How Do I Improve the Lighting in My Dirty Bathroom?

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Hello Wirecutter,

The lighting in my windowless bathroom is a bunch of light bulbs that came with my apartment when I moved in. They are neither too dark nor too bright, and together they create a dull yellow appearance and a clinical blue. Whether I’m getting ready in the morning or relaxing in the bath in the evening, I want my bathroom to feel warm and inviting, but also clean and tidy. The few times I’ve tried to research lighting, I’ve been overwhelmed by all the choices: bulb types, wattage, color range, durability, overhead or vanity lighting, etc. Please help me?

MC

Dear MC,

I don’t blame you for being heavy. When I asked our experts – who are very familiar with lumens, watts, and degrees Kelvin – to really talk to me a little while I was trying to solve this for you, I was struggling too. The third time my eyes started to glaze over – and they wouldn’t let me just give you a scented candle to kick those feelings and call it a day – I knew I had to just give them a go. (I was able to get a slightly better handle on it when I answered a question specifically about LED lights, but I’m telling you, the lighting industry doesn’t make this easy.)

So let me introduce our guest columnists, smart home editor Jon Chase and staff writer Rachel Cericola. They discussed your question at length and compiled the best options. Without further ado, Jon and Rachel:

First of all, we totally sympathize with your plight, especially since at least one of us (Jon) has put up with a similarly awful bathroom, lit by one anemic light bulb, for over a decade. It’s the pits. Your issue is more complicated as a tenant, as you may not be able (or not allowed) to replace existing fixtures and switches, and you may or may not have fixtures with glass covers that affect the quality of light. So we have provided several options that best suit any situation.

Replace the bulb

A quick and easy solution, if you don’t own your property or don’t want to bundle wires, is to simply match all your lights to the same type, color temperature, and brightness. We recommend level LED bulbs, use a fraction of the energy of traditional bulbs and provide a more attractive light than a CFL/fluorescent bulb.

More than anything else, the color temperature will affect the ambiance of your sanctum sanctorum. Color temperature refers to the color a lamp produces, from warm to cool, and is measured in degrees Kelvin, or K. Think 4,000 K pure white; this is a whiter color than you would want in a bedroom, but in the bathroom it makes it easier to see your skin clearly in the mirror. Whatever you do, don’t opt ​​for 5,000 K daytime running lights, which produce those blue lights you associate with parking lots or nighttime visits to 7-Eleven.

A simple solution that’s literally as easy as tossing in a light bulb (or two, or three, or more) is Feit Electric Enhance 60W Replacement A19 Dimmable LED Light Bulbs, a top pick in our LED light bulb guide. They have high color accuracy and come in soft white and daylight versions, both of which performed equally well in all of our tests. They offer the best dimming range we’ve seen in LED bulbs – no flickering or flickering or flickering at low light levels, according to our guide.

You may also like the Philips Ultra Definition 60W Replacement A19 Dimmable LED Light Bulb with Warm Glow Effect Soft White, a top pick in our guide. The “warm glow” dimming feature changes the color temperature to an incandescent-like tone as it dims, similar to the warmth of a candle, which is often very flattering.

Depending on your preference (for the record, this is Jon’s, not Rachel’s), you may end up with the same 75-watt model if you only have a few bulbs and want to make sure your room is lit. Rachel thinks you can go a little smoother with 60 watts, to make your space as inviting as possible.

Feit Electric lamps offer brilliant color quality at an affordable price and work with a variety of dimmers. They are also readily available in stores, and come with a five-year warranty.

Install a dimmer

If you have access to your electrical breaker box and know how to turn off the power, installing a dimmer switch will greatly improve your enjoyment of the hopper. The dimmer switch allows you to get a bright light, so you can shave, apply makeup, or stare blankly in the mirror, but you can also turn down the power when you want to have a relaxing dip in the tub. Changing a switch is usually a 15-minute job, which is great for DIY (it mostly involves following directions and using pliers and a screwdriver), but it can also be done cheaply by any handyman. The Lutron Diva LED+ is a great all-around dimmer switch, especially since it’s compatible with most LED lights without causing flickering or buzzing (both of which are common and completely maddening problems).

Speak up, be wise

If you are looking for the best solution, get LED smart lights. They are dimmable and can be tuned to your favorite color, so your bathroom is the pinnacle of luxury and functionality – the Shangri-La we all deserve.

We love the WiZ 60W A19 Color LED Smart Bulb, a uniquely bright 60-watt smart bulb that you set up and control using an app. After setting one or several, they can be tuned together or individually to your choice of millions of colors. You can have them automatically turn on in the morning light and then turn on a warm color during the shower. To turn your bulbs on and off or choose between preset modes, you can use the WiZ smartphone app. Or, better yet, you can use a smart speaker like the Amazon Echo, and tell Alexa what to do.

This affordable bulb stood out in the test, thanks to its easy setup and collection of fun and useful modes and scenes.

If you want to install smart bulbs in an area that doesn’t get good Wi-Fi reception, choose Philip Hue bulbs, like the Philips Hue White and Color Ambiance A19 Starter Kit, and the Lutron Aurora – a battery-operated dimmer that reaches any standard, toggle-style button. The Starter Kit is more expensive, but includes three 60-watt Hue bulbs and a small puck that you plug into your Wi-Fi router to make them controllable via Zigbee wireless technology. A dimmer switch isn’t completely necessary, but it allows you to dim or turn your lights on and off manually, rather than having to interact with an app or other devices.

Hue bulbs are expensive, but they can pair with a wide selection of other Hue lighting devices, all of which communicate wirelessly via Zigbee. Hue also supports many smart home platforms.

Note that both LEDs and smart LEDs are not intended to be used in wet areas such as showers or in air-tight or enclosed spaces. If you have ceiling lights, you can swap in a Philips Hue Downlight, which works like a regular Hue smart bulb but is enclosed and meant to be retrofitted into a can-style light fixture.

Quick fix

This candle has a wonderful scent, and emits a resinous, warm, inviting scent (although some people may find the scent too strong). It has a long burn time, and is available in the widest variety of sizes for any of our selections.

And, hey, if you need something FAST, start by removing the conflicting bulbs until you have the same ones. Then light a relaxing quality candle in the bath, like one of our favorites, the Voluspa Baltic Amber Candle. Take a good soak in the candlelight, and hopefully one of the recommended solutions will be on your way out.

This article was edited by Jason Chen.