If your new, energy efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs are burning out, you could be choosing the wrong one, or your light bulb could be a fake.

The popularity of CFL's has lit up the retail industry as more people try to save energy and try to leave a smaller carbon footprint in the fight against global warming.

It means there are more choices than ever before. It also means there are now bulbs on the market that aren't true CFL's.

Always look for a 'UL', or Underwriters Laboratories label, or a  Canadian Standards Association label, and buy from a reputable retailer.

And you need to be careful; even you choose the right bulb. CFL's contain a small amount of poisonous mercury, and if you break one, you need to clean it up right.

Tips for cleaning up

  • Do not use a vacuum or broom to clean up a broken bulb on hard floors.
  • Put on rubber gloves, scoop up the glass and put it into a plastic bag.
  • Remove any broken bulb on rugs with two-sided tape.
  • The Home Depot has a drop-off spot where you can bring in old or broken bulbs, and they'll get recycled.

The Home Depot's Cathie Caskie also has a safety tip for when your CFL burns out. "Turn off the power to the bulb, let it cool and then remove it from the base and not the glass part of the bulb," she told CTV Consumerwatch reporter Eleanor Coopsammy.

Caskie added there are several places where CFL's shouldn't be used, or where just don't work. "They cannot be used outside," she said. "A lot of our customers are putting them outside. The bulb is not going to work as efficiently."

You can put them into standard, shaded lamps but, "you cannot put them into anything that is dimmable, a tri-light or touch lamp. The ballast is not designed for those [CFL's]."

But as demand grows, there are now CFL's on the market which are designed for outdoor use, and for lights with dimmer switches.

There are also new CFL's that can go into the vanity light fixtures in your bathroom. A glass bulb covers the spiral fluorescent tubing, making it look like any other vanity bulb out there.

The spiral may soon be gone

And the spiral CFL may soon be gone altogether. A new bulb is now on the market that looks closer to the old incandescent bulbs. They range in price from 10 to 20 dollars.

As for the mercury inside CFL's, the jury is still out on how dangerous it is. Manitoba Hydro says the amount of mercury in a bulb is so small it can fit on the tip of a pen and people shouldn't worry.

However, the environmental protection agency in the U.S. says if a CFL breaks, you should open the window and leave the room for at least 15 minutes.

If you are concerned, just wait. The Home Depot near Polo Park says there is a different option on the horizon.

Light emitting diodes, or LED, lights, the ones already used in many Christmas lights, are moving into larger light bulbs for your home.