Basic Electrical Help Needed

[wolf63]

I have a two way electric switch in my kitchen and the bulb has blown. It is a pretty high ceiling and will mean me having to get the step-ladder out. I prefer to stay on solid ground and I am terrified of using the ladder.

I don't want to switch all the electric off but am not too keen on electrocuting myself. How will I know if the light is switched off? At a guess it will be when the switches are in the same position. But ..............

[jennyjoan]

Wolf - I would call in one your neighbours - if you dont know anything re electrical you would need to leave alone.

Dont try this but I do - when my bulbs blow out - i carefully remove the faulty one and insert the correct one - when the correct one hits the light it will light up for seconds - you could always get down and turn off at switch but I have gone ahead and screwed in the bulb - have been doing so for years and I am still here.

[-Talbot-]

How on earth do you think you can electrocute yourself changing a bulb?

[Mamyalynne]

If you are worried about it suddenly lighting up as you replace it, wrap a soft cloth round the bulb as you fit it in the holder.

[The Builder]

To answer your question, Wolfie... there is no reliable way of knowing whether the switched live is actually "on" from the position of the switches.

It will depend entirely on which way around they are wired. If you're worried, then do switch off at the board.

[wolf63]

Thanks ladies, Talbot - are you saying I was given duff info?

And when I built my bed with screws and a big hammer - was that the wrong way to do it?

[Mamyalynne]

Nice one Wolfie , you sound like me.

[Ellipsis]

As others have indicated but just to be completely clear: you won't electrocute yourself changing a bulb, even if the light is "on" when you insert it. Mamya's advice of using a soft cloth is good - a tea towel will do.

The only way you could electrocute yourself is to stick your finger, rather than the bulb, into the live bulb socket. Or do the job with soaking wet hands.

[-Talbot-]

You have definitely been told something odd, Wolfy. Do as mamya says and hold the bulb with a tea towel or something (if you are worried about the bulb lighting up as you screw it in)

[-Talbot-]

If Wolfy is holding a bulb she can't stick her fingers in the socket, Ellipsis.
I'm more worried about her climbing the ladder than getting electrocuted.

[wolf63]

It's done.

I am overweight and the ladder was old when I inherited it many years ago. I hate heights and stairs.

The circling lion pride at the base of the ladder was worrying, do felines sense impending doom?

Thanks to all of you - my brother sighs a lot when I ask him DIY questions.

[Dodger666]

There is no way of knowing, by looking at the switches, to know if a two way switched light is off. It all depends how the lights have been switched over time. The toggles could be up or down on either switch and the live feed to the light could be on or off.

If you want to be certain pull the fuse, or switch off the breaker, that feeds the kitchen lighting. It may be part of the ground floor circuit, assuming you are in a house.

[Clanad]

If you're query comes down to removing a "spent" light bulb (as opposed to one that has actually "blown out" where the bulb is broken, probably at the base with part of the bulb remaining in the socket, then here's a handy piece of advice: Here in the U.S. (and, I suspect the U.K.) a gray, sticky tape can be purchased at any DIY store. It's usually called Duck Tape, but it was invented to seal the small gaps in forced air cooling/heating duct work… hence the actual name of the product is Duct tape. It's very sticky and made of a cloth like material. One can easel rip off about a foot of the tape from the roll and, while keeping the sticky side outward simply wad it up lightly into a ball about 3 to 4 inches in diameter. Then press this ball onto the stick end of your broom or mop (you do have one, don't you?). You should easily be able to reach the spent bulb and press the tape end onto the bulb and while holding mild upward pressure on the broom turn the bulb out of it's socket. To replace with a new one simply remove the spent bulb from the broom and replace with the new one. I've found that when replacing the new one, a small "back and forth" movement of the broom handle will help seat the new one to screw it in. If it has much resistance don't force it but turn back out and start over.

By the way, even if one can reach the bulb from a ladder or such, the tape wad then can be held by hand. It works especially well on warm bulbs that have just "blown out"...