp heats up, the water in the crystals evaporates and turns into steam.
Because these lamps contain lots of salt and crystals, they may become too hot for the lamp to handle.
The salt crystal inside a salt lamp can be shaped like a pyramid or a teardrop, usually about two inches long. The shape of this crystal allows it to evaporate at a slower pace than if it were round.
It helps keep the lamp from overheating and cracking or shattering as often as other types of lamps would under similar conditions.
How to Fix a Salt Lamp That’s Leaking Water
When you first buy your salt lamp, it will be wet from being packaged in a plastic bag while traveling through shipping channels.
After you unwrap your new purchase, let it sit out for several hours before plugging it in so that all excess moisture can evaporate into the air.
Keeping it wrapped could damage sensitive components such as wires or circuit boards inside an electrical socket box (especially if you’re using one with an old-style fuse).
Once exposed to air for several hours after unwrapping (or even longer), plug your lamp into an electrical outlet. Leave it on at least overnight before turning it off again to remove any excess moisture.
If your lamp is leaky, there are a few options to stop it. First, make sure that the lamp is placed on a level surface. If it is not, try adjusting it until it is level.
Second, if you think the humidity might be causing the problem, try moving the lamp to a drier location.
Finally, if neither of these solutions works, you can try using a hairdryer to evaporate any moisture pooling in the lamp’s base.
Check to see if the lamp is cracked or chipped. If it is, you can swap it for a brand new one. If not, you can follow these steps:
- Fill an empty bowl with warm water and put a handful of dish soap.
- Place the salt lamp into the bowl, and let it sit for 15 minutes to soak.
- Remove the lamp from the bowl and dry it with a clean towel.
- Place the lamp on a plate or in a shallow dish and leave it overnight to dry completely.
- If your salt lamp is still leaking water, try adding more salt to the bowl of warm water and letting it soak for another 15 minutes.
How To Store Your Salt Lamp to Avoid Leakage?
Once you’ve purchased your Himalayan salt lamp, you will want to know how to store it.
There are several ways you can do this, and we’ll outline them below to get started with keeping your lamp safe and secure.
Firstly, it’s essential to remember that you should not store the lamp in an area with humidity or moisture.
The salt will absorb any water around it and start to dissolve, which may damage the lamp itself.
One way to avoid this problem is by storing your rock salt lamp in a sealed container with a few grains of coarse sea salt.
It will help protect against any external sources of moisture or humidity from getting inside your container and prevent any damage from occurring due to internal moisture absorption within the container itself.
Another thing you should never forget is that when storing your lamps for long periods without use (such as during the winter), ensure they are never exposed directly to sunlight or any other source of heat (such as radiators). It may cause a crack with time.
It is essential to keep your Himalayan rock salt lamp away from water sources and high humidity areas, like bathrooms, kitchens, or a basement.
When you are not using your salt lamp, please keep it in a place with low humidity and out of direct sunlight.
Also, avoid placing your salt lamp on a surface that can get wet or dampened by rainwater, such as a wooden table or the bathroom countertop.
Take caution not to place your salt lamp near heating vents or fireplaces because this can cause cracks in the glass vessel and permanently damage the bulb inside.
Finally, avoid putting your lamp near heat sources such as lamps, televisions, or computers.
It can cause the lamp to expand and crack if you’re worried about this happening in your home or office but still want to use an electric light source nearby (like a desk lamp).
Consider placing the salt lamp in an airtight container filled with water before plugging it in so that it won’t expand too much due to heat buildup.
When using a natural Himalayan salt lamp, make sure that there are no cracks on its surface-especially if you want to use it as decoration around your home!
Cracks can cause moisture inside the bulb, which leads to water leakage on the surfaces below.
Learning how to prevent leaking can be helpful for your salt lamp, ensuring it continues doing what it’s supposed to.
Salt lamps have been gaining popularity recently because of their distinctive beauty and air purifying properties.
