She's electric

[venta]

OK, I've always been prone to generating static electricity. If someone is going to get a shock off a metal thing, it's going to be me.

But over the last couple of months it's been getting a bit silly. My hair is constantly sticking to me/other people/passing objects, I crackle, I get shocks off anything remotely metallic. If I get undressed in the dark I sparkle :)

Which is all quite entertaining in its own way, but I'd like it to stop now. Before I start frying small electronics components. I'm mildly worried every time I pick my laptop up at present.

So, what should I do/not do ? I suspect the fleece I often wear doesn't help, what with it being largely synthetic. I seem to be worst at work, where we have the sort of carpets that don't get on well with rubber-soled shoes, but I'm usually just wandering about in socks. Is it time to break the clogs back out ?

What clothes should I be wearing ? I'd have thought "natural fibres" would be a good start, but wool seems to be something of a mistake.

Is there any truth in the rumour that touching a radiator is a good means of earthing yourself, or was that just some old wives' tale I learnt when I was little ? If not, how do I (practically) earth myself ?

Comments

[cardinalsin.livejournal.com]

I have exactly the same problem. The best solution I've found has been to take my shoes off, but since you've already tried that, I'm stumped.

I wouldn't recommend touching the radiator, unless you want to stand next to it all day. It will indeed earth you, in a most painful manner.

I think its not just the quality of the fibres, but the friction generated by them? In other words, the more the fibres of your clothes rub together, the more charge is going to be generated. How this helps, I'm not sure - perhaps a string vest would be safest :)

[jiggery-pokery.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't recommend touching the radiator, unless you want to stand next to it all day. It will indeed earth you, in a most painful manner.

I am afflicted by static too, but perhaps not quite as badly as you folk. Joining the crowd, I do earth myself on radiators, on average once or twice a day, but I tend to do so using the palm or heel of my hand, on the grounds that when I get a static shock, it tends to come through a finger, which is horrible. I can't recall earthing myself in this way being painful, though I'm not sure whether this is because I've found a non-painful way to do it or because I'm not doing it effectively. (Earthing by choice does beat involuntary earthing, though, on the grounds that you are at least a little prepared for it.)

Much sympathy for Al about his "closing a car door with an elbow" routine; I do similar things myself. In fact, I have stopped sitting in the front passenger seat of our car because I associate it particularly with static shocks. Can there be any logic to suggest one particular seat in a car could be any more charged than the others, or is this just dumb superstition on my part?

So what should us static sufferers be wearing for practicality? I'm looking for very warm clothes which aren't fluffy, which seems like a contradiction in terms if my memory serves me correctly. Should we be wearing ten layers of silk instead?