4 Ways to Remove Static Electricity - WikiHow

8/15/2019 4 Ways to Remove Static Electricity - WikiHow

1/5

How to Remove Static ElectricityFour Methods: Removing Static Electricity In The Home Remove Static Electricity On Your Body

Preventing Static Electricity In Your Laundry Static Quick Fixes

Static electricity results from an unequal positive and negative charge betweentwo objects. While static electricity may seem unavoidable and relentless,especially during the dry winter months, eliminating static electricity is a loteasier than you would think. Once you understand how static electricity iscreated and transferred, there are steps you can take to reduce the initialstatic electricity, and control how it transfers to you, reducing the electricshocks every time you touch something.

1 Use a humidifier. Static electricity is more active when the air is dry, especially inthe winter months when people heat their houses, further reducing humidity in theair. Increase the humidity in your house and workplace by using a humidifier. The

moisture in the air can help reduce static charge from building up. [1]

Having plants around the house or workplace can help increase humidity as

well.

You can create y our own humidifier by simply boiling water on the stove. You

can add spices like cinnamon or citrus rinds give off a nice scent while you

humidify your house. [2]

2 Treat your carpets with an anti-static chemical. Most carpet retailers or carpetcompanies online offer spray treatments to treat rugs and carpets. There are alsosome carpets that are specifically made to with an anti-static component. [3] Lightly spray

your carpet with an anti-static spray, and wait for it to completely dry before walking on

it. This will greatly decrease the amount of static electricity you experience after walking

on the carpet.

To make a static reducing spray at home, you can mix 1 capful of fabric

softener in a spray bottle of water, shake the mixture, and lightly spray over the

carpet. [4][5]

3 Rub upholstery with dryer sheets. Rub upholstered furniture or your car seatswith dryer sheets to reduce the static buildup on those surfaces. Dryer sheets helpneutralize the electric charge. [6]

You can also try spraying these areas with a static reducing aerosol or spray.

1 Keep your skin moisturized. Rub lotion on yourself when you get out of the

Method 1 of 4: Removing Static Electricity In The Home

Method 2 of 4: Remove Static Electricity On Your Body

http://-/?-http://-/?-http://www.wikihow.com/Remove-Static-Electricityhttp://-/?-http://-/?-http://-/?-http://-/?-http://-/?-http://-/?-http://-/?-http://-/?-http://-/?-http://-/?-http://www.wikihow.com/Remove-Static-Electricity


2/5

shower and before getting dressed, or rub it on your hands intermittently throughout the

day.

Dry skin contributes to static electricity and static shock, so lotions and

moisturizers help to prevent static electricity from accumulating on your body. [7]

2 Change your clothes. Switch from wearing synthetic fibers (polyester, nylon) to

wearing natural fibers (cotton), which are low static materials.[8]

If your clothes are still affected by static electricity, you can rub dryer sheets on

your clothes, or spritz them with a little bit of hairspray.

3 Wear shoes that dissipate static. Wear leather-soled shoes, which are excellentfor reducing static shock, rather than rubber-soled shoes, which accumulate andcreate static electricity. [9]

Try experimenting with different kinds of shoes to see which shoes create the

least amount of static shock. If you can, walk barefoot in the house.

Some shoes worn by those why work with electronics have conductive strandswoven into the soles of their shoes which discharge static electricity as they

walk.

1 Add baking soda to the wash. Add ¼ cup of baking soda to your clothes beforestarting the washing cycle. Baking soda creates a barrier between positive andnegative charges from building up and creating static.

Depending on the size of the laundry load, you may need to adjust the amount

of baking soda you add in. For bigger loads you can add about ½ cup of baking

soda, and for small loads you can use 1 or 2 tablespoons of baking soda. [10]

Baking soda is also considered a water softener and a fabric softener.

2 Add vinegar to the wash. When your wash machine is transitioning to the rinse

cycle, pause the machine and pour in ¼ cup of white distilled vinegar. Restart themachine to continue the rinse cycle. [11]

Vinegar serves as both a fabric softener and static reducer in the laundry.

