Okay, there must be a simple answer but apparently I am lame in this regard.
The bulb to my bathroom ceiling light broke off in the socket while I was trying to remove it. I can’t grip the 1/16th of the bulb by hand and am worried about using tools since I can’t completely remove electricity to the source. Is it safe to grab it with pliers after simply flipping the switch? Any other advice for how I should go about changing this?
Thanks
zber
It’s safe if the light is wired correctly. But why not turn off the electricity at the circuit breaker just to be safe?
I’ve heard that you can stick a potato onto the base of a broken lightbulb, and then use it to twist out the bulb base.
I’ve never tried it, though.
Ah, sorry about not fully explaining the thickness of the plot.
It is dark here and killing the circuit breaker means doing this by candlelight (our place is wired such that flicking the circuit kills everything upstairs).
I believe the light is wired correctly but I wouldn’t like to find out differently by jolting myself off a chair.
Cool about the potato. Um, wait, if I remember 8th grade science, that would conduct electricity.
Looks like I’m flicking the breaker.
z
ummm not to be silly but can it wait until morning when it’s light out? 
Use insulated pliers.
A wooden broom stick fits snugly in the bulb’s base. Push and twist. Much safer than a potato.
DO NOT RISK IT!
Insulated pliers might hold off the current, but a big chance.
Kill the circuit, use the potato, then reset your digital clocks
Dont you need 3 lawyers or 3 dumb blondes or something else like that to change a lightbulb?
Remove the breaker; get a candle or one of those futuristc “flashlights” 
With an insulated plier grab the metal edge of the bulb and unscrew it. I´m not sure if poking a broomstick in the soket will damage it.
My experience is that a stub of a carrot works a lot better than pliers. Pliers tend to chew up the base of the lightbulb, whereas the carrot grips it evenly all around.
if you ever manage to get the damn thing out rub a small amount of vaseline on the threads of the new bulb before screwing it in. this make them much easier to unscrew.
also no ceiling fixture should have a bulb higher then 60 watts. to much heat will destroy the fixture or worse. this is one reason many bulbs break off.
I always just grab the edge of what’s left of the bulb with a pair of insulated needle nose pliars and twist the dumb thing out. But hey, if all of you want to play with vegetables I’m not going to stop you
I tried it once and ended up with shredded potato
and the light bulb still stuck. Then that was in an oven
so there may have been more resistance to unscrewing
than normal. Maybe crudded on or something.
Replace the potato with a tennis ball or any other smallish, semi-soft ball.
On my screen, this thread follows the one about getting a light bulb out of your mouth.
I very much doubt that either of those will be bright enough.
Getting it out of your mouth is easy - just get someone to mash a broomstick into your face.
I use insulated flat pliers for broken lightbulbs. Don’t know about the vaseline advice - might be a receipe for getting a burnt dirty layer which hinders removing the bulb next time. Better shut off electricity, work at candlelight, check for no voltage to ground at both terminals, and give the replacement bulb a good wipe with a clean cloth to remove skin oils.
Pardon the hijack, but I suspect that Vaseline would not withstand the heat very well. I wonder if there is some kind of automobile grease that would work better. There always seems to be one or two fixtures that are prone to sticking, and I’d like a way to deal with them.