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Household Static

ChefE

ChefE

Active Member
Hello AK.
I have lived in my home over ten years. It's a single story townhouse in Southern California. This autum and winter I've experienced a more than average (average equals typical electrical static on a normal day) amount of static in my home. It's abnormal. I touch the cat-shock. I touch my sound system on button- shock. I touch my front door knob- shock. To remove the record off the platter- shock. Turntable is grounded. Refrigerator door- shock. Many times I can see the little streak of blue lightning between my finger tip and an object. It's kinda cool.

Has anyone experienced household static on the rise?

Why is this happening?

Is there harmful effects to my health and health of my audio video equipment?

Your thoughts?

-ChefE
 
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I would guess the humidity is low due to the drought. It won't hurt you but you can damage electronics by static discharge. Best to touch the front panel rather than a control. You can get a humidifier.
 
Besides a humidifier you should research anti static spray treatments for your carpeting.
Don't spray it on your cat though, unless you are a superb clotter.
 
I also vote humidity. I live in the pacific northwest and I get a lot of static discharge especially on doorknobs. Some days are worse than others.

If you are worried about health issues, I think I would be more worried about the electromagnet airwaves that are traveling through our bodies 24/7. :thumbsdown:
 
I blame it all on global warming ... <G>

I guess that's one advantage of living up here in cold country ... central heating with humidification. House stays at a cozy 35% humidity, so no real shock or static issues.

Your best option there might be a couple belt humidifiers in strategic locations. PITA to clean and keep full, but they do a decent enough job. I had one going 24/7 when living in LOSA ...
 
If you are using any heating at all, that dehumidifies the air. That is because there is a certain amount of water in the air, and when you heat it the air expands but the water does not. This applies to both absolute and relative humidity.

This is not good if you have older equipment. The ESD protection in older equipment was not what we are used to today where an idiot can accidentally fire off a stun gun through the keyboard and it works again after you reboot it. Things fry in old stuff. Many technical reasons for this, some technique and some parts availability.

I would suggest humidifying the place. Electronics and music stores do it, in fact one I know of just uses the fog machines. Like if you have one of those vaporisers for when you get a cold, just put water in it and nothing else. You can boil water on the stove actually, but getting that moisture through the house might be easier said than done. An electric coffeepot actually might work.

And if you happen to be a denizen of the DIY forum here or..., you could probably get a humidistat at the local "Fix Da House Super Outlet Mart" and connect it to a relay to turn the coffeepot on and off. Just remember to fill it with water. Maybe take a switch and make a float to interrupt the 24 volts going from the humidistat to the relay. And remember, you have to use AC on most of these relays because if the "anything" stat is electronic it probably uses a triac and won't turn off on DC.

For now, try to always ground yourself to the stereo or something. If everything is grounded together you should be able to touch the shield of any cable, the spindle of the TT, if the TV is connected the antenna, or the lead or the lead from the cable, the back of the cable box. Amp has a metal case, touch that before the controls.

While high moisture is bad, like promoting mold and a few other things, low moisture is not good either. Makes you lose moisture in your body too fast. It also can dry out parts of things, certain types of plastic outgas and become very brittle, to the point of being unsafe if they plug into the wall. There are other things but I can't come up with them right now.
 
Thank you. All the information was and is greatly appreciated. I didn't realize the source was dry air. I got a new HVAC unit two seasons ago and I crank the heat at times. Little did I know it was creating a electronics nightmare and mini light show. I'll take the advice and go to the store for a humidifier and the anti-static carpet powder.
Anyone have any suggestions for static build up removal from audio gear, especially cassette tape decks, turntables, and 8-track players; vintage hi-fi?
 
You don't need fancy sprays, just humidifiers, electric coffee pot n **** like that. You need water in the air, nothing else.

And remember, it is not the audio equipment that gets the static charge, it is YOU. the first thing to do is to be barefoot when in the house, that helps immensely. Well it can not sometimes if the soles of your feet are exceptionally dry. but you know it is very good for you to go barefoot. Some people were taught wrong.

