Cloudy lava lamp?? 10 pts?

Question

I just got a lava lamp today

It has not been dropped or damaged at all

Has purple lava and clear liquid

but the liquid is very cloudy,

is there anything wrong with it, or is it supposed to be like this? Is there any way to fix it without buying a new one?

Answer 1

have you switched it on yet?  

They're supposed to only go cloudy if they're on and someone shakes the water around and mixes the warm wax in with it.  If it's never been used, that shouldn't have happened.  

I guess the only thing to do is to leave it to settle for a while and then switch it on an hour or so later and see.  They take about 15 mins to heat up, but it might be OK.  If not, perhaps you could take it back and get the shop to swap it (assuming you bought it new in a shop and not second hand - if it's second hand then you'll just have to hope it's OK I guess).

If you do buy a new one - Matmos are the best make I reckon.

Answer 2

Lava lamps are stored in warehouses before you actually buy them. In these warehouses, the temperatures can change and reach a point where the wax in the lamps becomes soft. The impurities are thus released in the other liquid and the clear liquid becomes cloudy. But this is absolutely normal. As you have said here, keep it on for about 7-8 hours and then turn it off and keep it that way for 3-4 days. What happens is that the impurities get mixed well with the rising wax and then settles down with the wax. By operating the lamp for 7-8 hours, mixes the impurities well with the wax and they become a part of the wax. You will hopefully never see the impurities make your lava lamp liquid go cloudy.