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submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by boogetyboo@aussie.zone to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml

I wear UGG boots in winter because it's fucking cold.

I also wrap myself in a blanket on the couch, and have a lovely area rug so I don't have to walk on a cold floor. All these things are necessary to survive the winter; my house isn't well insulated.

The problem with all this, is that I build up a static charge. So when I go to pat my beautiful sweetheart of a dog, I zap him. It's audible and I'm sure, quite unpleasant. Often on the head. He obviously doesn't like that, I think he's taking it personally, and I feel awful. It completely cancels out the affection I'm trying to show him.

So the question for the Lemmy community is:

How do I discharge the static before I pat my dog? I have started shocking my partner (which he doesn't like, but accepts over the alternative), before patting my dog. But as he's out tonight, I have no human vessel to offer as tribute?

What can I touch in my house before patting my dog so that he doesn't receive a shock?

Edit: standard Australian house and furniture

Another edit: I'm all the sheets to the wind so the engineering advice is not sinking in. But I'm loving the immediate response that I'd never have gotten on Deaddit.

Again: I can't stop giggling at how helpful everyone is being and how short m, drunk and silly I am, in a house with apparently no metal

And again: I should probably take me and my baby to bed now, but a big thank you to everyone who replied. You've all been lovely. Lemmy is really a different space to ask these questions! I'll be trying out many of your suggestions over the weekend; big thanks from me and my boy x

Final: thanks to everyone who responded. I did try the kitchen tap again last night and this time it worked! Mustn't have built up enough charge when I tried the night I posted. I will still primarily zap my partner's leg as it's usually closer and doing it makes me laugh. It's important he understands where he fits in the household hierarchy as well. I also learnt that American houses are very different (screws and radiators everywhere!) so that was interesting too.

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[-] adj16@lemmy.world 80 points 1 year ago

I have no advice for you, as I live in a very humid place without very much risk of static shocks. I just want to say this question and post are hilarious.

[-] boogetyboo@aussie.zone 38 points 1 year ago

Haha I admit to using a ragebait headline for attention

[-] Chainweasel@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago

There might be a solution in their comment though, do you have a humidifier?

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[-] FooBarrington@lemmy.world 47 points 1 year ago

Get a second dog which you pet before the other one?

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[-] HurlingDurling@lemm.ee 44 points 1 year ago

No metal? Get some Megadeath albums to fix that.

Here in the us there are certain fabric sprays that help with static buildup, so there might be some alternative over there in Australia.

A humidifier will also work but is pricier in comparison.

Lastly you can wrap a cover cable to your anke and burry the other side in the ground 😆

[-] boogetyboo@aussie.zone 19 points 1 year ago

Does mumbling 'the ace of spades' to myself over and over work? Because I was already doing that due to playing cards earlier

[-] omalaul@lemm.ee 11 points 1 year ago

Contrary to popular belief the metal is in the mustache, not the lyrics. I think there was a mythbuster episode about it or something

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[-] Kyle@lemmy.ca 36 points 1 year ago

I've read all the responses here and am horrified that you seem to live in an ungrounded plastic bubble. Is that a Canberra thing? Or can't even find a small metal object the size of a coin to make discharging painless, how why?

If it's an old house there should be tonnes of metal things to touch.

Corners of walls, radiators or central air vents or return air vents, screws on switches or power outlets, furniture with metal bits on it, sinks taps and water fixtures with metal parts, thermostat, fireplace casing.

Literally touch everything and report back.

[-] boogetyboo@aussie.zone 14 points 1 year ago

Not an old houuse (2015 build), not sure if we have coins but I'll check..

No vents in reach and certainly no radiators, no screws.. No metal furniture... No screws... The sink didn't work... No fireplace.

I'm not in Coober Pedy but may as well be it seems!

[-] some_guy 8 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

My partner has this problem a lot. The fridge zaps her pretty often (metal door and handle). There must be a metal surface somewhere on yours? Maybe the shelves? Or the stove / oven?

ETA: As a person who occasionally kicks my kitties when I go to the bathroom in the dark, I sympathize. It's a terrible feeling when you startle or hurt them. Luckily, they seem to know that I'm a clumsy idiot and accept my immediate apologies.

