When Should You Call an Electrician over a Blown Light Bulb

One minute you’re in your kitchen cooking dinner and the next your standing in darkness. The bulb in your overhead light popped and blew out leaving you unable to see your boiling pasta. There are two options to solve your problem. Your first option is to retrieve one of your existing stock of light bulbs, replace the blown one, and hope it doesn’t happen again. Your second choice is to attempt to discover the reason behind the blown light bulb, which could be one of several reasons. Some of these are more serious than others. In this post, we will discuss both the relatively innocent reasons for a blown lightbulb all the way to those situations requiring you to call an electrician.

Non-Serious Reasons for a Blown Lightbulb

How serious is your problem? The sound of a “popping” light bulb is startling in comparison to a light bulb that “fizzles” out. However, the problem may not be as severe as it sounds. For instance, one of the reasons that a light bulb might blow out is due to the quality of the bulb. On the other hand, it may have nothing to do with the bulb at all. For example, a wire in your lamp could have disconnected, or it could have a faulty spring-loaded connector.

As you can tell, there are several of the reasons for a blown light bulb, and most of them do not require you to call an electrician. The most frequent cause of a blown light bulb lies in the quality of the bulb. Many light bulbs sold in the United States come from a thinner material than their older counterparts. As a result, the bulbs can blow. There is no need for an electrician in this case. To solve this problem, try investing in sturdier bulbs. Yes, they may cost more, but they also last longer. In the long run, it costs less, as the higher-quality bulb will last longer.

One additional note of concern regarding a blown lightbulb is that if the entire bulb breaks when it blows, the glass can become a hazard from being stepped on or cutting hands and fingers. Another incidence of concern is if the filament would happen to land on paper or cloth, it could accidentally catch the material on fire.

When Should You Call an Electrician

Now that we’ve discussed several of the reasons that you don’t need to call an electrician for a blown lightbulb, we’ll go over the instances in which you should make that call. The following situations will are serious and should result in a call to an electrician-old wiring, overheated switches, and inadequate fuses. We will discuss each in more detail below.

Old Wiring

If your wiring is old and your lightbulbs keep blowing, call an electrician. Your home is older, and your wiring is not up to standards. You need an electrician to make sure that you don’t have a more serious problem. Especially if you have switched to a LED light and you are still having issues with blown lightbulbs.

Overheated Switches

When else should you call an electrician? In cases where your light switches are overheating is when you should call an electrician. An electrician will be able to diagnose your problem and determine why the switch is overheating. There could be a wire that is loose inside your light switch or some other issue.

Overcurrent or Inadequate Fuses

If your fuses are old or are not supporting your amp load, is another time when you should call an electrician to help replace or upgrade your electrical fuses. With an old house, you might need a new breaker box. An electrician will help you diagnose the problem and help make the necessary changes.

Contact The Electrical Pros Now

Yes, you can replace your blown lightbulb and get by for a few days. However, you might want expert advice before you make matters worse. An experienced electrician can guide you through the process of diagnosing the reason behind your blown lightbulb and help you fix your problem. To speak to an electrician contact The Electric Pros today. We are an experienced industry leader. To get started with a The Electric Pros, check us out online or call us at (844) 249-4733.