# Getting electric/static shocks off....everything!



## Z100 (10 Feb 2007)

There's a similar previous thread on this, except it only relates to getting shocks off cars - but depending on what shoes I'm wearing (I'm not kiddin'!!!) I get static-y shocks off _everything_! I even gave my brother a shock the other day when he was handing me a pen. And when I had to unplug my NTL digi box so shocking was the shock I thought I'd left most of Dublin without electricty.

Does anyone else suffer similar problems?  

If yes: any solutions?

Thanks!


----------



## ClubMan (10 Feb 2007)

*Re: Getting electric/static shocks off....everything!!*

Change your clothes/shoes - that's generally a contributory factor. See here.


----------



## Z100 (10 Feb 2007)

*Re: Getting electric/static shocks off....everything!!*



ClubMan said:


> Change your clothes/shoes - that's generally a contributory factor. See here.


 
Thanks Clubman, interesting stuff. Needless to say my favourite (and most almost-respectable) pair of shoes are the ones that cause most trouble, so I always have to balance the desire to wear them with the fear of being electrocuted  

One line in that Wiki entry stood out: "....a person simply walking across a carpet may build up a charge of many volts, enough to cause a spark a foot long or more. This type of discharge is _*usually*_ harmless.....". 

Usually??!!


----------



## ClubMan (10 Feb 2007)

It's usually harmless to the individual. It is often far from harmless to other things such as electronic devices!


----------



## PM1234 (10 Feb 2007)

Some ways to reduce it in this [broken link removed]


----------



## Z100 (10 Feb 2007)

PM1234 said:


> Some ways to reduce it in this [broken link removed]


 
Excellent site, thank you, will study in the finest of detail! Love the letter from the husband of a woman who's experiencing the same as myself:

"I must admit to sort of turning a blind eye to it until she brushed past me in the bedroom and *I got a hell of a belt from her....*I suddenly decided to start seeking advice.....".

Well, you would, wouldn't you?


----------



## Superman (11 Feb 2007)

I found static more common on the Continent/U.S. than in Ireland.  This is especially true during winter in these locations.
It would be one of the few advantages of the damp Irish environment.


----------



## ClubMan (12 Feb 2007)

I think low humidity can also contribute to the problem. I had the same problem from time to time in the _US_.


----------



## michaelm (12 Feb 2007)

Bushfire said:


> I get static-y shocks off _everything_!


You are not likely to be getting a shock off anything but rather you are discharging into whatever.  ClubMan's suggestion re clothes/shoes is your likely remedy.


----------



## uncorked (12 Feb 2007)

I have this problem too amd it is mainly at work that I am affected.  I've given my poor colleagues some terrible shocks.  I think it's probably because of the carpet.  A friend of mine gave me an anti static strap (she had it from when she worked on a factory floor) which I wear around my ankle and it goes under the sole of my shoe.  It works a dream for me.  I have no idea where you could get one but maybe somebody else may have some idea.


----------



## ClubMan (12 Feb 2007)

You can get anti-static wristbands/straps in places like _Maplin_. Maybe _Peats _too. Or _eBay_. However it would probably be easier to just change your shoes.


----------



## uncorked (13 Feb 2007)

ClubMan said:


> You can get anti-static wristbands/straps in places like _Maplin_. Maybe _Peats _too. Or _eBay_. However it would probably be easier to just change your shoes.


 
Not neccessarily, I've had this problem for the last seven or eight years and I have changed my shoes a few times in that space of time


----------



## Z100 (13 Feb 2007)

ClubMan said:


> You can get anti-static wristbands/straps in places like _Maplin_. Maybe _Peats _too. Or _eBay_. However it would probably be easier to just change your shoes.


 
Tempted to get one of those wristbands - the ankle band might make me look like I'm out on parole.

Have thought about the shoes and really I'm getting (or giving?) shocks in _all_ of then, it's just some are worse than others. Even got a shock from the kitchen tap last night....and I was in my socks.


----------



## ClubMan (13 Feb 2007)

Bushfire said:


> Tempted to get one of those wristbands - the ankle band might make me look like I'm out on parole.


I think the solution above is to use the wristband as an ankle band thus grounding you as you walk and mitigating the risks of static shocks. Otherwise you would be going around trying to earth your wriststrap every few steps!


> Have thought about the shoes and really I'm getting (or giving?) shocks in _all_ of then, it's just some are worse than others. Even got a shock from the kitchen tap last night....and I was in my socks.


Try wellies?


