5 Ways to Safely Remove a Broken Light Bulb

A broken glass light bulb with its base still in the socket can be difficult to safely remove. Here are five simple and effective ways.

Bulbs may break. And they break from time to time. That’s the way it is, and you can’t (always) avoid it. Fortunately, modern lamps have a larger base, which makes it quite easy to remove them from the socket, even if the glass is broken.

That being said, if you haven’t pulled incandescent or halogen bulbs out of the house yet, removing a broken light bulb from the outlet can be tricky. The upside is that it’s easier than you think, and chances are you already have everything you need on hand.

Here are a few ways to quickly and safely remove a burned-out light bulb from a socket.

Before you start

Before removing a burned-out light bulb from its socket, it is recommended to turn off the power to the light bulb to avoid electric shock. Simply turning off the switch is not always enough. If the light bulb is controlled by multiple switches, it can be difficult to tell if the circuit is open. For complete safety, turn off the power at the electrical panel.

You will also be handling broken glass which is very easy to break, it is recommended to wear safety goggles and gloves.

clamp

A proven way to remove a burnt out light bulb from a cartridge is with pliers.

The less the light bulb is broken, the better it works. After turning off the power, if the filament is intact, use long-nosed pliers to grab the glass base of the filament and gently twist it counterclockwise. It may happen that the base breaks.

It is also possible to break the thread. If this happens, insert long-nosed pliers into the lamp base and rotate the pliers as far as possible so that the tips of the pliers are touching opposite sides of the lamp base and you can turn the whole thing counterclockwise.

For more grip, you can wrap a little electrical tape around the ends of the pliers.

Potato

One of the oldest ways is to use raw potatoes.

After turning off the power, take gloves, goggles and pliers to remove any remaining glass fragments. Cut the potato in half, press it firmly against the nest, and begin turning counterclockwise. The potato should grab the base of the light bulb and unscrew it without moving the socket.

Once the base is removed, you can discard the bulbs and potatoes.

fondue bottle

You can use a plastic bottle to remove a broken light bulb from the socket.

On Instructables, user prabbit22m suggests removing the cap, tags, and small plastic ring. Use a heat source such as a stove or lighter to melt the cone-shaped neck of the bottle.

After the bottle has cooled, the power will be turned off and all glass fragments have been removed from the base of the bulb, press the bottle firmly against the base of the lamp and turn it counterclockwise while maintaining pressure on the cartridge.

You can discard the ampoule and keep the bottle in case the other vial breaks.

Fast setting epoxy resin

Sometimes broken light bulbs are in hard-to-reach places. In these cases, you can use a quick setting epoxy to remove it from the socket.

Power down, remove last parts, follow SpinningCone’s user manual in Instructables. Mix some epoxy glue and apply it to the base of the bulb. After filling, insert the screwdriver head into the epoxy, then remove the screwdriver.

After about five minutes, the epoxy will harden and you can use a screwdriver to unscrew the bulb base and separate it from the socket.

Broken light bulb extractor

If you prefer the “official”method, you can find a broken lamp extractor at any DIY store for a few euros.

The process is the same as with any of the above methods. Turn off the power, remove the last pieces of glass, insert the lamp extractor into the lamp base, press the handle to spread the extractor tip and turn counterclockwise.