How to Remove a Broken Light Bulb from Socket
Removing a broken light bulb is dangerous if you don’t apply precautionary measures. Its jagged edges can cut your fingers with ease. In addition, the exposed filament can cause electrocution, when handled with bare hands. With the use of needle-nosed pliers or a potato, the seemingly perilous task becomes a pretty simple one.
Wearing Protective Gear is a Must
Handling a broken light bulb requires you to wear at least a few items for safety. Never attempt removing a shattered bulb without wearing protective gloves. Aside from the sharp edges, small shards of glass might still be present throughout the bulb’s frame. You should also wear safety goggles to keep the falling shards from hitting your eyes.
Using Needle-Nosed Pliers
If you were to pick an instrument from your toolbox, the needle-nosed pliers is the best one for disengaging broken light bulbs. Its thin clamps can grasp a bulb’s metal base, without touching the brittle glass surface. A series of careful twists should do the trick.
Procedure:
Switch the light bulb off.
Use the pliers to clamp on the bulb’s metal lip.
Carefully turn the pliers counter-clockwise until the bulb comes off the socket. If the bulb won’t budge, rotate the pliers in opposite directions, which loosens the socket’s connection.
Sweep the floor to get rid off fallen shards.
Using the needle-nosed pliers is a common technique for removing broken light bulbs. Effective as it is, it has one obvious limitation - it will have trouble handling bulbs with buried metal lips. You must turn to a pretty unconventional technique to do the job.
Using a Potato
The potato comes as an even better solution than needle-nosed pliers. The root crop’s soft inside surface can latch on to the broken side of the bulb, keeping the frame intact. You can then remove the broken bulb as if it were a fixed one.
Procedure:
Switch the power off.
Grab a fairly large potato and cut it in half.
Stick the flat side of a potato half onto the broken bulb’s sharp edges.
Once the potato is firmly affixed, turn the bulb counter-clockwise until the bulb comes off the socket.
Sweep the floor to get rid off fallen shards.
Aside from the potato, you can also use other items that are solid but can be attached to the shattered bulb’s jagged edges. The logic is to hold the remaining pieces of the bulb together, so you can easily twist it off the socket.