General Chat

Some of you ladies out there might have been,or are theatre nurses, there are certain garments you are advised not to wear..........because of static buildup, and Ether fumes and static elektrickery mix very well, in fact they go off with a bang...........( dont know if they still use Ether)........

Just found this thread and it has made me feel a lot better. I tend to get shocks from most of the things that have been mentioned on here, from car doors (ours always has my handprint on the glass!) to cling film, and its nice to know that I'm not the only one. Maggy

Anne hope some part of this will help a little One of the biggest complaints that people have about static electricity is that it causes sparks or gives them mild shocks when they touch things or even other people. Most people experience this problem in the winter, but there are others who are are constantly getting shocks and are actually plagued by the problem. The way to reduce the problem of excess static electricity is to try to get more humidity in the air, change the materials or modify their surface, and ground yourself before touching things, whenever possible Increase humidity Static electricity is more active when the air and materials are dry. The humidity is normally lower in the winter, and heating the house further reduces the humidity. Also, in locations with a desert climate usually have very low relative humidity. One thing you can do is to use a humidifier to raise the humidity in the house. That may help a little. Change materials When certain materials rub together, they build up static electricity. Items that commonly rub together to cause static electricity are: Clothes rubbing on your skin Pajamas rubbing on your skin and the sheets in the bed Clothes rubbing on furniture and car seats The soles of your shoes rubbing against the rug or floor Moisturize skin Some people have very dry skin that may cause the buildup of static charges, especially in the winter. One thing to try is to use moisturizers or lotions on your skin. The only problem with that, of course, is that you might have to put it all over your body. You can experiment with different types of moisturizers and in different locations. Perhaps just putting lotion on you hands may be sufficient, since shocks and sparks usually come from touching objects with your hands. Clothes Some clothing materials cause more static electricity than others. This can be seen by objects that cling together when you take them out of the clothes dryer. When you slide out of a car or off furniture in the house, you can create static electricity if the combination of materials is right. Try putting a cover on the seat, change the materials or your clothes, or perhaps spray things with an anti-static spray, such as is used to prevent static cling. I'm not sure how long the anti-static spray lasts or if continued use can discolor things. Pajamas If your pajamas and bed sheets are the type of materials that create static electricity when rubbed together, you can be bothered with shocks all night long on a dry winter night. If you have dry skin, the problem can be amplified. Try using pajamas and/or sheets made of different materials. Cotton does not seem to develop as much static electricity as some artificial fibers Soles of shoes People get shocks from walking on the rug in the house, jumping on a trampoline, or playing basketball in the gym. Certain synthetic rubber soles on shoes create a lot of static electricity. Experiment with different shoes. The reason you build up static electricity usually comes from walking on a rug with certain types of shoes, when the weather is very dry. Static electricity is more common in the winter, because the air is often dry. On a day that you get a lot of sparks, you can experiment walking on the rug with different shoes to see what type of soles create the most (or least) static electricity. Unless you can change the type of shoes you wear (or not wear shoes at all), it is difficult to stop the problems of sparks. The only other solution is to anticipate the sparks. You can touch some non-conducting material, such as a wooden door, before you touch something metal. This will allow some of the electrical charges to leave your body. Ground yourself Another idea is to use a metal object like a key and touch other metal things first with key. This will cause the spark to fly from the key and not your finger. That is much more comfortable. You can also use a ring or even a thimble to move the shock from your finger to the metal object. One more thing to do is to try to ground yourself before touching another person or something metal. You can touch a wall or wooden table or something. Another way is to use a ring or a key and touch something metal. Let the spark fly that way instead of off your finger. Static electricity nuisance Static electricity can be a nuisance in your everyday life. Clothes cling together, sparks fly and you get shocks. All sorts of things happen. You can easily control or prevent problems with static electricity. Let's look at how you can control static electricity. Static cling When you take out clothes from the dryer, they often cling together. Also, on dry days some clothes will get an electric charge and cling to your body. There are solutions can you spray on your clothes to prevent them from holding the electrical charge on their surface. There are also sheets of the material you can put in your dryer that will put a thin coating on your clothes, preventing the collection of electrons or charged atoms on the surface. Paul

Static is a good weather guide too - when its bad it usually means frost, at least.... or snow. My static has been very bad over 2 weeks - and we have had snow most days. Its easing off now so maybe spring is coming back - again. lol

Peter how do you explain the shocks I get at work then anti static soles on boots and on a concrete floor Paul

Yes big time LOL when I get in my husbands car when I am hoovering even taking of my Jacket it drives me nuts my hubby laughs at me because I open doors with my hand up my T-shirt so of course I am really charged up then LOL. Debs.

Bill I use public transport! Anne

But Bill I do not drive!! Anne

Ronald I like your theory! Anne

Bill Nice theory but.... I am not a driver!!! Anne

Paul most of the shelves in Tesco are plastic! I took off my leather gloves after about 10 minutes (remember these shocks are painful!!!!) i proceeded to touch the plastic shelves every 20 seconds (timed it myself) and got no reaction! The check out was VERY PAINFUL!!!! Anne

My mum shocks me and my nephew every time she touches us. I think she should be fitted with an earth wire!

Anne obviously not lol rubber gloves probably would tho but then again you would look odd shopping in marigolds lol Paul

I'm always gettung shocks from the car. I always close the door with my elbow, or on the glass. My husband never seem to get one! The worst shock I had was from the metal shelving the library uses to store the GRO index fiche!! The crack was so loud several people turned to look at me. Ouch! Anne

Thanks Bob. Do you have any problems with static? Anne

Paul did my leather gloves not stop the build up? Anne

Anne thats because you let it build up too much you have to discharge more often thats why I said every few seconds and onto metal Paul

Paul - Went to Tesco - sorry but as habit has it I kept my gloves on! 10 mins into my shop I thought 'must try it'. Touched shelves as I went round - no pain at all!! I got to the check outs and suddenly the trolley came alive and stung me!'!!!! VERY PAINFUL!!!! Static Anne

Anne Me and my eldest daughter are full of the stuff. Partner and youngest daughter don't suffer at all. do you have velour type seats in your car? I blame this for a lot of my shocks. When I was younger I also used to 'blow up' various electrical appliances on a regular basis. It's mainly light bulbs these days! lol Jeanette x

I got shock this morning of a baking tin usually it is the lift buttons that get me