DIY salt lamp

What is a salt lamp - an original lamp, a spectacular design element or a medical device? Both that, and another, and the third. He appeared in the Himalayas, and then spread throughout the world. Do-it-yourself salt lamp is quite affordable, if there are suitable materials. About how it is useful and how to do it yourself, read our article.

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Is she needed?

Do-it-yourself salt lamp at home is done quite quickly, but first it’s always useful to understand if you need this item, and only then take up the search for materials and tools. So what is the famous salt lamp and how does it work?

In short, it is a natural ionizer. It was originally made from Himalayan salt. She has another name - halite. This substance is a very pure salt, which, in addition, contains trace elements very necessary for the human body:

• iodine;
• iron;
• magnesium;
• potassium;
• other elements - more than eighty in all.

Important! Salt of this composition is mined only in the Himalayas, therefore, a lamp from it is a very expensive pleasure. The most difficult stage for someone who would like to make such a lamp is to get a suitable salt crystal. But if you succeeded, then why not do it?

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Principle of operation

Before you make a salt lamp with your own hands, let's figure out how it works. The principle is pretty simple:

1. The lamp that is standing inside the crystal turns on.
2. The salt is heated.
3. Negative ions begin to enter the air.
4. The air is cleared.

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Where are salt lamps used?

Since the ions that are released during heating purify the air and enter the human body through the respiratory tract, this device is more likely to be medical than domestic. It is widely used in speleotherapy - treatment in caves.

Important! Such a device cannot be the main lamp in the room - it gives too dim and dim light. But as an additional illumination designed to draw attention to a certain corner in your room - why not?

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Where to get salt?

Halite is a rare and expensive material, but one should not think that it is impossible to get it. This is easy enough to do. It is for sale:

• the owners of salt rooms who order it in bulk;
• in trains if they go past the field;
• on trips to the regions where such salt is mined - quite often merchants bring crystals directly to the hotel;
• through the Internet.

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We deal with the device

Do-it-yourself salt lamp is made of three main elements:

• salt crystal;
• the actual lamp;
• grounds.

Salt crystal

Pink Himalayan salt is an amazing combination of beauty and good. Lamps made by masters who perfectly master their ancient craft come in the most bizarre shapes. This is not a whim of a designer, but a necessity. The fact is that in the manufacture it is very important not to destroy two things:

• crystal structure;
• its natural form.

Why is this so important? If one or the other is violated, the lamp loses some of its properties as a natural ionizer.Ions, of course, stand out, but efficiency drops.

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What else will you need?

Do not worry, you will not have to hammer a piece of salt very intensively, because you need to preserve its structure and, if possible, appearance. So especially exotic instruments are not required. You probably have everything you need in the box:

• hand drill:
• thick drill;
• universal glue;
• self-tapping screws;
• screwdriver.

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Classic version

Did you manage to get a crystal of suitable size? Sumptuously! You might think of other elements. It is not difficult to get a light bulb - this is the most common incandescent light bulb. And where to get the base? Before you make a salt lamp with your own hands, rummage in the bins - maybe there will be the most ordinary old night lamp. It will be a great success if microchips and a wire are preserved in it. If there is nothing similar in the household, just buy the cheapest wall lamp or desk lamp in the store.

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One-two - and you're done

The method invented by the Himalayan masters is simple, like all ingenious. But you need to find a base where the cartridge does not protrude above the surface. The lamp is closed, you need to do just a few actions:

1. From the bottom side, hollow a hole of such a size that a light bulb fits in it.
2. Drill holes for attaching the crystal to the bottom.
3. Screw in the lamp.
4. Put a crystal on her.
5. Screw it to the bottom with self-tapping screws.

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Salt shade

A classic lamp is ideal. And the lamp heats it well, and it poses no danger. It has only one drawback - the light turns out to be very dim.

If you want to make something brighter, try to design a lamp with an open lampshade. It makes no sense to spend precious pink salt on this, but such a design can be built even from the most common table salt with a minimum amount of impurities. The main thing is that it should be in the form of a crystal and not crumble (sometimes you can buy one even in the most ordinary hypermarket).

Cooking Crystal

In fact, a salt lamp can be imagined with something like a cap, like a chandelier, only made from a solid crystal of salt. You have to create it:

1. Examine the crystal.
2. Identify the side that most resembles the bottom.
3. Compare it with the future foundation.
4. Mark the holes for the screws.

