Why do I keep getting electric shocks ?

[ronan]

In work I keep on getting electric shocks off things that I touch (Door handles, taps, even my headphones!). Now, I do work with computers so I'm guessing there is a lot of electricity and static stuff flying around here. Some people in work say it is my shoes, but it doesn't seem to matter what shoes / trainers I wear, I'm still getting about 10 shocks a day.

Can anybody give me an explenation ?

Thanks.

[Wraith]

It does sound like static electricity, and it sort of depends on your shoes but more on how you walk. If you drag your feet you'll rub off electrons and get a negative charge, and when you touch something else, the current flowing from you to whatever you're touching gives you a mild shock. I don't really know that much about this, maybe someone else knows more?

[casdave]

Your clothes and your carpets can all contribute to this effect.

There are some folk I've met who seem to have a devastating effect on electrical equipment around them, tv's fizzle out, kettles burn out light bulbs go >pop< etc.Even poblems with watches that stop but work fine on me.

I'm not a credulous X-files(even though I lkie the series) fan but all the same it can be a little off putting.

[ronan]

I don't drag my feet, but I deffinitley must be "static man". I think it runs in the family because my sister has had videos and computers mysteriously go faulty on her. It only seems to happen at work, so I think being surrounded by electronic equipment must be a factor. Allthough I have given my girlfriend shocks by kissing her on rare occasions, which allways is worth a laugh .

[CalMeacham]

Isn't it obvious?

The Alien Grays have you in a sort of Skinner box, and are trying to train you away from the computer and its peripheral devices.

You're just a slow learner.

If you'll just stay at your desk and push the lever you'll get the pellets you deserve.

[Mashie]

I have a very similar problem.

I am not around as much electrical equipment as you describe, I have no carpets at work; I get shocked many times a day. It is at the point where I know I must discharge by touching something metal so that I am not surprised by a shock. (sometimes that still hurts).

It definitely has to do with static electricity and your clothes. I'll tell you what I have found.

First of all, it is much much worse in the winter.... presumably because the air inside is dry due to the heater. Maybe a humidifier would be good (but not for electrical equipment).

I work in a lab... after I take off my lab coat, I am supercharged and I dread the next thing I have to touch. Sometimes I take off my lab coat while touching something metal....seems to work. We also have a cold room i.e. a room maintained @ 4 degrees C. If I take my lab coat off in the cold room, I am charge free. I am not certain if this is due to higher humidity or lower temp, I would guess humidity.

[August West]

Mashie is correct that low humidity is definitely a contributing factor. Having a humidifier is sometimes a good thing for electronic equipment. I run a large computer room for a data-processing company and I have 2 large steam humidifiers inside my main air handler to keep the computer room at a constant 40-45% humidity. I really don't want someone discharging a static shock into one of the mainframes.

[ronan]

ChiefWahoo and Mashie, thanks for the replys. Seeing as I live in Ireland, were it is winter 11 months of the bloody year!, I am destened to have Shock for ever, or at least until I get out of this job.

[puddleglum]

I used to work at a computer repair shop. All the technicians had these little clip on things that were designed to keep them from having static electricity build up and discharge into the components. I am not sure what they are called or where to get them but these anti-shock devices do exist.

[Cartooniverse]

Ronan,

You can purchase an Anti-Static Floor Mat, for use under your desk chair. It will effectively discharge static. If I were suffering as extreme an environment as you apparently are, I'd also buy one of their single-thickness sheets, and cover my entire desk with it.

That way, your keyboard and tracball/mouse are protected to a degree as well. Here is Another Manufacturer. I like the idea of a separate keyboard static guard mat. This one definitely ships to Europe.

Good luck !!

Cartooniverse

[hibernicus]

When you get a shock of this kind, the electrical sparks is burning tiny holes in the tips of your fingers. One way to avoid this is to carry a metal object such as a key or a spoon, then when you anticipate a shock (such as when about to touch a door-handle or press the lift button), discharge yourself using the key. The spark will make a tiny hole in the tip of the key instead, which is much less painful for you!

