# Oh, crap. How do you clean up tiny staticky pellets? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 22, 2009, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-crap-how-do-you-clean-up-tiny-staticky-pellets/522142 "2009-12-22T01:47:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-crap-how-do-you-clean-up-tiny-staticky-pellets/522142/1 "2009-12-22T01:47:08Z")
I had a bag of little expanded poly pellets to make crocheted dolls with. Some animal or another broke the bag, and they are EVERYWHERE. They’re in your hair, your socks, your shoes, your cat - everywhere. What do you do? My dust buster couldn’t pick them up - just picked a bunch into the intake and didn’t suck past that. My regular vacuum can’t be deployed yet because it’s in a messy area we’re still working on. Broom and dustpan were of small but limited utility. Ideas? I put this in IMHO because I thought it might get more house cleaning types, but I guess it’s also a GQ. ---
**Author:** ![MikeG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikeg/32/4329_2.png) [@MikeG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeG)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-crap-how-do-you-clean-up-tiny-staticky-pellets/522142/2 "2009-12-22T01:56:42Z")
Shop vac is the only reasonable answer. ---
**Author:** ![Todderbob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@Todderbob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Todderbob)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-crap-how-do-you-clean-up-tiny-staticky-pellets/522142/3 "2009-12-22T01:58:35Z")
Get an electrostatic magnet of some sort? ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-crap-how-do-you-clean-up-tiny-staticky-pellets/522142/4 "2009-12-22T02:04:39Z")
Pick out some wrong the boyfriend has committed in the past one-three months time frame ( long enough ago he is hazy on the details and the level of offense, but recent enough he remembers making a faux pas ), claim that “he owes you” and get him to pick them up one at a time by hand :D. OR, rub the cats vigorously together until they are good and staticy and chase them through the area repeatedly. As they emerge from the tainted area, have someone ready with a towel to sweep them clean of pellets and re-staticize them, then run them through again. If you do it right it will be like a little circular assembly line - easy as herding cats! ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-crap-how-do-you-clean-up-tiny-staticky-pellets/522142/5 "2009-12-22T02:21:03Z")
Buy some antistatic fabric spray. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-crap-how-do-you-clean-up-tiny-staticky-pellets/522142/6 "2009-12-22T03:54:36Z")
For those that are actually _on a person_, I’d either try a lint roller or a fabric softener sheet. ---
**Author:** ![Hockey\_Monkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a183cd/32.png) [@Hockey\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hockey_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-crap-how-do-you-clean-up-tiny-staticky-pellets/522142/7 "2009-12-22T03:55:37Z")
Wrap some packing tape around your hand sticky side out and have at it. Repeat as necessary. (Maybe not with your hair though.) ---
**Author:** ![Renee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/renee/32/287_2.png) [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-crap-how-do-you-clean-up-tiny-staticky-pellets/522142/8 "2009-12-22T05:42:51Z")
This would take a while, but what about a lint roller? Sort of like the packing tape thing but more efficient. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-crap-how-do-you-clean-up-tiny-staticky-pellets/522142/9 "2009-12-22T14:04:39Z")
> [@Harmonious\_Discord](#): > > Buy some antistatic fabric spray. I wonder if this would make the broom and dustpan work? Of course, the other problem is that they’re incredibly lightweight. And have already made it into the bathroom, the office, our sheets… ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-crap-how-do-you-clean-up-tiny-staticky-pellets/522142/10 "2009-12-22T14:22:27Z")
It does work some to spray the clean up tools. ---
**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-crap-how-do-you-clean-up-tiny-staticky-pellets/522142/11 "2009-12-22T14:31:13Z")
Use a wool sock. Yes, I’m serious. Put the wool sock on your hand and rub it up and down on a piece of PVC pipe. The wool will gain a static charge and the pellets will suck right to it. ---
**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2009, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-crap-how-do-you-clean-up-tiny-staticky-pellets/522142/12 "2009-12-22T14:57:40Z")
Addendum to above: It doesn’t really have to be PVC, that just works the best. It could be anything plastic. If you have a piece of styrofoam packing material like they pack electronics in, you can use that. They key is just to get the wool charged. Wool will get a positive charge and your pellets already have a negative charge (being plastic), so the little pellets will jump right off the floor and stick to the sock. Getting them off the sock however… But, hey, one problem at a time. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2009, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-crap-how-do-you-clean-up-tiny-staticky-pellets/522142/13 "2009-12-23T00:47:03Z")
> [@A Monkey With a Gun](#): > > Addendum to above: It doesn’t really have to be PVC, that just works the best. It could be anything plastic. If you have a piece of styrofoam packing material like they pack electronics in, you can use that. They key is just to get the wool charged. Wool will get a positive charge and your pellets already have a negative charge (being plastic), so the little pellets will jump right off the floor and stick to the sock. > > Getting them off the sock however… > > But, hey, one problem at a time. 🙂 At last! A ‘green’ use for un-matched socks! 😉