Making Your Home Smarter

DIY Techniques You Can Use To Change A Broken Bulb Safely

It seems an inevitable occurrence that everyone has to go through the displeasure of changing a broken light bulb and if it hasn't happened yet, it will. All things considered, it's always a challenging feat due to the broken pieces of glass left behind and the fact that you are dealing with electricity. In this situation, always resists the temptation to pull out the bulb with your bare hands. You should never use your bare hands. If anything, you should always wear some protective gear for your hands and eyes. Power off the fixture and the main power switches. With these out of the way, you can use any of the five techniques enlisted below to remove the remaining bulb piece.

Broken Bulb Extractor

A broken bulb extractor gets the job done easily. It's sold at numerous stores and hardware and they are mechanically designed to hold on to the remaining bulb piece when inserted from the inside. You only have to push it into the bulb for it to hold and twist it anticlockwise as you unwind it from the lighting socket.

Newspaper Method

To use the newspaper technique, take some read newspapers and roll them into a ball. Push the newspaper ball against the broken bulb piece and until you feel that it has held onto the bulb. You then have to turn the newspaper counterclockwise taking out the broken bulb with you. 

Needle Nose Pliers

Pliers, don't they always come in handy? To use a pair of pliers on this job, get rid of the few remaining pieces of glass so that the filament and base are exposed. Using the tip of the needle-nose pliers, grab the bulb by the base of the filament and twist counterclockwise. If you encounter hardship while rotating, just wiggle it in the opposite direction but be careful not to damage the lighting fixture socket.

Raw Potato

If you do not have a pair of needle-nose pliers or a broken bulb extractor around, a raw potato can be a remarkable tool as well. To use a potato, cut it in half and dry any liquids from the base of the potato. Thrust the sliced side against the broken bulb, and twist counterclockwise. The broken bulb will attach itself to the base of the potato for a simple and clean extraction.

Sponge Technique

Like the potato method above, you can use a sponge to remove a broken bulb by pushing it against the base and turning it anti-clockwise. Weird as it sounds, this method is very safe as your hands will be protected by the sponge which may only tear at most.

To learn more, reach out to a local electrician.