If you sit in a fabric-covered chair at work, rub some fabric conditioner into the seat. Put a rubber or plastic mat on the carpet under your feet.

If you get a shock when closing the car door after driving, you can avoid it like this:
Open the door.
While still seated in the car, grip a metal part of the door.
While still gripping the door, step out of the car.

Hey presto: no spark, no painful shock.

[ronan]

Cartooniverse and hibernicus thanks for the tips.
Hopefully my Shocking days will be over soon.

I've only got 2 today so I'm not doing to bad.

I wonder if all this shocking has any health implications ?
Or maybe it is keeping the old ticker going over ?

[ianzin]

Hibernicus beat me to it! A metal key is the answer. I used to have the same problem, Ronan and it is really annoying. But just carry a spare yale key or something similar around with you all the time, and touch the key to whatever you anticipate is maybe gonna give you a shock. The key takes the hit, and you don't feel a thing. After doing this for a few days, you may find you no longer need it.

[Cartooniverse]

Okay, lemme see if I have this straight. Ianzin's the KeyMaster.
Ronin's the Gatekeeper.
I get to be Zule? AWESOME!!!

Cartooniverse

[Hedda Rosa]

Often, if I don't have a key or other metal object to use, I find I can avoid getting a shock if I touch some wood or other non-conductive substance first, like touching the door first and then the metal handle. In fact I now always touch the door before turning the handle - no matter what material it's made out of. Makes me look like I have OCD or something...

[SSgtBaloo]

You might want to invest in some antistatic spray, as well. I use it on my car seats and traffic zones of the carpet in my home. I suspect it's a fabric softener in aerosol form, but it's easier than "working in" some liquid stuff -- you put what you need where you need it quickly, with a minimum of fuss.

~~Baloo

[Chronos]

It's especially bad where I am in Montana, with the cool, dry, thin air. The problem seems to be not just feet rubbing on carpet, but also pant legs rubbing together. There's a reason why cowboys always walk bowlegged...

[hazel-rah]

Whenever I think I'm about to get shocked, I just hit the object about to shock me with my fist. I do this all the time to the car door now out of habit, hitting it before I close it. What hurts your fingertip does nothing to the edge or your hand.

Sometimes it gets you looks when you do it to doorknobs.

I always feel guilty when I hold out my hand for a cat to OK before I pet it, and it gets a shock on the nose for its trouble. Naturally the "hit it" method can't be applied here. I guess I'll just have to coax them onto the anti-static mat.

-fh

[Patty O'Furniture]

I always suspected the air was a little thin where you live, Chronos.

[justwannano]

Wiping your clothes with a dryer sheet will help also.
The sprap product that we use is called Static Guard.It is made by Alberto Culver and is good for removing ststic from clothing,removing animal hair and lint ,stopping static buildup on carpeting and stopping fly away hair.

[casdave]

I heard, but it could have been just a wind-up, that in some places static can be such a problem that carpets have to be earthed - that is the believable bit - the next bit is - part of the reason is that very large land masses can generate large potential gradients thus the problem is worse in Aussie and the US.

Hmmm would anyone care to demolish or confirm this?

[wayward]

I went on a trip to france once with a bunch of friends
and 2 or 3 of them got shocks from everything - door handles, radiators, water, other people etc etc
As soon as we got back to England, no shocks. Any explanation?

[SSgtBaloo]

Originally posted by Chicken Lover
I went on a trip to france once with a bunch of friends
and 2 or 3 of them got shocks from everything - door handles, radiators, water, other people etc etc
As soon as we got back to England, no shocks. Any explanation?

It should come as no surprise to anyone who's seen an old Sherlock Holmes movie (or any episode of "Top Gear", for that matter*) that there seems to be quite a bit of atmospheric moisture in England. I would suppose that the additional airborne moistness (relative to France, anyhow) would prevent a lot of static build-up.

