How to Replace a Reading Lamp Bulb

Light Bulb

A blown reading lamp can be very frustrating, especially if you are in the middle of something at your desk or your workstation. Replacing a bulb in a blown lamp is quite easy once you know how. You can choose from traditional incandescent bulbs or compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs. CFL bulbs, which save about 30 percent in electricity use over their lifetime, are screwed in using the same thread as the incandescent bulbs.

Things You'll Need

• Oven mitt New bulb

Instructions

Changing a Blown Bulb

1. Turn the lamp off. If the bulb has just blown recently, wait for it to cool before touching it. If you must change a warm bulb immediately, protect your hand with a dry cloth or oven mitt.

2. Reach inside of the lamp shade and take hold of the bulb. Turn the bulb in an counter-clockwise direction roughly six or seven times until it comes out of the lamp fixture.

3. Read the wattage of the bulb and determine if you need it to be as bright or brighter than it was. Obtain a replacement bulb. There are two sizes of thread available -- regular and large -- so make sure you acquire the same size as you just removed.

4. Buy a new bulb at any hardware, drug store, garage, department store or corner store. Some people are particular about their brand of bulb, but electric bulbs are generally manufactured in a similar way to a national standard.

5. Place the threaded end of the bulb into the reading lamp socket and screw the bulb in a clockwise direction until it is tight against the contacts inside the lamp socket. Turn the switch to the "on" position and resume what you were doing when the previous bulb blew.

Tips & Warnings

• Use a bulb of similar wattage to the one you are replacing.

• Don't touch a hot bulb.

References

• Reading Lamps

Resources

• Lazlight