How do I remove a light bulb stuck in the ceiling socket?
By Alex from Naples, FL
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I have used gaffer's tape especially with floodlight or spotlight bulbs. Use a 6 inch or so strip of tape and tape about 1/2 of it at one side of the face of the bulb. Tape a second piece opposite the first. Take the end of each piece of tape and pull in the counterclockwise direction. Bulbs that I couldn't turn by hand or with rubber gripper can undone easily with tape. Duct tape or other film tape works as well but everyone should have some gaffer's tape around. It is wonderful.
Thank you- totally brilliant when used with someone else's idea
Of pointing the hairdrier into the cavity (Turned on , of course)
I'd spent DAYS and DAYS being annoyed before this post . Forever grateful . Woolly
Just used this tape method to unscrew a stuck bulb. Came unstuck like a champ! Thanks!
For a recessed bulb, like in a stove top cover, use a piece of tape on the bulb. Duct tape or packaging tape will work. Just get enough to cover the bulb and fold the remainder back.
Turn off power at the breaker box. Take a potato cut in half for grabbing the bulb and turn, voila. :)
If it is one of the new compact fluorescent light bulbs, it is extremely hazardous if it breaks. Here is the procedure you must follow if a bulb breaks:
www.greenerchoices.org/
If it is a regular light bulb, follow the suggestions that are archived below.
I just did this! Turn off everything at the breaker box. Then I took a tool that works kind of like pliers. The ends are pointed and sharp.
If it's not broken, but just stuck, meaning that when you turn the bulb, the whole socket turns but the bulb won't come out and stays stuck, first, turn off the power. Then put on a thick leather glove, to protect your hand. Use a pair of "Needle nose pliers" to hold the socket in place while you turn the bulb. If you still can't get it out, call an electrician to remove it. The bulb may have been cross threaded into the socket and the whole socket may be stripped and, if so, it needs to be replaced. Be very careful, as this could create an electrical fire or you could get electrocuted!
I have this problem with a conventional ceiling light. I really don't want to deal with broken glass. I'm going to remvove the fixture and replace the entrie socket.
I was convinced that I would have to get a whole new light fixture or rewire it after destroying it to get the bulb out, BUT as a last resort I tried the duct tape on the bulb and on the socket part (that I was having to hold still to keep it from twisting and breaking the wires) and surprisingly after a few minutes it reluctantly began to come loose and I got it out without breaking the bulb or tearing up my light fixture. I am surprised that it worked because I have had stuck lightbulbs before but nothing like this one. Thank you to whoever posted this answer first!
The tip of the light bulb is stuck in the ceiling fixtute
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