Remove a Broken Lightbulb from the Socket

Removing a broken light bulb requires multiple safety precautions, but with the right tools even a jammed bulb should come free without the need to call an electrician. If your light bulbs are always difficult to remove, read further for ways you can solve this problem.

Steps

Removing the Light Bulb

1. Put on gloves and safety glasses. Always put on thick gloves before handling broken glass to avoid cuts. Ideally, you should put them on over rubber gloves or glove liners to protect yourself from electricity, in case the power is turned back on while you are working. Safety glasses will protect your eyes from glass shards, and are especially important if the light fixture is on the ceiling.
   • If the light fixture is on the ceiling, a hat in addition to the safety glasses will keep broken glass out of your hair.
   • Even though you will be removing the power to the light fixture, there is a small chance the fixture is still charged due to faulty wiring. Wear insulating gloves to protect yourself from this scenario.
2. Remove any broken pieces of glass from the floor. You can use a broom, rag, or vacuum cleaner to sweep the glass into a dustpan and throw it away. Smaller fragments can be scooped up with a piece of stiff paper or cardboard, while glass powder can be picked up with a piece of sticky tape.
   • Warning: Compact fluorescent lightbulbs, also known as energy saving lightbulbs with a coiled shape, can let off mercury vapors when broken. Open windows or doors to the outside, shut off your house's heating and air conditioning, and only use a vacuum cleaner as a last resort.
3. Put down a tarp to catch additional glass if necessary. If there is still a fair amount of glass on the bulb, or the bulb is in a ceiling fixture, put down a tarp underneath it to make further glass cleanup easier.
4. Unplug the lamp if the fixture is plugged into the wall. If a lamp is broken, all you need to do to remove the power is unplug the cord from the wall socket.
5. Turn off the power to that part of your house if the bulb is on a wall or ceiling fixture. Find-the-Fuse-Box-or-Circuit-Breaker-Box and turn off the power to the part of your house that powers the light fixture. Remove the fuse by unscrewing it, or set the circuit switch to the off position.
   • If your fuses or circuit breakers aren't labeled, remove the power from every circuit. Don't assume the power to the light fixture is off just because you removed the power from a nearby outlet.
   • If there is no natural light in the room with the broken fixture, find a flashlight before you shut off the power.
6. Try to unscrew the metal base counter-clockwise with gloved hands. Only ever do this when wearing thick gloves to protect yourself from cuts. If the bulb is in a wall or ceiling fixture, rubber glove liners can protect you from the small chance that faulty wiring causes a shock even with the power off.
   • Make sure not to drop the bulb as it comes out, to avoid cleaning up even more broken glass.
   • If you encounter resistance partway through unscrewing, twist slightly in the other direction (clockwise) then resume untwisting. Trying to force your way past a point of resistance could break your light fixture.
7. Use needle-nose pliers for more force and precision. Needle-nose pliers allow you to safely grab the metal base with the narrow, precise ends of the pliers. They should allow you to twist the metal base off using a bit more force than you can with your fingers. Always twist counterclockwise.
   • Don't worry if the metal light bulb base begins to tear. This will make it easier to remove, and you will be throwing away the light bulb anyway.
   • If you do not have needle-nose pliers, borrow some from a neighbor or buy some. Do not try alternate methods without first reading the Warnings section below.
8. Try using the pliers from the inside of the lightbulb base. If you can't grip the outside of the light bulb base, or twisting it counterclockwise from that position, try pointing the pliers on the inside of the broken lightbulb, and spreading the arms outward against either side of the metal base. Twist counterclockwise as before.
9. If none of the above methods work, carefully assist the pliers with a screwdriver. Insert a small flat-head screwdriver between the base of the metal base and the socket. Gently and carefully bend the metal socket inward, just enough to get a good grip on the base with the pliers. Attempt to twist as before.
10. Dispose of all broken glass according to local law. You may need to look up ordinances in your area about disposing of light bulbs, or contact your city's trash collection service and ask for instructions. Incandescent bulbs with an actual bulb shape can usually be thrown directly into the trash. Compact fluorescent bulbs, with a coil design, may require transport to a local recycling center in some areas due to their small mercury content.
    • Empty vacuum cleaner bags used for picking up glass into the trash immediately.
11. Insert a new bulb while the power is still off. Keep your gloves and safety glasses on and the power turned off. Screw the light bulb in clockwise until you feel a slight resistance. Don't use any more force than necessary.
    • You might want to read the section on Preventing Jammed Light Bulbs before inserting a new bulb.

