So sorry if this is not the right place to post. Please redirect me if there’s a more appropriate sub. I try to look out for my elderly neighbor across the street. I go over to keep her company and help her buy things she needs when I can.
She told me all of the clear lightbulbs she has tried lately are giving off a blue hue which she really dislikes. She’s previously found her preferred bulbs at Home Depot but they apparently don’t sell them anymore. She doesn’t remember the brand and I’m wondering if the packaging just changed and confused her.
Does anybody have a recommendation for what I should look out for? Something warm but bright enough for her bathroom.
I see way too many older folks pick up 5000K lamps from the hardware store, convinced that’s what they want. She’s probably looking for an incandescent or warm white fluorescent matching lamp, so ‘soft white’ (2700K) or ‘neutral white’ (3000K) would likely be what she’s after. For an older person with degrading eyesight, I’d nudge towards the 3000K, but preference is preference.
Note that color temperature and output are two different values. Check the ones she’s replacing for a wattage equivalent (40W, 60W, 75W, 100W, etc) and get the same.
The bulbs your friend is used to are incandescent and would have emitted 2700 Kelvin. With most bulbs now being LED, people grab any bulb that fits and then object to the light emitted, because the light is 4000K or 5000K. Look for warm white 2700K or, at the most, 3000K LED light bulbs. If she doesn’t like 2700, and she most likely will, look for 2200K light bulbs. 2200K is like what you would find in a romantic restaurant.