There are many projects around the house that you can do on your own. Even some that involve electricity or plumbing. The priority is to make sure you are doing these projects safely.
Some electrical project seem like they are safe enough to do on your own. For instance, change the switch covers of your light switches.
Say your little one wants a superhero light switch cover for his room. Buying a new one and replacing the old one with it is not that difficult.
Changing a lightbulb is also a very simple electrical project. But, what happens when the simple project gets complicated? What happens when a seemingly safe electrical project throws a wrench in the situation and is not as simple as it was first perceived to be?
One of these complications is changing a lightbulb that has broken. In other words, the glass part of the light bulb – that you would normally grab ahold of and twist – has broken and, you still need to get the metal part that is screwed into the fixture … out.
This is suddenly not a simple DIY electrical project and must be done with great care. Here are the steps to follow:
- For goodness sake DO NOT use a potato or any other kind of vegetable to take the light bulb out. This tip started circulating the internet and is not something that we recommend.
- The first steps is to go to your breaker box for your home and turn the power off to that lighting fixture. If it is a lamp or another type of portable electrical appliance, make sure it is unplugged and turned off.
- Next, put on heavy leather gloves to protect your hands from the broken glass and sharp edges. If you can grab ahold of the base, using your protected fingers inside the gloves, all the better and quicker for you.
- If the metal base starts to tear, that is fine, because eventually it will tear and peel enough that it will come right out of the socket.
If this process doesn’t work, you may need to contact an electrician to discuss having the socket replaced. This is very rare but, it could happen. Make sure that the electrician that you are calling is licensed and insured with a solid reputation for good customer service and experience.