# Unscrewing a stuck light bulb **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 31, 2013, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unscrewing-a-stuck-light-bulb/665029 "2013-07-31T22:39:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2013, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unscrewing-a-stuck-light-bulb/665029/1 "2013-07-31T22:39:57Z")
My front outside light has burned out. I’ve tried to unscrew it, but it’s really stuck, and I’m afraid of forcing it and causing it to break. To make matters worse, there isn’t a lot of room between the bulb and the enclosure. But even my partner, who has long, thin fingers, can’t get it out. I suppose I can epoxy a handle onto to it, but I’d rather have a better solution. ---
**Author:** ![moriah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b2d939/32.png) [@moriah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moriah)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2013, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unscrewing-a-stuck-light-bulb/665029/2 "2013-07-31T22:58:34Z")
[Potato](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0QjfD0LVH8) or [needle nose plier](https://www.google.com/search?q=needle+nose+pliers&client=firefox-a&hs=fBM&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=jJb5UcX-I5Tb4APLl4DABQ&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAQ&biw=1089&bih=727). Power off! ---
**Author:** ![seal\_cleaner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@seal\_cleaner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seal_cleaner)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2013, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unscrewing-a-stuck-light-bulb/665029/3 "2013-07-31T22:59:42Z")
nm ---
**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2013, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unscrewing-a-stuck-light-bulb/665029/4 "2013-07-31T23:02:11Z")
That’s for broken bulbs. This one is just stuck. I would suggest deliberately breaking it and then using pliers to bend the base away from the socket and just kind of wiggle/unscrew it out of there. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2013, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unscrewing-a-stuck-light-bulb/665029/5 "2013-07-31T23:10:38Z")
Wrap it in a folded towel and use as much force as you like until it comes loose or breaks. Then use the needlenose pliers, carrot, potato, whatever to get the base out. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2013, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unscrewing-a-stuck-light-bulb/665029/6 "2013-07-31T23:11:38Z")
make sure the power is off to the circuit. don’t use your partner to test this. it is too easy to accidentally have a nearby switch turn on. yeah put a bag around the bulb. smash it with the side if a pliers. use needle nose pliers to grab an edge of the metal base and bend to have a further grab point with the pliers. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2013, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unscrewing-a-stuck-light-bulb/665029/7 "2013-07-31T23:11:56Z")
I’ve also heard of, and once tried (unsuccessfully, it turned out) using a carrot. In the case I had, it seemed like the bulb base was utterly welded into the socket. I and a neighbor (more experienced in home maintenance) ended up totally mangling the fixture, and never did get it out. If it won’t come out, force it. If you mangle the whole fixture, it needed replacing anyway. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2013, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unscrewing-a-stuck-light-bulb/665029/8 "2013-07-31T23:41:49Z")
Nuke it from orbit. It’s the only way to be sure. ---
**Author:** ![Blakeyrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecd19e/32.png) [@Blakeyrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blakeyrat)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2013, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unscrewing-a-stuck-light-bulb/665029/9 "2013-07-31T23:55:02Z")
I have successfully used the potato method before. Yes, you have to smash the bulb, but personally I find smashing light bulbs pretty fun anyway. Make sure you cut the power at the panel. Oh. And don’t eat the potato afterward. ---
**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2013, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unscrewing-a-stuck-light-bulb/665029/10 "2013-07-31T23:58:56Z")
When I was a kid, bulb sockets were invariably made out of brass. Now they’re all aluminum. Is this what’s causing this problem? This really is a common occurrence, especially with outdoor fixtures. ---