Just moisturize. Like if you have plants, that might work. you gotta water them so the leaves don't dry up right ? Well you have to water plants because they exude the water out into the atmosphere. Goes on all the time. Having plants helps in the winter, and anything that increases humidity will keep the static down, not cause nosebleeds, and a few other things.
 
Best option is to have a humidifier installed on your furnace, that way it circulates the moist air throughout the home. If you opt for a stand alone mist/fog style, or coffee maker or boil water on the stove, make sure to turn the furnace fan from "auto" to "on", on the thermostat. This will help distribute said humid air throughout the house.
 
Don't worry about the static buildup in the gear - it finds some way to leak away to ground. I've just gotten into the habit of discharging myself on metal cabinets, antenna coax connector plugs (plugged in of course), etc., whenever I have to deal with computers, TV's, stereos, anything really. Not only does it protect the gear but the pain is milder if you use the heel of your hand or something else meaty.
 
Spray a Swiffer with Staticguard or wet it with a drop of hair conditioner in water or use a damp dryer sheet and wipe down all your equipment. The quats within these products are powerful antistats and are similar to those used in semiconductor clean rooms. Also spray the carpet throughout your house. You can get your HVAC contractor to install a steam humidifier unit into your air handler to modify the heated air directly. Static is fairly easy to tackle this way.
 
loopstick said:
What's the objective of this procedure?
Click to expand...
You're putting a molecular layer of positive charge (quaternary ammonium) on the surfaces to help them be better conductors (no static buildup). This is how hair conditioner, antistatic sprays, fabric softeners and conditioning wipes work. It's what Gruvlube is as well.
 
Vince1 said:
You're putting a molecular layer of positive charge (quaternary ammonium) on the surfaces to help them be better conductors (no static buildup). This is how hair conditioner, antistatic sprays, fabric softeners and conditioning wipes work. It's what Gruvlube is as well.
Click to expand...

OK, that's what I thought it was for. I just don't see exposed non-conducting parts of gear acquiring charge at rates that would exceed that of natural discharge through contact with the chassis, etc. IIRC the plastic housing of some widget we made had some compound in it that would "grab" sparks and intercept them so-to-speak before they got any ideas about entering the assembly through gaps and hitting the circuit. I think this was mostly to protect the device during handling prior to final installation. It wasn't meant to prevent buildup IIRC.
 
Hello everyone. I got a humidifier now. I started using it this morning and so far I'm shock free. Wow!! Thank you for the help. Each one of you. I was getting worried, felt uneasy listening to music thinking in the back of my mind I'd touch something and it would turn into the Star Wars:Return of the Jedi scene which the Emperor is zapping Luke to death.
I bet that scene would have gone different had Luke use dryer sheets. But I'll try it.
Again, thank you for all the helpful information, tips, and advice.
 
Welcome to AK ChefE! Where in SoCal are you located? If you had new carpeting or running the heat, you found sources of static as above. Another is for some wearing leather, rubber, or plastic soled shoes indoors which can also build up static. Hope the humidifier helps a lot. Sounds like you're probably inland a bit, not at the beach.
 
When I was a kid, and the static got too bad in the house, my Mom would make a very large pot of Vegetable Beef Soup. This added humidity to the air, perfumed the air and tasted great with fresh baked bread.
 
Yaah the soup thing. It does work. You can just boil water, and I know a guy who likes to put cinnamon sticks in it. He is not an audio dude but knows that the humidity goes way down, and with kids especially it can cause nosebleeds. The cinnamon idea came somehow roundabout from him being a chef.

The only problem with doing this on the stove is getting the air circulated around the house. Depending on how big it is and how it is laid out you might only be humidifying one room. But those vaporizers and electric coffeepots can do alot.

Generally, if you got old, analog, vintage equipment you are probably alright except for the record playing issue. I have wiped off records with a damp cloth which helps, but in low humidity that stylus going on the vinyl produces more static.

Brand new equipment has comprehensive protection usually, built into every every IC it has, old equipment with digital can be vulnerable though. There were some chips that went bad if you looked at them in the wrong tone of voice.
 
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