----------



## Vanilla (13 Feb 2007)

Don't know the tech behind this, but I use the equivalent of 'bounce' sheets in the tumble drier and I find that really helps with static. Also if you are rolling a trolley around the supermarket ( a real villian for static), hold it by the plastic handle but keep one finger on the metal part which will allow continuous discharge and so static can't build up.


----------



## Z100 (13 Feb 2007)

Vanilla said:


> Don't know the tech behind this, but I use the equivalent of 'bounce' sheets in the tumble drier and I find that really helps with static.


 
Have often seen them advertised and never thought to try them, will do. Thanks.



Vanilla said:


> Also if you are rolling a trolley around the supermarket, hold it by the plastic handle but keep one finger on the metal part which will allow continuous discharge and so static can't build up.


 
So that's what I was doing wrong - I was only ever holding the plastic handle, howling my way around the aisles as I kept getting shocks! Will keep one finger on the metal part from now on.



ClubMan said:


> Try wellies?


 
I think I'd rather continue getting shocks than end up looking like Worzel Gummidge  I've got a brand new combine harvester and I'll give you the key.


----------



## ClubMan (13 Feb 2007)

Bushfire said:


> I think I'd rather continue getting shocks than end up looking like Worzel Gummidge


Don't be so prejudiced - they come in [broken link removed] these days.


----------



## uncorked (14 Feb 2007)

Bushfire said:


> Tempted to get one of those wristbands - the ankle band might make me look like I'm out on parole.


 
Unless you wear short trousers  nobody would even notice your wearing it.


----------



## MugsGame (14 Feb 2007)

Bushfire said:


> I think I'd rather continue getting shocks than end up looking like Worzel Gummidge.



By any chance do you work for these Irish entrepreneurs ?



ClubMan said:


> Don't be so prejudiced - they come in [broken link removed] these days.



Good to see the Valentine's present search for ClubWife was a success!


----------



## woods (14 Feb 2007)

The only time that I have this problem is in Dunne's Stores in Bishopstown. I was telling a friend and he told me that his young son will not go in to that shop because he has been so terrified by what happens to him there. He gets a shock whenever he touches anything there. 
I believe that it is caused by their floor covering and they have tried to remedy it but have failed.


----------



## Slaphead (14 Feb 2007)

I get it a lot too, sprinkle or rub a bit of water on my clothes does the trick for me.


----------



## pingpong (14 Feb 2007)

Wear leather soles !!! These conduct the charge without shock while man- made fibres provide insulation so the charge builds up until you touch something conductible and you get a ...big shock. Not always practical for kids shoes - I've never seen a leather soled shoe for kids. 

If happens a lot in dry weather and heated dry atmospheres like dept stores. Dampen a hanky and hold it in your pocket. 

If in a car, lean out and touch the ground or first touch the gatepost (wooden or stone).  I know I feel like I'm the Pope but its better than shock therapy...
Thankfully it doen't happen much in Ireland, I used to live in Denmark where this was a major problem for me.


----------



## Slaphead (8 Apr 2007)

I got one the other day at this place i work in occasionally, i and a few others around me actually saw sparks which none of us had never seed before, actual sparks!
It's worse here in sweden though as insulation is so good it tends to be very dry indoors.


----------



## Niallman (8 Apr 2007)

Drives me nuts at work. Seem to build up lotsa charge off the carpet tiles in the office, then get zapped by the hand rail on the way up the stairs to the canteen!


----------



## Marianne S (9 Apr 2007)

Happens to me all the time too and to those of you who think it's amusing it hurts! I work in a lab and I have to wash my hands a lot during the day so a typical one for me is shocks from the metal taps. Someone suggested to me that i touch the wall befoe i touch the tap and that works fine although the antistatic ankle strap sounds brill


----------



## steelblue (10 Apr 2007)

woods said:


> The only time that I have this problem is in Dunne's Stores in Bishopstown. I was telling a friend and he told me that his young son will not go in to that shop because he has been so terrified by what happens to him there. He gets a shock whenever he touches anything there.
> I believe that it is caused by their floor covering and they have tried to remedy it but have failed.


 
Dunnes in Blanchardstown is the same.


----------



## Z100 (10 Apr 2007)

Someone handed me a pen yesterday and I was zapped when I took it!  

A perfectly normal, run-of-the-mill pen - and no, it wasn't from a joke shop.

You could actually _hear _the zap. It's all very embarrassing, people look at me like I'm something out of Star Trek. (Well..........).


----------

