I’ve been told in the past that one should never touch the glass of a CFL bulb because the oils in your skin will remain on the bulb (fingerprints) and cause hot spots which will shorten the life of the bulb. I’ve heard the same thing about microscope bulbs. Is it true of CFLs?

Some CFL packaging instructs you to handle CFL bulbs by the base and never screw them in holding the glass spiral. This seems to add weight to the argument above; however, after visiting many websites, including government websites, manufacturers websites, and special interest websites (both for and against CFLs and at least one of which has a list of “CFL killers”), I have found absolutely nothing to confirm it.

I did find the instruction to handle the bulbs by the base on a number of reputable sites; however, the reason given is that the thin glass spiral is relatively fragile and the bulbs contain a small amount of mercury, so it’s important not to break them.

My conclusion is that it is probably no big deal if you touch the glass of a CFL.