Himalayan Salt Lamps saw their introduction in the market quite a while back. Even though these might not exactly be new anymore, fascinating theories keep popping up from all directions about them nevertheless. Natural salt lamps made from Himalayan rock salt look beautiful at all times of the day. Their makers claim many other benefits that include:
- Easement of many allergies like breathing problems, asthma, some skin allergies and many other related ones.
- Himalayan salt being a natural air cleanser, cleaning up the air we breathe in a closed room.
- Treatment for insomnia where patients are able to sleep better when in a room with natural Himalayan salt lamp in it.
- Natural stress solutions with its perfect orange ambiance and also cleaner air to breath.
- Cheap and affordable price points making them very accessible for everyone.
Where some people do experience all these mentioned benefits, there are others who are always against the idea. However, both camps agree on their ambiance and aesthetic appeal to be one of a kind.
So much negative press exists around these beautiful little things. However, when you dig deeper, most dangers and risks relate to human errors around them. And yes, they are natural air purifiers as well. People in the Himalayan region have been taking their allergic patients deep inside the mines to get natural cures for centuries.
Salt Lamps Are Fire Hazards – So Are All Electronic Devices
One of the major concerns many people have with salt lamps is them being a potential fire threat. That may be true as they have an electric light bulb inside of them that produces the glow and light.
A full electric circuit is in place with these lamps that manages it from the inside. The board is usually at their bottom attachments, which can be wooden or any other material.
A manufacturing fault could of course occur as in all cases of electric devices. Or, they can be handled wrong producing a likely fire hazard. Home Décor Store Michaels recalled a full 80,000 units back in 2017 of their Lumière brand of salt lamps. This was indeed a manufacturing fault with their circuits. Their dimmer switches had a potential flaw where they didn’t meet the CPSC (US Consumer Protection Safety Commission) guidelines. Some of the reported and affected models included:
- SKU 495146 – UPC 00886946056277 – Basket of Rocks
- SKU 495144 – UPC 00886946056253 – Rock of Gibraltar Salt Lamp
- SKU 495433 – UPC 00886946058325 – Carnival of Lights Lamp
Fortunately, with that batch, there were no reported injuries or anything and the fault was recovered. The brand replaced their dimmer switches and resold them soon after avoiding any problems.
Although the warning from this was great but an important take is that the manufacturing fault was in their circuit and nothing to do with the salt lamps themselves. Their concept still remains the same and when manufacturers install quality circuits, they are safe to use. Also, not all salt lamps have dimmer switches in them further improving their risk situation.
Under the surface, they are a fire hazard as much as any electric device is. No more and no less in any stretch of imagination. Fab Glass and Mirror provide some of the highest quality safe salt lamps that you should definitely try.
Health Benefits with Himalayan Salt Lamps
Reportedly and also not proven by any medical experiments yet, natural salt lamps made from Himalayan salt pieces provide many health benefits. Negative press has them not providing any of these benefits but users still report most of these. Some claimed and reported health benefits include:
Cleaner Air to Breath
Himalayan salt is naturally therapeutic. It releases negatively charged ions into the air when heated up that stick to the positively charged dust and other particles. This brings down all or most of the dust particles as they get heavier onto all the surfaces and objects in your rooms.
The Press Has You Believe:
With all the dust particles ever so visible on the floors and other surfaces, some people say salt lamps pull dust from the outside. However, that is as far from the truth as you possibly can be. Salt lamps help cleanse you air inside rooms. Even though this is in full effect when you are inside full-sized salt caves, yet with a warm light glowing inside, much of it is replicated onside rooms.
Help You Sleep Better
Another claim that is also reported by many users is that they are able to sleep much better. When a salt lamp is present inside a room, it helps cleanse the air. Purified air is easy to breath helping people with insomnia disorder sleep much better. People with allergies and breathing issues also sleep better due to this phenomenon.
The Press Has You Believe:
Like many other cases, negative press opposes the idea. According to some, the light and glow coming from a salt lamp keeps you awake through the night. However, you can now get dimmers with your salt lamps. Their orange or pink illumination is calm on the eyes since there is no blue light coming off of them.
Help with Allergies like Asthma and Many Skin Conditions
A study was done on some 60 odd asthmatic patients. Ones with a salt lamp near them for extended periods of time had to use their inhalers much less. People without salt lamps even in very air-conditioned environments had to use their inhalers more frequently. This relates to the cleansed air phenomenon and salt lamps helps with asthma by bringing down dust particles.
The Press Has You Believe:
Negative press that opposes the idea of salt lamps altogether spread the world about there being no such benefit. They relate this to a state of mind where people with salt lamps in their rooms think they do better with asthma. However, results of various studies don’t lie and you see it and you believe it.
Himalayan Salt Lamps Are Toxic – Are They Really?
Another top misconception around natural salt lamps is that they are toxic. Negative press around these salt lamps states this salt to be toxic. However, in actual reality, it is just plain unprocessed rock salt. There is nothing toxic about them when you look at it deeply.
Humans – Kids and Us
Since you will likely place your salt lamps in excess of everyone in the house, it is good to be concerned. In all honesty, humans can even lick its surface to no real danger at all. Even kids can bite it with no real effects as well. What will happen is that their mouths will get salty. Depending on how much they lick or bite, naturally us adults and kids are likely to come of the salt pieces pretty soon.
Pets – Dogs and Cats
Pets like dogs and cats are also likely to get interested in these salt lamps. After all, the need for exploration runs in all living things. Even yet, dogs or cats in the house can also lick their surfaces with no real health danger at all. Similarly, they will also get salty tongues and come of them pretty soon too. However, pets are more likely to break the lamps. There is a kill switch that cuts off the electricity as soon as anything gets to it in good quality salt lamps.
Not that we recommend it, any living being can lick surfaces of Himalayan salt lamps. This rock salt from Himalaya is naturally richer in minerals that our white table salt. In its raw and unprocessed for, Himalayan salt is more likely to balance out your body’s PH level. Yes, Himalayan salt lamps are non-toxic no matter which way you look at them.
Is There Anything You Should Worry About for Himalayan Salt Lamps?
The honest short answer is “No”. You should not. At its worst, a salt lamp can be an electrocution hazard moving forward into a fire hazard. That too is down to its manufacturing and human error. Nothing to do with the concept of the salt lamp at all.
Their surfaces are non-toxic in all stretches of imagination. Even the white fluffy materials that show up on its surface after a few months of use are non-toxic. We use this same salt when processed in our meals for a reason. It is naturally therapeutic providing many health benefits in its most true form.
What you can do to minimize the very minimal risks and hazards is to place them at safe places. Have them in your high cabinets or on high shelves away from children and pets. This way, you would make them safe for everyone in the home.
Bottom Line – Himalayan Salt Lamps Are Completely Safe
Till date, there has been nothing proven against these beautiful salt lamps. No matter how much negative press they might have gotten, they are still very safe for everyone. Any risks and warnings there might be are definitely down to human error and manufacturing faults in some.
The whole idea of Himalayan Salt Lamps works for the most part and they look great in the meanwhile as well.
Best Case: Your beautiful natural salt lamps carved from Himalayan rock salt make your asthma go away. They also provide many skin allergies relief in the meantime. You sleep much easy and get stress relief as well. That piece of salt lamp looks damn good while doing all that as well.
Worst Case: Your salt lamps don’t provide any health benefits except cleansing your room air a little bit. You still get cheap around $30 lamps that look fine at all times of the day. Their nice orange hue provides a nice night light as well. It still becomes a win, win situation for everybody.