I have a recessed spotlight in my kitchen ceiling that seems to be corroded because I can't twist it out. I have no way of doing the tape wrap trick either as it is too recessed to work around. Any suggestions as how to remove without shattering the light bulb?
By JL
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Break out the light bulb glass cut a potato in half and push it firmly onto the light bulb and it should come out with no bother
Genius tip...had the broken bulb out in 2 seconds. Delighted, thanks for sharing.
Here is my solution for removing a stuck recessed light bulb. Make a loop with duct tape or gorilla tape, place one side of loop on bulb, run finger thru loop or grip it and twist.
My ceiling light in the kitchen also was stuck when it burnt out. No way to get my fingers around the bulb because the bulb was so far recessed. I put a piece of clear packing tape (duct tape would have worked too but I was too lazy to go to the garage and packing tape was in my desk) on it with pieces hanging down on both sides, grabbed the two pieces and pulled in opposite directions. The bulb turned as if it had been greased and came right out.
This was an awesome tip! Didn't think it was going to work but it did right away. Thank you!
Just tried this with the clear packing tape. The bulb unscrewed easily.
Amazing! The tape trick worked on the 1st try even though it seemed like the tape had barely caught given how recessed the fixture was. Thank you so much for posting and thanks to all the people who shared their success. :-)
I used duct tape. Used two strips about 4 long. Slid up edge in space between bulb and cover plate. Able to turn out due to extra grip area.
This works! I just tried it with duct tape one in the left and one piece on the right side and it worked like a charm!
I didn't really expect this to work, but it was out in just a couple of seconds! Thank you!
1. Make sure the switch is OFF
2. Try squirting WD40 or some other lubricant around the
base of the bulb and wait a few minutes...no luck?
Just did it - great idea!
I had the same problem, get the tape up the sides using a butter knife, etc. The tape is the only thing that works. I was able to grip the vise grip pliers on the bulb once I had the edges taped.
I broke the bulb out of the base and removed the base with needle nose pliers. ( with the power off of course ). Then lubricate jemust the threads in the new bulb so it won't be a problem next time. PS Potatoes are goid to eat later to relieve the stress. Not to remove a "stuck" bulb.
Ihad the same problem with a bulb ina recessed light fixture. We have to use a ladder to reach this fixture - the bulbs do not get changed very often. Hence we were going to change all 3 bulbs. Two wouldn't come out. We read the idea of a suction cup to give turning power. A suction cup was found ( it was on the end of a hook that I put on my oven door to hold a towel ) IT WORKED PERFECTLY.
I easily removed the recessed casing, unscrewed bulb from ceiling, came down and unscrewed bulb from casing by grasping base.
I had a stuck, burned out can light as well. I tried using a suction cup, which did not work. I then turned to this site looking for answers. I tried the duct tape method with no luck. After looking at the fixture for two minutes, I decided to take the trim off of the can, then I could simply unscrew the stubborn bulb.
The recess can has two parts, the bezel and the socket. The bulb becomes stuck when the bezel touches the bulb and melts the plastic bezel gluing them together. Fortunately, the bezel & socket can be lowered away from the ceiling. This exposes the 2 spring clips which can be squeezed together to lower them fully. Then, the bezel can be rocked up and down about the two rivets that hold the bezel to to socket, breaking the melted plastic bond to the light bulb. Then the bulb can be unscrewed. Reverse the process to install the next bulb. Switch to LED BR30 bulb and you'll never have this problem again, LED bulbs do not get hot enough to melt plastic, whereas 65W or higher incandescent bulbs may melt and bond.
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