Pro Handyman Blog

We have all been faced with burned out light bulbs in tall ceilings. Most of us will use a ladder and climb on up, wondering whether to stand on the top step to reach the bulb (don’t do it). Folks, don’t grab the ladder, grab a pole instead.

Homebuyers love wide open spaces and tall ceilings. Unfortunately, light bulbs and smoke detectors go there too. So here is a little tip if you haven’t already done it. You can buy a small suction cup that screws onto the end of a typical pole handle that will allow you to reach the burned out bulb and replace it. You can use a broom handle or even a specialty painter’s telescoping pole for this, as the threads are the same. The cup will screw right on to the end of the pole. The cup has a string attached to the underside of it so that you can release the cup from the bulb once you have reinstalled the new one. It is a matter of sticking the cup to the bottom of the bulbs and turning the pole to remove it. After you replace the new bulb, just pull the string to remove the cup from the bulb. This works great for larger, flatter flood light bulbs.

There a several different mechanisms that are designed for different bulbs. You can buy a mechanism that expands over the bulbs and removes it. These are for standard incandescent bulbs, and grab the sides of the bulb, rather than just the bottom.