Bathroom lighting emergency -- need a battery powered lantern!

September 15, 2012 11:26 PM

I've lost power in my bathroom (and adjacent room) and it will be a week before it gets fixed. What's a good battery-powered lantern I could use while I shower?

I need a nice and bright battery-powered lantern I can buy locally in Orlando. (I'd rather not use a floor or table lamp to get light, because I will have to run too much extension cord and the cats will most likely tip things over.)

My bathroom is roughly the size of a typical gallery kitchen. Unfortunately, there are no windows. Ideally, the lantern would also be water-proof, so I can just bring it in the shower with me. Otherwise, it will have to sit on the toilet.

Please help me not have to shower in the dark!

posted by Wossname to Home & Garden (9 answers total)

Camping stores should have good quality LED lanterns that will give you reasonably bright light and last forever with decent batteries. If you're looking for something less long-term, cheap two dollar stores often have similar LED lamps and torches that would do the job.
posted by twirlypen at 11:59 PM on September 15, 2012

Best answer: I got an LED spotlight with built in rechargeable batteries from a local hardware store, which I used for our bathroom when I renovated and had to turn off the power.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 12:01 AM on September 16, 2012 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: Hadn't thought of an LED spotlight, I was so fixated on finding a camp lantern that wouldn't be a battery eater.
posted by Wossname at 12:42 AM on September 16, 2012

This might be too bright, but Walmart has lots of Coleman products that are great and around $20.
posted by Yellow at 4:08 AM on September 16, 2012

Save your money and use your regular flashlight like a candle. Cylindrical tube-shaped flashlights usually have a flat bottom on the opposite end for a good reason. You set this atop a stable flat surface outside your shower and the light will reflect off the walls, ceiling, and mirrors in your bathroom.
posted by plokent at 5:47 AM on September 16, 2012 [1 favorite]

Any decent hardware or discount store should have something in the general range of a "stick-on tap/push/puck closet light". These are LED lights that take a couple of AA batteries and you just push in to turn on, and come with a double-sided tape mounting. You can get 3 or 4 in a pack for about $10. When you're done with the electrical work you can put them in dark closets, under kitchen cabinets, or under your desk.

Just know that at some point you'll leave it on and drain the batteries, and this will be the time that you need to find something in the dark. But you can at least stock them with rechargeables.
posted by dhartung at 7:56 AM on September 16, 2012

Gorillatorch -water resistant and you can attach it to the shower head. Usually sold in camping/sporting goods stores.
posted by get off of my cloud at 9:32 AM on September 16, 2012

I have been using this lantern for doing DIY stuff after dark and can vouch that it's quite fine. It's powered by D batteries, which have lasted well. There are two fluorescent tubes, so you can have it at full light, half light, or a faint glow. In googling "home depot battery powered lantern" I also saw a number of others that are rechargeable, which might save you money on batteries. However, the brightest choice would likely be an extension chord and one of those clamp on work lights.
posted by slidell at 10:28 AM on September 16, 2012

Do you have outlets in your bathroom that look like this?

If so, try pressing in the black (lower) button until it clicks. That may restore the power in the bathroom.
posted by banshee at 1:40 PM on September 17, 2012