Jason was sick this weekend, and while he was shaking down the thermometer, it slipped out of his hand, flew across the room, and broke into a zillion pieces—or so I thought. It was actually four pieces of glass and a zillion tiny beads of mercury.

I had no idea how to clean up a broken thermometer; I just knew that mercury was hazardous. So I immediately went to the EPA website, and what I found out was terrifying. Here are some of their directions for cleanup:

• “Have everyone else leave the area…. Open all windows and doors to the outside; shut all doors to other parts of the house.”
• “If a spill occurs on carpet, curtains, upholstery or other absorbent surfaces, these contaminated items should be thrown away.”
• “Keep the area well ventilated to the outside (i.e., windows open and fans in exterior windows running) for at least 24 hours after your successful cleanup. Continue to keep pets and children out of cleanup area.”
• “Never use a vacuum cleaner to clean up mercury. The vacuum will put mercury into the air and increase exposure.”
• “Never wash clothing or other items that have come in direct contact with mercury in a washing machine, because mercury may contaminate the machine and/or pollute sewage.”

Follow the link above for full instructions. But you get the drift: we had to throw away our area rug, take a couple hours tracking down every single bead of mercury with tape, and spend a day in the bedroom with the cats while the living room aired out. And I’m still not entirely sure that we got it all.

Our new digital thermometer. It takes just 10 seconds to register. And no mercury!

I know, I know, who has a mercury thermometer anymore anyway? We got ours a good 12 years ago, before we knew there was anything wrong with them. And if I’d known cleanup would be this much of a hassle, I would have recycled it long ago, while it  was still whole.

I think we’ll have to drop off the mercury-tainted trash at the Recycling Drop-Off Center the next time it’s open. But just to be sure I’ve emailed the DPW to ask. I’ll keep you posted.