Static electricity results from an inequality between the positive and negative charge of two objects. While it seems unavoidable and unforgiving, especially during dry winter months, eliminating this electricity is a lot easier than it sounds. Once you understand how it's created and transferred, there are steps you can take to reduce the initial static electricity and control its transfer to you, decreasing the shocks every time you touch something.
Steps
Method 1 of 4: Removing Static Electricity at Home
Step 1. Use a humidifier
Static electricity is most active when the air is dry, especially in the winter months when people heat their homes, lowering the humidity in the air. Increase humidity at home and in the workplace using a humidifier. It can help reduce static charge buildup.
- Having plants in the home or office can also help raise humidity.
- You can create your own humidifier just by boiling water on the stove and adding spices, such as cinnamon or citrus slices, to flavor the house.
Step 2. Treat carpets with an antistatic chemical
Most carpet stores offer spray treatments for the upholstery. There are also carpets made with an antistatic component. Lightly apply the antistatic spray to the carpet and allow the product to dry completely before walking on the surface. This process will greatly decrease the amount of static electricity you experience after stepping on the carpet.
To make a static-reducing spray at home, you can mix a cap of fabric softener with water in a spray bottle, shake the mixture, and lightly spray it onto the carpet
Step 3. Rub a fabric softener on the upholstery
Wipe a fabric softener on car seats or upholstered furniture to reduce static buildup on these surfaces. Softener helps to neutralize the electrical charge.
You can also try spraying these areas with a static-reducing spray or aerosol
Method 2 of 4: Remove Static Electricity From Your Body
Step 1. Keep your skin hydrated
Apply lotion to yourself after getting out of the shower and before getting dressed.
Dry skin contributes to static, so lotions and moisturizers help prevent static electricity from building up in your body
Step 2. Change your clothes
Instead of synthetic fibers like polyester and nylon, use natural ones like cotton, which are materials with little static.
If your clothes are still affected by static electricity, you can either wipe them with a fabric softener or spray them with some hairspray
Step 3. Wear static-dispelling shoes
Wear shoes with leather soles, which are excellent for reducing static shock, rather than rubber soles, which build up and create this kind of electricity.
- Try different types of shoes to see which ones create the least amount of static charge. If you can, walk around the house barefoot.
- Some shoes worn by electronics workers have conductive wires woven into the soles that disperse static electricity while walking.
Method 3 of 4: Preventing Static Electricity on Your Clothes
Step 1. Add baking soda to the wash
Put 1/4 cup of baking soda on clothes before starting the wash cycle. The substance creates a barrier that prevents positive and negative charges from building up and creating static.
- Depending on the size of the laundry load, it may be necessary to adjust the amount of baking soda added. For larger loads, you can use about half a cup of the substance, and for smaller loads, you can use 1 or 2 tbsp.
- Baking soda is also considered a water softener and fabric softener.
Step 2. Add vinegar to the wash
When the washing machine switches to the rinse cycle, pause it and pour in 1/4 cup of white distilled vinegar. Restart the machine to continue the wash cycle.
Vinegar serves as a fabric softener and static reducer
Step 3. Place a wet washcloth in the dryer
For the last ten minutes of the drying cycle, set the dryer to the lowest temperature and add a wet washcloth to the machine. Let the dryer continue with the rest of the cycle.
The wet towel helps add moisture to the air, preventing electrical charges from building up in the dryer
Step 4. Shake the clothes
Once the parts are finished drying in the machine, remove them and shake them to prevent static from settling on them.
Alternatively, to reduce static even further, you can hang the clothes on the clothesline to dry in the wind
Method 4 of 4: Quick Ways to End Static
Step 1. Place a diaper pin on clothes
Attach a safety pin to the seam of the pants or the back of the shirt collar. Its metal will disperse electrical buildup from parts, preventing shock.
Attaching the pin to a seam allows you to hide it, yet still benefit from its charge-reducing ability
Step 2. Put a metal hanger on clothes
Move a metal hanger over the surface (front and back) and over the back of any piece. It will reduce the electrical charge causing it to be transferred from the clothes to the hanger.
Step 3. Load something metallic
Always take something metal with you, whether it's a coin, a thimble or a key chain. Use these items to touch the grounded metal surface before touching it with your skin.
This gesture is also called grounding: you will never accumulate charge because you will transfer it to the metallic object
Tips
- To reduce shock, just use a less sensitive part of your body to discharge, such as your knuckles, elbow, leg, or arm.
- Dumping on a concrete wall will also reduce the shock to mere tingling.
Notices
- Never let anyone in or out of your car while refueling with gasoline, as these actions can cause a static buildup that can discharge when you come in contact with the metal pump or nozzle touching your vehicle's fuel port.
- Store volatile materials away from areas known to cause static buildup.
- When using fabric softener on carpets and other surfaces you walk on, avoid walking on the surface until it has dried. Shoes can become very slippery if fabric softener gets on the soles by accident.
- When handling flammable liquids or combustible dust, ensure that all insulated conductors of electricity are bonded together.