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How to Increase the Life of a Lava Lamp

Lava lamps are vintage curiosities from the 1960s that have since enjoyed renewed interest. You may have found a decades-old lamp in your family's belongings, or picked up a new one. While these lamps don't keep up their magical motion forever, there are steps you can take to lengthen the life of your lamp. Manufacturers have decades of experience on which to base their recommendations.

Instructions

- 1
  Keep the lamp out of direct sunlight. Otherwise, the sun's ultraviolet rays can permanently cause the colors of the goo-like "lava" to fade.
- 2
  Prevent the lamp from being shaken, especially when the goo is warm. Otherwise, the solution can become cloudy, a condition which may be permanent.
- 3
  Turn off the lamp after 10 hours. Regularly leaving it on for longer periods of time can overheat and degrade the goo, shortening the lamp's lifespan.
- 4
  Check to see if the bulb needs replacement if, after four hours of melting, the goo still sits flat at the bottom of the lamp. The bulb may not be hot enough or may be broken. In the former case, you'll want to replace it with a higher-wattage bulb.
- 5
  Turn off the lamp to let it cool down if overheating causes all the goo to float to the top of the lamp as small bubbles, or if it all sits at the bottom of the lamp as a bulge (as opposed to lying flat). You may want to reduce the bulb's wattage if overheating persists.
- 6
  Keep the cap on the lamp. Undoing the cap can end the warranty---depending on the policy of your particular lamp's manufacturer--and significantly reduce the lamp's lifespan.

Childrens Toys