Snow, ice, and frigid temperatures aside, winter never ceases to shock me. Literally. Thanks to the cold, dry air, a typical evening in my apartment might go something like this:
Plop on my cushy microfiber sofa, lean over to turn on the light. ZAP. <insert choice word here>. Get up a while later to change into workout clothes, zap myself again when I touch the metal closet doorknob. Pull on my coat, hat, boots, and mittens, and unlock the main door. SHOCK. <insert another choice word here>.
Anytime I pull an extra sweatshirt over my head for warmth, I resemble a female Einstein. When I pull extra blankets over my bed at night, I can see the charged flashes, one by one, like fireflies in the summer. Heck, I’ve even shocked my foot a few times when stepping on the metal partition that separates my linoleum kitchen floor from the carpeted dining room.
Speaking of carpet, it doesn’t help that most of my apartment is carpeted. When you walk across a carpet or rug, the electrons from the carpet transfer to you. The result? A negative static charge.
Some days I feel like I can’t escape the static. Or can I?
Determined to put static in its place, I sprayed Static Guard on my couch. It smells icky (so bad that I retreated to another room while it worked its magic), but it provided noticeable results. I don’t shock myself nearly as often when I turn on my lamp now.
And I’m also considering something I should have thought about last winter: a small humidifer or cold-mist vaporizer to increase the moisture circulating throughout my apartment. Because, as it turns out, even though humidifiers can be a bit pricey, they come in compact sizes and have different output ratings to fit a variety of living spaces. Find a humidifer that suits your abode with this handy guide from Lowe’s. Hasta la vista, dry air!
Even smaller steps such as incorporating a variety of leafy indoor plants, putting bowls of water around the house, simmering a large pot of water on the stove, and wearing hand lotion can cut back on static electricity buildup, according to ever-so-helpful Heloise.
Or you can re-examine what you’re wearing. Synthetic fibers are more likely to pick up a static charge. And you can even purchase shoes that reduce static charge. But if you don’t want to go that route, walk barefoot or cover your shoes with aluminum foil. Yes, it actually works, according to the folks at Science Made Simple.
What do you do around the house to reduce static electricity? The Home Know-It-All needs your help!
Until tomorrow,
The Home Know-It-All
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