[-] dan@upvote.au 6 points 1 year ago

If you have a desktop computer with a metal case, touch the case.

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[-] Fermion@feddit.nl 31 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Two suggestions: run a humidifier. Preferably use a steam one with distilled water. The ultrasonic cool mist ones introduce any minerals and bacteria that are in the water into the air.

The easiest suggestion is to change your blanket. I'm guessing you're wrapping yourself in a fuzzy fleece blanket. Synthetic fibers like polyester transfer way more static charge than natural fibers. Try looking for a cotton or wool throw. Or for something fuzzy, find a sheep pelt with wool on it. Even using a cotton sheet between you and your current blanket should reduce the amount of charge buildup.

A side benefit of changing blanket materials, is that any blanket that generates a lot of static charge also holds loads of dust and pet hairs. A less static generating blanket will stay cleaner longer.

The easiest way to discharge is to touch a metal faucet. If you have copper pipes, they'll be grounded, but even just the tap water is conductive enough to dissipate most of the charge.

[-] MrGerrit@feddit.nl 30 points 1 year ago

If by any chance you have wall sockets with the ground connection exposed, you could touch that before petting the good boy/girl.

[-] MidnightAppetite@lemmy.world 7 points 1 year ago

I am not well versed enough in electrical engineering to say if this is actually safe, but telling someone to stick their electrically charged fingers in a plug socket is probably the most hilarious response in this thread

[-] azertyfun@sh.itjust.works 8 points 1 year ago

Static electricity is unrelated to the danger of a socket.

Furthermore, all the exposed conductors on a socket built in the last 50+ years should be ground. Otherwise people (especially children) would kill themselves all the time. Modern plugs won't even allow you to reach the live wire without pressing against both holes at once.

However North American plugs have an enormous design flaw, where half plugged-in appliances can expose current on the exposed pins of the plug (which is why modern plugs have a partial rubber coating).

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[-] AlgeriaWorblebot@lemmy.nz 6 points 1 year ago

Not in Australia, but good suggestion in some other countries!

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[-] quindraco@lemm.ee 26 points 1 year ago

Anything conductive and grounded. For example, a lamp with a steel or copper body.

[-] boogetyboo@aussie.zone 16 points 1 year ago

Hmm all cheap lamps in this basic bitch's house

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[-] Nollij@sopuli.xyz 23 points 1 year ago

You probably need to get a humidifier. Low humidity is very common in the winter, and creates (or at least encourages) static buildup. Added bonus is that it will make your place feel warmer at the same time.

You may also want to invest in better insulation. Even if you just rent, there are a variety of cheap and temporary options that can save you a bundle on heating and cooling.

[-] schmidtster@lemmy.world 10 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

If it’s cold and the place isn’t that well insulated, adding humidity can lead to disastrous results.

The humidity will build up and cling to the windows, it can freeze breaking the seals, but it can also run off into the wall causing mold and damage to the framing and anything else.

You shouldn’t have the humidity above 35%rh below freezing, unless you have very specific reasons too (hard wood, piano, health) but be prepared for additional costs eventually in some form. Wheter it’s upgrading to allow the house to do it, fixing issues, or preventing damage.

Also, raising the humidity makes the air feel colder not warmer, so that’s just plain false.

[-] Nollij@sopuli.xyz 6 points 1 year ago

Do you have anything to support that last statement? A quick Google search returns countless hits saying that humid air feels warm. Examples:

https://teamhardingcomfort.com/2022/10/05/does-running-a-humidifier-make-your-house-feel-warmer/

https://airsmartly.com/does-a-cool-mist-humidifier-make-the-room-cold/

The only real exception I could find is swamp coolers, where it gets your skin slightly moist and evaporation cools you.

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[-] el_gringo_loco@lemmy.one 18 points 1 year ago

I've lived in Denver for the past 15 years or so, this is a problem I relate to. If you live in a house or apartment with drywall, it turns out that the corners are made of metal under the plaster. For years I have discharged myself by bumping my forearms against the corner of a wall before flipping a light switch to avoid a painful shock on the tips of my fingers

[-] Kyle@lemmy.ca 9 points 1 year ago

Yeah wall corners are often metal and the paint on it seems to soften the discharge.

