Do Salt Lamps Work?: a house log

Have I mentioned that one of my all time go-to books is Gorgeously Green by Sophie Uliano? It is funny, straightforward to read, especially informative, and ultra inspiring. I have followed tons of pointers and tricks from my eco tome to make greening things up around our house a little easier. And one of the more unexpected mentions that grabbed my attention was a paragraph about salt lamps. Of course Sophie is honest and funny as she makes her case:

“Simply to clear the ion thing up- negative ions are the ones we want around us. They give off a fresh, clean smell and charge the air with strong energy. Consider getting a salt lamp. Okay, I know it sounds weird, but they are truly fairly to look at. A salt lamp looks like a large glowing stone and is supposed to balance out the positive/negative ions so that you can maintain some kind of natural air quality. There have been scientific studies (I enjoy scientific studies!) that demonstrate a salt lamp can increase the negative ion count by up to 300 percent. Some people put them by their televisions or computers. The bedroom will do for me.”

I had in fact seen some at the state fair of all places a while back. And Sophie is right. They are fairly to look at! We are consistently big fans of a natural object or five, and looks alone were reason sufficient to linger among the glowing amber stones lined up on wooden shelves at the fair. I was hypnotized, but John pointed out that carrying a big rock around would not exactly be convenient. So off we went to meet the goats and my enjoy of salt lamps fell right out of my head.

Until Sophie’s mention of them…

That is right, I fired up the ol’ laptop and hunted down the most affordable salt lamp I could find (those things can get fairly pricey if you are not careful). And guess where it was from? Target! I made that vivid hunk of stone mine for simply $19.99. Not bad for a 250 million year old natural salt crystal hand-chipped from the foothills of the Himalayan mountains.

And Target’s description also mentioned a few of the selling points that Sophie brought up: “acts as an air purifier,” “ideal for reducing stress,” and “releases negative ions into the air.” I do not know if it is all in my head, but I certainly feel more calm when my new salt lamp is on. It is like lighting a candle except instead of flickering, it glows like a giant amber hunk of quartz. It is sheer bliss I tell ya. And even when it is not on, it is certainly a vivid home accessory.

Here is a shot of the whole media cabinet with my glad little salt lamp now living at the end. I figure since I spend 99% of my day in the den (where I work and also hang out with John when he gets home) it is the best place to benefit from a little salt lamp therapy:

And I am certainly crossing my fingers that its air-purifying effect will assist with the impending allergy season (I get hammered for about two months and I am hoping my new salt lick- er lamp- will soften the blow).

While we are on the subject of allergies, do you folks have any helpful hints to share? I have heard everything from local honey (the theory is that bees work a bit of pollen into the honey which you eat and gain immunity) to stinging nettle supplements (which are said to act as a natural antihistamine). I am someone who has dutifully tried Claritin and Allegra and have experienced zero relief from either of them, so I am desperate! Hook a soon-to-be-itchy-eyed-sniffly-nosed girl up.

Wanna learn more about everything from better air-quality to non-toxic makeup and hair dye? Check out “Gorgeously Green” and take notes all over the margins (my copy has more tabs than some of my old Domino magazines).