**Author:** ![Bumbershoot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bumbershoot/32/3428_2.png) [@Bumbershoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bumbershoot)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2013, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unscrewing-a-stuck-light-bulb/665029/11 "2013-08-01T00:10:10Z")
I feel compelled to link to a couple of previous threads on the subject: [One old classic](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=353356) and [one more recent](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=674132&highlight=lightbulb). ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2013, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unscrewing-a-stuck-light-bulb/665029/12 "2013-08-01T00:15:48Z")
I started keeping a pair of [work gloves covered with grip](http://www.uline.com/Product/Detail/S-19220/Heat-Resistant-Gloves/Grip-N-Hot-Mill-Gloves?pricode=WU337&gadtype=pla&id=34610123122&gclid=CNncitL72rgCFbDm7Aod5HMASg&gclsrc=aw.ds) in my lightbulb box. Makes it easier to grab both slippery and hot bulbs, and if they break in my hand I’m not too worried. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2013, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unscrewing-a-stuck-light-bulb/665029/13 "2013-08-01T01:31:43Z")
There’s a [tool](http://www.lowes.com/pd_115569-1373-LBC-600SDLBD_0__?productId=1005185) for this. Grips the bulb like [so](http://www.homedepot.ca/wcsstore/HomeDepotCanada/images/catalog/12268.LBC-100_4.jpg). I wouldn’t be anxious to break the bulb if I didn’t have to. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2013, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unscrewing-a-stuck-light-bulb/665029/14 "2013-08-01T02:05:21Z")
Thanks for the suggestions, guys. What’s making it more difficult is that the fixture is virtually welded to the house, which is brick. Plus, it’s pointing down, so I have to reach up into it from the bottom. Yes, I may just break it and use a potato. I’ve already tried work gloves, but there’s only a fraction of an inch between the bulb and the fixture. That’s why my big fat fingers don’t fit in there, but my partner’s do. So . . . time to buy a potato. (I don’t have one lying around, since I stopped eating white carbs.) And I will NOT forget to cut the power. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2013, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unscrewing-a-stuck-light-bulb/665029/15 "2013-08-01T02:23:51Z")
This house was built in the '30s, and my family moved in in 1958. The previous owner was a “handyman,” and you wouldn’t believe some of the things he did (like adding some receptacles in some rooms, and wiring them with lamp cord. And not even grounded. And there are switches that serve no purpose whatsoever.) There is a conventional fuse box and two circuit breakers in the basement. I once tried to label the fuses and switches, but gave up making any sense of it. So whenever I do anything electrical, I just turn EVERYTHING off. ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2013, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unscrewing-a-stuck-light-bulb/665029/16 "2013-08-01T02:25:29Z")
When I was 12 the bulb in my bedroom lamp broke and hence there was no bulb to grasp to unscrew it. Well, I knew how to use a pair of pliers so I got them from my dad’s toolbox went to work. And that’s the day I learned how electricity can knock a person across the room. ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2013, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unscrewing-a-stuck-light-bulb/665029/17 "2013-08-01T02:37:22Z")
one other trick from my days working an amusement parks. The ass end of a broom handle/wooden dowel. We often had to remove and replace broken bulbs while they were part of an energized circuit. Break out remander of glass, shove wooden dowel/broom handle into leftover bulb base, and twist. ---
**Author:** ![Gbro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Gbro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gbro)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2013, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unscrewing-a-stuck-light-bulb/665029/18 "2013-08-01T04:16:32Z")
There are also these tools, [This one](http://www.walmart.com/ip/Unger-Industrial-92133-Broken-Bulb-CHanger-Removes-Broken-Bulbs-Steel-Fork-Glass-Catcher-Eac/21587190) used to remove broken bulb is similar to what we used in the Iron Mines but without the glass catcher. [This one](http://www.wdrake.com/walterdrake/displayitem.aspx?id=306075) And [This one](http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/Lamp-Changer-3V694?Pid=search), is like GaryT’s for removing bulb intact although this one is not very strong it works well for recessed flood lamps. I use one and when putting in the new bulb make sure you aren’t standing on the release cord! For a bulb that is not stuck like the OP is facing, the bulb you are going to put in is also a good removal tool as long as you don’t break it.