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[-] Primarily0617@kbin.social 16 points 1 year ago

Order a giant metal statue of your dog to put pride of place in your home as an apology to the dog

As a bonus, it will function as something you can touch to earth yourself

alternatively you could try an anti-static wrist strap but i'm not sure it'll help since you still need something to ground it against

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[-] kool_newt@lemm.ee 16 points 1 year ago

My mom makes a chain of safety pins (about 8-10 long) and attaches it to her clothes. Then you grab the chain and touch things with it (or it touches things as it dangles) to discharge w/o pain or hurting others. I tried it, seemed to work.

[-] Mothra@mander.xyz 14 points 1 year ago

How about a chain, mate? You can get one at Bunnings by the metre. You can place this somewhere convenient and touch it with the quarter as another commenter said. Not sure if carrying one in your pocket and casually dragging it on the floor would work.

Alternatively just stick a fork in a plant pot, that'll do for grounded metal I hope

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[-] NorthWestWind@iusearchlinux.fyi 14 points 1 year ago

Hold your key's metal part and touch some other metal that is earthed to discharge yourself.

By holding the key, you provide a way bigger surface area for transferring the charge, so it won't hurt you.

[-] magiccupcake@lemmy.world 12 points 1 year ago

Buy a object like a lamp that has 3 prongs and exposed metal. Before you pet your dog touch the lamp. 3 prongs so thats it's grounded.

Also when you touch your dog for the first time touch him on his body with you whole hand at once, it'll spread the shock over a larger area and be less painful.

[-] ChaoticEntropy@feddit.uk 12 points 1 year ago

On the plus side, your dog must be convinced that you are a wizard. You need something to ground yourself on.

[-] loaExMachina@hexbear.net 11 points 1 year ago

You can touch a sink to discharge!

[-] TWeaK@lemm.ee 11 points 1 year ago

Touch a radiator. Radiators should be earthed. You can also touch the screws on light switches and sockets, or your sink or stove. Any earthed metal, metal appliances (eg kettles and toasters) should work also. They have to be plugged in, but don't need to be on.

[-] jasondj@ttrpg.network 7 points 1 year ago

This is it.

Also a humidifier may help. Static builds up more in dry air.

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[-] mayonaise_met@feddit.nl 9 points 1 year ago

You're in Australia right? Can't be that cold, just tough it out.

Just kidding, personal heating is a very good solution to being cold. It's much better for the environment and your wallet than heating your house/room.

I use electric blankets though no UGGs. Except rare occasions, my cats don't get zapped. Have you tried going without and see if it makes a difference?

[-] VoldemortsHorcrux@lemmy.world 7 points 1 year ago

I cant think of a sacrificial shock absorber, but perhaps you could not shuffle your UGGs around, and not build up static? I'm assuming your rug is synthetic and possibly causing it, but I could be wrong

[-] boogetyboo@aussie.zone 6 points 1 year ago

Microfibre blanket. I'm literally just lying on the couch then I get up to pat him on the way for another beer, and I'm suddenly Thor.

[-] jet@hackertalks.com 6 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Run some grounded wire around the edges of your couch. That'll be constantly discharging you. You could also use an anti-static mat that's grounded. And that would slowly discharge you as well. If you laid an anti-static mat over the armrest of your sofa, that would ground you as well. Run some copper from the inside of your UGGs to the outside so it makes contact with the ground, you can use copper foil. You're going to be constantly generating charge in a low humidity environment, especially with the materials you've described using. You're only solution is to discharge that potential with ground

[-] boogetyboo@aussie.zone 7 points 1 year ago

Mate, that's a truly insane solution that I don't think I can muster. But thank you for the advice.

[-] Someonelol@lemmy.ml 6 points 1 year ago

Easiest way to address this is to wear a metal Casio watch and have it touch anything metallic attached to a wall like door latch guides or maybe even coat hangers to dissipate any static electricity. Another choice is to grab the metal part of a key and tap them as well.

[-] Rentlar@lemmy.ca 5 points 1 year ago

A metal doorknob works for me usually.

[-] Flyberius@hexbear.net 5 points 1 year ago

A metal radiator might ground you.

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this post was submitted on 08 Sep 2023
201 points (92.4% liked)

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