Plug In Compact Fluorescent Light (CFL) Bulb Removal

This video is how I removed my plug in cfl bulbs. I am not an electrician but a homeowner who encountered the difficulty in removing these bulbs without much resource on the internet on what to do. I hope that I am able to help someone out that encountered the same problem that I had. Just remember not to twist. Enjoy the video and thumbs up if it was useful to you.

[sdees]

These are THE WORST to try to take out! Wearing gloves and taping the bulb is a MUST! Be aware that the bulb housing WILL come apart when removing. Thanks to tons of determination, patience, and this simple video I was finally able to remove these pieces of s***s!

[fari]

The world needs people like you by giving us tutorials like this. THANK YOU

[td-kx]

This is exactly the video I was looking for! Thank you so much for taking the time to do it because I hate these damned lightbulbs. They are so difficult to take out that I have actually damaged the socket taking them out. You would think in this day and age we could do a better job in the design department. Your video helped me immensely, Thank you very much!

[reginarichardson]

Great video. For those of us still having problems, follow this video by wrapping the light bulb in tape, AND THEN, put some string between and around the top of socket and bulb, PULL STRING separating bulb from socket. The tape will stop bulb from shattering.

[susansanford]

Thank you so much! Saved again by the internet! The most helpful part was the suggestion to tape the old light bulb--we had already broken one bulb, and felt like we were handling broken glass. Taped bulb and rubber gloves (and a better understanding of what we were doing) did the trick!!

[stebensonvice]

Really helpful advice!!! Kids don’t be afraid just yank the thing off when you’re talking it out.

[chonaV]

Thank goodness for your video. One of my kitchen lights went out, and I need to replace it. First time to replace it. I went and twisted it like you would a regular bulb. Wrong, LOL. I ended up breaking one of its 3 bulbs or whatever you call those. I don't want to mess with it anymore so I just left it there for now and started looking for videos here in YouTube, and there is not a whole lot, but I'm glad I found yours. I'll go to Home Depot tomorrow to buy a new CFL bulb and a glove. Will also wrap tape around it when pulling it out. I prefer the traditional twisty ones, but oh well. Thanks again :-)

[thisplaceisazoo]

I wouldn't be so hard to figure out how to do this if the bulb would just actually come out when you pull on it, like most things. When it doesn't come out it makes you think it's not supposed to and your doing it wrong. Things break when you force them so usually that is not the correct way to do it, but in this case it is. Thanks for the video!

[limendime]

Thanks for the wiggle in line with the clips tip. That's what finally got it out for me.

[michaelanderson]

Thanks for the video. Wrapping the bulb in tape is a great idea. Gave me the added confidence to pull a bit harder on the base, after breaking the first two I removed! The third was much easier, wrapped in tape!

[bricago]

Thanks for posting this. In my fixture pressing the two metal tabs allows you to slide the socket up and down. I didn’t need to hold them in to remove the bulb. I slid the socket down, then gripped the lamp by the base and wiggled it back and forth until it came out.

[lindsayt]

Thank you SO MUCH for uploading this! I was having the worst time trying to figure out how to get one of our kitchen bulbs out, and it was nearly impossible to find information on it. Looks like you have the same fixtures we do, haha. Your masking tape trick is great! I managed to get mine out without mangling the bulb as well, but it was great to have the extra security measure in place.

[SriniVasan-hvcq]

Great post. I simply used a plastic bag wrapped around the bulb and removed it.

[imransharif]

Thanks a lot, really helpful video, I was just gave up after tried several times but when I search in YouTube and saw ur video, rite after I went and tried and yes it works . Thanks again.

[stampscapes]

These bulb replacements were driving me nuts. Broken bulbs, knuckles getting sore, etc. It finally drove me nuts and I just grabbed firmly to the glass and gave a quick firm tug instead of trying to finesse them out and they came right out in a second almost without effort. When I was trying to finesse them out, it felt like they were almost locked in place. A lot of cursing going on in my head but try just giving them a decent tug. No rocking back and forth.

[danny_from_cali]

Very helpful, thank you. I broke a few of these bulbs taking them out. After watching your video, it popped out with relative ease.

[Auburnalumable]

Thank you....I looked for an explanation like this for 2 hours and luckily landed on yours.

[Daedalus-]

Awesome video - This helped so much! (What a horrible socket design)

[MaxArnoldTelevision]

Thank you so much. Lord knows my apartment complex won’t replace my bulbs

[carlom.]

Thanks a lot!!! The tape trick is definitely helpful as I actually broke one of the the bulbs while pulling it out - with no success. Glad I found this video.