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.
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 😆
Does mumbling ‘the ace of spades’ to myself over and over work? Because I was already doing that due to playing cards earlier
Contrary to popular belief the metal is in the mustache, not the lyrics. I think there was a mythbuster episode about it or something
You can look for ESD heel & shoe straps. They are relatively cheap and help you discharge while walking around or buy shoes that are ESD rated in the first place.
I too live in a hilariously dry climate in the winter and become a human lightning rod for several months at a time. Here’s what helped me: a quarter! I carry a quarter in my pocket all winter to touch to metal (I deeply hate getting shocked myself, especially the huge static charges). You’ll need something made of metal that is grounded, though. We have metal shelves or the aforementioned light switch screws. You can also look for screws on your washing machine, doorknob, dishwasher, sink, etc. Anything with a little metal should work. Then - touch the quarter to it, hear (but don’t feel) the zap, and enjoy your dog with no fear. Hope you can find something metallic somewhere in your home!
None of my things have accessible screws!! I’m in Australia so no quarters… And I’m not sure I even have physical currency in the house (Australia is pretty cash free these days (.
Fuck, I am just loving these responses. Everyone is so lovely.
You could also get a DIY power cable (the type where you screw the plug to the leads yourself). There you only connect the ground contact and not the live and neutral contacts. Now strip the end of the ground wire and place it where ever you want to be able to discharge yourself.
Alternatively, you can do about the same by just connecting a wire to any unpainted part of your radiators.
Jesus fuck… That’s a lot of science
No radiators
We don’t do proper heating in this cuntry
What about water pipes? Got any of them somewhat near to your couch?
You could also just buy a metal-cased lamp and maybe ask at the shop whether the metal casing is grounded. Usually it is.
Noop. My house is made of fabricated nonsense and plastic
Then the only grounded location that I can think of is the ground pin of an electric outlet.
Do you have a somewhat technically minded friend? Making a cable like the one I suggested is literally as simple as screwing in a handful of screws. So if you know anyone who’d be willing to make it, it’s not much effort at all.
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.
I own the place but honestly, we’ve got “feature weeds” in our back yard so insulation is just another thing on the list
I’m going to agree with the other commenter. We had the same issue and started running a humidifier and it resolved the static issues. Not only is it uncomfortable for your pet, but it’s also really bad for your electronics.
Watch out with the type of humidifier though. Standing water and parts that never dry (e.g. inside hoses in the humidifier) are perfect breeding grounds for bacteria. And “cool mist” type humidifiers use ultrasonic frequencies to atomize all that crap that builds up in your humidifier and spread it into nice little droplets, which are perfect for getting germs really deep into your lungs.
If you tend to get respiratory infections quite often, your humidifier might be to blame.
Mate, my lungs are mostly chalk and I have half the sinus space of most humans. Humidifiers just sound like my version of Skynet
My son has a chronic respiratory illness, and as much as I’d love to raise the humidity in my flat, doing so using a humidifier would probably send him to the hospital pretty fast.
actually, (unless you have been told not to) humidity can help.
Humidity yes, bacteria and other germs, especially germs that can live in water are a massive no-go. Germs like Pseudomonas aeruginosa would give him a permanent lung infection and many strains of it are resistant to pretty much all antibiotics.
For people with his condition, a Pseudomonas infection is usually the point where stuff like sports or even walking up stairs permanently ends.
So raising humidity isn’t bad, but the means to do so are a killer, literally.
Btw, thanks for the downvote. I’m sure you know much more about the illness of my child, an illness that I haven’t even named here, than I do, who has to make sure that kid survives. Seriously, that kind of behaviour triggers me so much. That happens so often, that people who haven’t even heard of that illness before know everything better. It seriously makes me angry.
That kid spent ~5% of his life in hospital, getting IV antibiotics due to his condition. He takes ~30 doses of medicine a day, just to keep him alive. But people who wouldn’t even know how to spell the condition think they know better.
Pro tip: If you aren’t affected by the specific illness in question / aren’t taking care of someone who is, keep your armchair medical knowledge to yourself.
If you really don’t have anything metal in your house (metal sinks or any appliance with an outer metal shell that should be grounded), grab an extension cord, cut it and completely remove any cable that is not the yellow and geeen one, that is the earth cable (assuming in Australia that is the correct color scheme), expose that wire and touch it to discharge. Make sure the other cables are in no way exposed. If yoy want to be extra safe, buy a plug and only connect the earth cable.
/s of course, don’t do that unless you know your way around AC power
I’m so nervous reading this
Why do you wear boots on the couch? Or indoors at all?
UGGs boots are slippers :)
Ah, that makes more sense^^ Never heard of that brand or the term.
