Safely Remove a Broken Light Bulb From the Socket

A broken light bulb doesn’t just leave you in the dark. Shattered glass and exposed electrical connections are a hazard, especially when you’re trying to get the lightbulb base out of the socket. How do you get it out, anyway? You can’t just grab it with your hand because there’s nothing left to grab.

As an electrician, I’ve dealt with tons of broken lights, and the worst ones are outside, where water or dampness caused the lightbulb and the lamp socket to fuse or rust due to corrosion. That’s why the National Electrical Code (NEC) requires outdoor lights to be approved for wet or damp locations, depending on the exposure level.

Got a stuck light bulb? Ahead, we have multiple proven methods to help.

Turn Off the Power

Before trying any of the methods below, turn off the light’s power. Find the circuit breaker for the light, shut it off, and confirm there’s no power to the bulb base with a non-contact voltage detector. To use the tester, first verify it works by holding it to a known live circuit. Test inside the bulb base. If it beeps or lights up, try another breaker.

Once you’re certain the circuit is off, test the voltage tester again on the same live circuit as before to verify that it didn’t malfunction.

Wear Safety Gear

Glass shards from a broken lightbulb will slice right through traditional work gloves, so pull on some heavy-duty leather (or cut-resistant) ones. Safety glasses are a must, too, especially if the bulb is really stuck or you’re working on a light above your head. You never know when glass or a piece of metal might go flying.

How To Remove a Broken Light Bulb

Ready to get that broken bulb out? After you’ve turned off the power (seriously, as an electrician I can’t stress that enough!), put on gloves and carefully remove the glass shards around the base. Then, check out these fool-proof methods for removing a broken bulb.

Needle-nose pliers

This is my go-to because when it works, it’s by far the quickest and easiest way to remove a broken light bulb that’s stuck in the screw shell. There are a few ways to do it. If you still have the filament sticking up, grab the filament base with the pliers and turn counterclockwise. If the filament breaks off or the base doesn’t budge, grip the outer shell with the pliers and try again.

Finally, if that doesn’t work, stick the pliers inside the base and open them as wide as you can. This will put pressure on the metal screw shell. Keep up the pressure and turn the pliers. For better gripping strength, wrap the jaws with a few turns of electrical tape to get more traction when you turn.

Epoxy putty

Epoxy putty is a two-part, moldable putty that hardens into a solid when activated in your hands. It comes in a tube, and contains a resin and a hardener. Both components start out soft and pliable, like clay, but when you combine the two, they react to form a rock-hard compound that’s primarily used for repairing gaps and cracks, but you can use it to remove a broken lightbulb.

Put on gloves, then pull off a chunk of putty and start kneading the two components together in your hands. Often, the resin and hardener are two different colors, making it easy to see when the epoxy is fully combined and ready to use. Roll it into a ball and stuff it into the screw shell, filling the entire hole with a little bit sticking out the top.

Allow the putty to dry for the amount of time recommended in the directions, but before it dries all the way, take a flat screwdriver and make an indentation in the top. When the putty hardens, you’ll use this slot to insert the screwdriver and turn the bulb. Finish the drying process, insert the screwdriver, and unscrew the bulb.

Hot-glue gun

If you’re a crafter, you probably have a hot glue gun in the house, and you can use it to remove a broken light bulb. Grab a dowel or stick that will fit inside the screw shell, about a half-inch to an inch or so around. Blob some hot glue on the end, and stick it in the light bulb base. Fill the void with more glue, then allow it to cool and harden.

When the stick is nice and stuck, in about five or ten minutes, turn the stick and unscrew the bulb.

Light bulb extractor

This handy little device costs about ten bucks at a hardware store or online. Broken bulb extractors have a rubber tip that grips the inside of the base, allowing you to turn and free the broken bulb. Just stick it over the filament and give it a twist. The extractor has two different tips, so you can free small and regular-sized bulbs, and it has a threaded base for adding a telescoping pole for lights that are up on the ceiling.

Potato

You say potato, I say you can use a potato to unscrew a stuck lightbulb. Yes, really. This would not be my go-to since it will get potato all over your light, and other methods are better, but it can work in a pinch. The idea is simple: cut a potato in half and impale it on the filament and metal housing. Use the potato as a handle, and unscrew the bulb base. If you have nothing but the outer shell left, try whittling the potato down as you see in the picture, then jamming it into the light bulb base instead.

If you don’t have a potato, try a bar of soap.

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