Early in our tenure here — maybe 2013? — a fluorescent light fixture in the middle bedroom closet melted, with a horrible plastic smell. We took it out, and then eyed the others with some anxiety. In 2022, we replaced all the rest of the old fluorescent tube fixtures throughout the house with LED fixtures — these were in the basement, the mudroom, the carport cabinets, closets, the dining room cabinet, all kinds of places. (We had taken some others out previously — the “study hall”, and the laundry room.)
In 2018 July, a similar incident happened in the kitchen, where the overhead lighting consisted of two 8-foot long fluorescent tubes. One of the fluorescent tube ballasts melted, causing the kitchen ceiling temperature to be almost 170 degrees, according to the fire department, which removed the fluorescent tubes. And in 2025, we finally finished the job, replacing the floor lamp with new LED track lighting. So much better than the fluorescent tubes!