Make the ceiling

It is more convenient to make the salt shade so that it does not have to be unscrewed if it is necessary to change the light bulb. That is, it will need to be drilled very carefully from the side of the bulb so that the bottom remains untouched for now. An electric drill in this case is unlikely to help, it is better to drill manually. However, halite, and even more so ordinary edible salt, is still not a diamond, it is drilled well, and it is important to make sure that nothing superfluous falls off.

Important! The hole should not be too large - a light bulb should be freely screwed into it, but nothing more. You can leave small gaps between the bulb and the walls of the crystal. The air will still warm up, and the ions will get into the room.

We put on the stand

How will the bulb be inserted into your lamp? She has a base, which, in turn, is screwed into the cartridge:

1. Mark and drill a hole for the cartridge - it should fit tightly.
2. Drill holes for screws - in the base and in the crystal or only in the crystal from the bottom.
3. Fill the holes with glue.
4. Screw the stand.

Important! It is very good if you can drill the crystal so that you can use existing holes in the base - in this case, you should use them.

Screw the bulb

Anyone can screw a lamp into a cartridge. But you need to know which one. Regardless of which version of the lamp you have chosen, the bulb should be low-power. 20 watts is enough.

The question arises, but what kind of lamps are suitable for this? It hardly makes sense to use LEDs for the ionizer; they practically do not heat up. But if you make just an original lamp, without any healing effect - then why not? The beauty of LEDs is that they are small and colorful, so you can make a very original trinket.

Incandescent lamps are best suited for an ionizer. They warm up very well, and this is exactly what you need.

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Where to put a salt lamp?

The placement depends on what you did it for. Any room can decorate such a device:

• living room;
• a bedroom;
• nursery;
• the kitchen;
• corridor.

Perhaps the only place where you should not put a healing or decorative lamp is the bathroom. The humidity there is too high, and the salt tends to dissolve in water. If you need an ionizer, select the room where it is most needed. Most often this is a bedroom or living room.

Important! Feng Shui fans often have these things in their bedrooms. It is believed that negative energy disappears in this case, and positive energy accumulates. There is one more subtlety. Typically, electrical appliances are set far enough apart. Here it is necessary to do exactly the opposite. A salt lamp will work more efficiently near a TV, computer or microwave.

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What else can such a lamp have?

Salt lamp can do a lot! Of course, it helps to improve well-being, including with some serious diseases:

• neurosis;
• hypertension
• rhinitis;
• bronchitis;
• tracheitis;
• furunculosis.

Of course, the healing effect is exerted by a lamp made of genuine Himalayan salt, and not substitutes. But such a lamp has several more functions with which it copes brilliantly, and it does not matter which salt it is made of:

1. Humidity is stabilized in the room - any salt absorbs water.
2. Eliminates unpleasant odors.

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How long does the lamp work?

A salt lamp is completely harmless to humans, if only one of the inhabitants of the apartment does not have an individual intolerance to any of the elements. It can burn at least round the clock. As for the service life, it entirely depends on how much the base will work, that is, a light bulb, microcircuits, and a cord. But if desired, the base can be replaced - or repair one of its elements.

But what harms the salt lamp is excess moisture. Salt absorbs water, and the ceiling can begin to lose shape. If this happens, do the following:

1. Turn off the appliance.
2. Wipe it with a dry cloth (microfiber is best).
3. Put in a warm and dry place for a while.

Important! Do not turn on the lamp until it dries. Moisture is dangerous for electrical appliances, for humans, and for salt. When a wire is broken somewhere, you may be struck by electric current. If the wire is in order, but the lampshade is not dry, spots will certainly appear on it. They can be cleaned with sandpaper.

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Imitation

If there is no piece of rock salt, but you really want to make a lamp that at least looked like salt, it's okay. You need:

• glass jar;
• salt;
• Super glue;
• lamp;
• stand.

Then we proceed in such a way as to make a salt lamp with our own hands:

1. Coat the jar with glue on the outside.
2. Roll it in salt.
3. We fix on the stand in any convenient way.

Important! You can turn any lamp with a glass lampshade into a salt one in exactly the same way as a jar.

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Stock footage

In a word, there are not so few ways to make a fashionable home decoration. But whether the lamp will have healing properties depends entirely on what material and manufacturing method you choose.