Is a wonky light switch dangerous?

If you exposed wires or something there’s always the risk of getting an electrical shock… If you happen to be wet or standing in a puddle or something that could be a real health issue…

My two cents :)

Anything electrical needs immediate attention. The switch needs replaced, not repaired.

Welcome to Fluther

Better safe than sorry. It shouldnt be too hard to replace the switch. You may not even have to do that all that. Turn the power off to the bathroom at the breaker and then go open the switch up. Check if the wires are properly connected. It may end up being something as easy as tightening a few screws.

@DrBill What do you mean welcome to Fluther? This question is from Coloma….

Thanks you guys, yes, I’ll have it looked at. I don’t want sparks in my walls.

@DrBill Why Thank You! lol

I agree: you don’t fool around with something electrical. We don’t want you getting zapped.

Is the switch lever/button itself loose, or is the switch body not tightly mounted in the wall?

in a word:

Git-er-done

FIX IT NOW! You could have an electrical fire start in the socket behind the plate or in the wall. You could shock yourself or the next unsuspecting person. Sounds to me like the wires behind the plate have come undone. It’s not hard to fix. Turn off the power to that room (or, if you are like me, I turn off the power to the entire HOUSE .. lol) and use a flashlight and friend – and replace the thing. If you fear doing this, hire an electrical contractor or… in my case, I had my brother do it, he’s a roofer but he knows his stuff .. and not only did he fix it, he put in a dial that allows me to adjust the lighting from dim to bright! DO NOT PUT THIS OFF! IT CAN HURT YOU BADLY, VIA FIRE OR SHOCK. Best of luck!

I’ll git er done. Thanks guys!
@Brian1946 The plate is fine, not loose and the second switch on the plate is fine just the cockeyed one side.

The danger is that the switch isn’t making good contact. If it isn’t, then making contact causes a great deal of heat, which can lead to a fire.
Glad you are taking care of it, but I had to get my 2 cents in.

The soonest I can get it looked at is early next week. Should I tape it down in the “off” position with some duct tape? Will immobilizing the switch in the “off” position make it more stable?

Anything – no exceptions – of an electrical nature that needs fidgeting with to get the desired results needs immediate attention. Leaving it to fate is a sure way to leave it to the emergency services when a)a fire starts, b) you get injured or even electrocuted, or worse all of the above. Get it seen to, and get it fixed before you are sorry you didn’t get it fixed earlier. Especially with light fittings.

@lightsourcetrickster Welcome to fluther! Thank you for your response. Can you advise on my last posting above? Is it safer to tape down the switch while waiting on the repair guy?

With light fittings – or rather more specifically – light switches I have two rules where taping is concerned. If the light switch plate (that is to say, the square bit that the switch is usually in the middle of) is loose, then taping that is not a problem. If it’s the switch itself, LEAVE IT.
No good can come of either taping an already damaged light switch to a fixed position, when you’ll only probably go back to switch it ‘back’ to a different position anyway, or just leaving it to fiddle around with it to switch the light on or off at a later point. You are in a catch 22 and 44.
Just be very careful how you go about using that light switch. I would personally attempt to find an alternative safe means of lighting the bathroom when the need arises to use the bathroom again – instead of using what sounds like a very badly damaged light switch fitting.

@lightsourcetrickster Got’cha. I have another lighting switch for a different set of lights, I will only be using that one, putting my make up on in dim light, should be an adventure. lol

All fixed, switch was replaced and I live to flip it another day. lol :-)

Great! No more awkward makeup moments for you then!

@lightsourcetrickster haha…yes, my face will be ready to greet the world. lol

As if there was something wrong with your face already? Well I never.