~~Baloo

*No, seriously! I used to watch Top Gear on BBC Asia when I was stationed in Korea. The only episode where I didn't see them using the winshield wipers or driving around in a light drizzle was the one where they showed how to legally buy a car in the U.S. and bring it back. I don't suppose there are plans to bring TG to BBC America?

[TheLoadedDog]

As a kid in Sydney during the 70s, I used to often see those little anti-static rubber strips hanging from the rear bumper of cars, and touching the road. Now that I think of it, I haven't seen one for years. Have they been discredited? I do know that the booths on tollroads were mounted on rubber bases because the toll collectors had been complaining of shocks received when people who had been driving at high speed for a long time handed them coins.

As a postal worker, I receive shocks like this in two ways (and believe me, postal workers are hard to shock! ). The first is when I am opening nylon airmail bags. I make sure I rest my arm against a nearby metal frame throughout the entire operation. If I forget, and open a few baggies, then 'ZAP!' next time I touch metal. The other time this happens is when I am driving an electric forklift. I have to make sure the forks contact the ground before I get off the machine, otherwise I'm a walking battery. These shocks always occur during July - September, when Sydney is coming out of winter, and the air is cool, dry, and windy. The fact that I'm in an airconditioned, indoor environment doesn't seem to isolate me from the weather factors.

The advice in various posts is all good, but it concentrates on prevention. If you realise you have already built up a charge, and you don't have a key or anything handy, then touch something metal fast and firmly with the palm of your hand. Tapping gingerly with a fingertip is much more painful.

[TheLoadedDog]

D'uh! Mods, I've done gone bumped up a second damn near identical thread onto the front page. I meant to post the above reply here. Could you move it for me please, and I promise I'll crawl back under my rock and not screw up anymore.

[manhattan]

Actually, I can't move posts. Sorry about that. Please feel free to copy it into the other thread.

[Tansu]

We've been getting a spate of static shocks here at work. It's a combination of synthetic carpet, atmospheric conditions and shuffly walking. I don't get any shocks when wearing high heeled shoes, because it's very difficult to shuffle in high heels. So, uh, everyone should wear high heels. Even the boys.

Also, don't earth yourself through your mouse. Your computer won't like it. I think it's OK if you unplug the mouse, and then earth both the socket and the end of the mouse cable.

Last week, there was a craze started by one of my coworkers for laying the blue static smackdown on unsuspecting people. You rub your feet across the floor and build up a nice charge. Then you leap into the air, and while your feet are off the ground you touch the victim's ear with your finger. Hilarity ensues.


Baloo: You're so right about Top Gear. It is constantly pissing down on Top Gear - even more so, I'd say, than is statistically likely for the UK.

[Tansu]

I just did EXACTLY what TheLoadedDog did.

Only I read his post, and manhattan's reply. Or rather, I sort of read it.

I am such a pillock.

I'm going to post this in the other thread, if that's OK.

Really sorry, everyone (especially the mods)

[wooba]

As others have pointed out, dry air is perhaps the biggest factor. The winter is VERY dry up here in Canada and in certain places I get lots of shocks. In the usually very humid summer I never get any shocks.

When I get out of my car in the winter, I have onto the metal chasis as I'm getting out of my seat. Otherwise I'll have a nasty shock when I go to close the door.

I have a humidifier in my house so they are never a problem in there.

Something I learned by fluke while living in an dry apartment building one winter. Use keys to get rid of the charge. For some reason there is no pain when touching something metal with a key before your skin. Gives you a cool spark to watch too :-)

[Tansu]

No, sod it, I'll leave it here.

[gonzoron]

I work with a lot of expensive electronic equipment, and whenever working in the lab, we have to wear special conductive shoes as well as lab coats lined with metallic threads to prevent random discarges from zapping the delicate bits. The lab coats might look a bit silly outside a lab, but the shoes look and feel pretty much like normal shoes and pretty much eliminate those surprising shocks.

I dunno if you can get a hold of these, but the company that makes ours is called Iron Age. (they have a "shoe-mobile" that comes to our plant once a month.)

If you can't get those, there are also conductive heel straps, probably available from most electronic supply places, but they look kinda silly.

Ron