Preventing Jammed and Burned Out Light Bulbs

1. Pull the brass tab at the base of the socket to the correct position. If your last light bulb was jammed into the socket, it may have pushed a small brass tab too far down to make proper contact with the light bulb. This tab should be raised at a 20º angle above the base of the fixture. If it is not, turn off the power and use needle nosed-pliers to pull this tab gently to the correct position.
2. Insert new light bulbs gently. When inserting a light bulb, you should line up the threads on the socket, then turn slowly clockwise. As soon as you feel a slight resistance, stop. If you turn the light on and it flickers, turn it off again and turn only another quarter-turn clockwise.
   • Warning: Always make sure the lamp is unplugged or the switch is in the off position before changing a light bulb.
3. Use a clean, dry cloth to wipe the inside of the socket. Only do this when you are absolutely sure the power to the fixture has been turned off. Remove the light bulb from the socket if there is one present. Wearing gloves made from rubber or other non-conductive material, take a clean, dry rag or towel and rub it along the inside threads of the metal socket. You may also wipe the outside threads of the bulb base before insertion.
   • The cloth wipes off rust or other corrosion that has built up on the socket, reducing the chance of both burned out bulbs and a bulb jamming in the socket.
   • Use a Scotchbrite pad or bronze wire brush if the corrosion won't come off onto a cloth.
4. Use an electrical contact cleaner to wipe off heavier corrosion. If there is too much corrosion to wipe off with a cloth, you may need to wipe them with a specialized lubricant. Only use an electrical contact cleaner or contact spray for this purpose.
   • There are several commercially available products called "bulb and socket lube" that can be applied to the socket or the base of a new bulb prior to installation. The product appears similar to Vaseline and greatly reduces the incidence of "sticking".
   • Using any other substance as a lubricant carries the risk of burning out your bulb, blocking the electrical current, or jamming it in the socket.
5. Use bulbs intended for a higher voltage if your light bulbs burn out frequently. If your light bulbs only last a few weeks or months, they may be receiving too much power. Too much vibration or heat can also wear out a light bulb quickly. A long-life bulb with a slightly higher voltage than recommended for your fixtures should last longer.
   • In the United States, most home outlets are 120 volts. Use a "long life" bulb that can handle 130 volts.
   • In the European Union and most other European countries, the standard varies between 220 and 240 volts.
   • Standards vary widely in the rest of the world. If you're not sure what voltage your outlets use, see this list by country and these images of outlet types.

Warnings

• Do not follow instructions that tell you to use a potato or other object to remove the broken light bulb. This is likely to leave juices or other materials in the light fixture, corroding the wires and increasing the chance that your replacement light bulb will break.
• If you decide to use an alternate method despite the above warning, you should still wear thick electrically insulated gloves. Thoroughly dry the object before using it, and dry the empty socket before putting in a new light bulb.

Things You'll Need

• Access to your circuit breaker box or fuse box.
• Thick gloves
• Needle nose pliers
• Screwdriver (rarely)

Related Articles

• Remove a Broken Light Bulb with a Potato

Sources and Citations

See also

• Make a Light Bulb
• Change a Gu10 Halogen Light Bulb
• Make Your Room Pitch Black During the Day
• Wire a 3 Way Light Switch
• Replace a Ceiling Light Socket
• Replace the Ballast in a Fluorescent Lighting Fixture
• Install Cheap Motion Sensor Lighting Indoors
• Change a Stuck Lightbulb
• Wire a Light
• Change a Light Bulb

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