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This apartment is full of static electricity

February 21, 2008

I’m beginning to think that the apartment where I’m temporarily staying is connected to some hidden Van de Graaff generator somewhere. Because I am constantly getting little static shocks whenever I touch anything remotely metallic here. Touch a doorknob, get a shock. Touch the brass frame on the coffee table, get a shock. Touch the faucet, get a shock. Doesn’t happen every time but it happens enough that you have to wonder.

It’s not like I’m wearing wool socks and dragging them across the carpet every second I’m here. In fact since they did steam-clean the carpet before I moved in I feel comfortable enough that I walk barefoot around the apartment. And yet I still get the static shocks rather more often than I would expect.

The only part that concerns me is that on several occasions when I have touched my laptop I’ve felt the static shock. Shouldn’t be anywhere near enough current to damage modern electronics like this laptop but still it makes me nervous. I’ve taken to always touching the coffee table first, so that I discharge the static there first before picking up my laptop.

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  1. Peter Carpenter

    A recent invention here in Maine may help you with your static electricity. It was invented by a gentleman that was having the same problems as you are with being zapped. His invention s called Staticoff Static Zapper. He has information on his blog http://staticoff.blogspot.com/

  2. Doug

    We bought a humidifier that you just plug into the wall for our second floor. We haven’t had static electricity at all this winter. Previously, it was similar to what you said.

  3. Rachael Libby

    Hi Rex - After reading your blog, I went out an bought a Staticoff Static Zapper from my local hard ware store in South Portland. It was easy to install and it works. I just have to get into the habit of touching it every time I walk past it because after about half an hour I seem to be staticky again until I touch the zapper. I can see the reasoning behind a humidifier but it costs a lot more than the $8.99 I paid for the Zapper. The humidifier would also uses electricity where as the zapper doesn’t.
    Thanks Rex.

  4. Burgess

    Ignore what the critics have been saying about Staticoff Static Zapper. It’s a great product and worth buying. Learn about it at http://staticoff.com/about.shtml

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