Light fitting
The only routine dusting job in a house carried out at a live mains connection — which is why the instruction that matters is not about a cleaning product.
Precautions
- Disconnect from the power supply first
- Do not apply to a hot surface
- Check the manufacturer's instructions
In detail
Two authorities agree on the part most consumer articles treat as a preamble, and both state it as a requirement: THE POWER IS SWITCHED OFF BEFORE CLEANING. The manufacturer adds a reason that is not about shock — a luminaire disconnected while still powered risks damaging its LEDs. Both also require the fitting and its light source to have COOLED first, and neither publishes a waiting time. The manufacturer states cooling as a condition; the safety body, writing about a portable lamp you can unplug, says a few minutes. The half hour that recurs in consumer results has no authority behind it and is not repeated here. THE CLEANING RULES ARE COUNTER-INTUITIVE, AND THEY ARE THE USEFUL PART. Plastic, glass and painted housings take a soft MOIST cloth — and the manufacturer prohibits the obvious alternative, a dry duster, on plastic. The reason is stated rather than asserted: static already on the part attracts dust, so a dry cloth moves it and invites it back. On plastic, only antistatic detergents WITHOUT alcohol, and nothing abrasive or strong. What neither addresses is the shade as a textile. A fabric shade is a different problem, and luminaire guidance is not extended to it.
Sources for this page
Sources
Cleaning instructions for luminaires
ETAP Lighting International · Manufacturer documentation
Relied on for: That the power must be switched off before cleaning a luminaire and it must not be disconnected with the power on, LED damage being a second reason; that the light source must be cooled first; that plastic, glass and painted parts take a soft moist cloth; that a dry cloth must NOT be used on plastic because static attracts dust; and that plastic takes only antistatic, alcohol-free detergents. (states this directly)
Verification: a person has read the passage relied on.
Read on — Section 0, the introduction, covering the safety instructions and the general instructions; and section 1, the cleaning table for parts that affect lighting, by component material. Supports the claim as stated. Opens the light-fitting domain, which had three externally observed rows and no source. Covers how-to-clean-a-light-fitting and, with the consumer safety body read alongside it, power-off-before-cleaning-a-light-fitting. It does NOT close waiting-for-a-bulb-to-cool: it states the condition and declines the duration, so the thirty-minute figure that recurs in consumer results still has no authority behind it and is not adopted.
Electrical Safety Advice for Lamps
Electrical Safety First · Trade or professional body
Relied on for: That a bulb is not changed while the lamp is on — it is turned off, unplugged, and left a few minutes for the bulb to cool first — and that scorching, discolouration, burn marks or a fitting too hot to touch are signs to stop using it and have it checked. (states this directly)
Verification: a person has read the passage relied on.
Read on — The lamp-changing instruction, the power-rating instruction, and the overheating warning signs. Supports a narrower statement — our claim was reduced. Corroborates the manufacturer's isolation instruction from an independent consumer safety body, which is what lets power-off-before-cleaning-a-light-fitting be published as a safety statement rather than as one maker's house rule. Recorded as supporting a narrower statement because its subject is a PORTABLE lamp that can be unplugged; it does not address isolating a fixed mains fitting at the consumer unit, and this register does not extend it to one.
What CleaningHQ cannot answer yet
These are recorded questions about this subject that we have not yet researched to a standard we would publish.
- Cooling interval before handling a lamp
Last reviewed by a person on .