3 Add a damp washcloth to the dyer. For the last 10 minutes of the drying cycle,turn the dryer to the lowest heat setting, and add a damp washcloth to themachine. Allow the dryer to carry out the rest of the drying cycle. [12]

The damp washcloth helps add moisture to the air, preventing electrical charges

from building up in the dryer.

4 Shake your clothes. As soon as your clothes are finished drying in the dryer, takethem out and shake them. This prevents static electricity from setting in. [13]

Method 3 of 4: Preventing Static Electricity In Your Laundry

http://-/?-http://-/?-http://-/?-http://-/?-http://-/?-http://-/?-http://-/?-


3/5

Alternatively, to reduce static even more, you can ai r dry your clothes and hang

them on a clothesline to dry.

1 Attach a safety pin to your clothes. Attach a safety pin to the seam of your pantsor at the back neck of your shirt. The metal of the pin discharges the electrical buildup in your clothes, preventing static cling and electrical shocks. [14]

Attaching the pin at a seam allows you to hide the pin, but still reap i ts static

reducing benefits.

2 Run a metal hanger over clothes. Run a metal hanger on the surface (front and

back) and inside of any article of clothing. This will reduce the electrical charge of the item of clothing, by transferring the electron charges on the clothes to the metal

hanger. [15]

3 Carry around something metal. Always keep some piece of metal on your person, whether it’s a coin, a thimble, or a keychain. Use any of these items totouch the grounded metal surface before you touch it with your skin. [16]

This is also know as grounding yourself, so you never accumulate electrical

charges, but the charges are instead transferred to the metal object.

Can you tell us about

Unitconversions?


African hair care?


Electricalcalculations?


YouTube?

To reduce the "shock," simply use a less sensitive part of your body todischarge, such as your knuckles, elbow, leg, or arm.

Discharging on a concrete wall will also reduce the "shock" to a meretingling.

Method 4 of 4: Static Quick Fixes

Give us 3 minutes of knowledge!

Tips

Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No

http://-/?-http://-/?-http://-/?-


4/5

Never let anyone get into or out of your vehicle while gas is beingpumped, as this can cause a static buildup that can discharge whenyou come in contact with the metal pump, or when the nozzle comes incontact with 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 that you walkon, be certain to avoid walking on the sprayed surface until the surfacehas dried. Footwear can become very slippery if fabric softener isaccidentally applied to the soles of footwear.

When handling flammable liquids or combustible dust ensure allisolated conductors of electricity are bonded together.

1. ↑ http://www.stylemepretty.com/living/2012/12/01/how-to-get-rid-of-static-electricity/


3. ↑ http://www.familyhandyman.com/electrical/how-to-reduce-static-electricity-in-the-house/view-all


5. ↑ http://www.wackyuses.com/downy.html

6. ↑ http://www.electrostatics.net/articles/static_shocks.htm

7. ↑ http://www.school-for-champions.com/science/static_shocks_reducing.htm#.VfX9l53BzGc


9. ↑ http://www.electrostatics.net/articles/static_shocks.htm

10. ↑ http://www.allyou.com/budget-home/live-green-save/how-to-get-rid-of-static-cling

11. ↑ http://www.diynatural.com/homemade-fabric-softener-dryer-sheets/

12. ↑ http://www.stylemepretty.com/living/2012/12/01/how-to-get-rid-of-

static-electricity/13. ↑ http://www.rodalesorganiclife.com/wellbeing/get-rid-static?

page=0%2C1

14. ↑ http://heartofwisdom.com/heartathome/17-ridiculously-useful-tips-to-make-life-easier/

15. ↑ http://www.allyou.com/budget-home/live-green-save/how-to-get-rid-of-static-cling

16. ↑ http://www.sciencemadesimple.com/eliminatestaticelectricity.html

Warnings

Sources and Citations

http://www.sciencemadesimple.com/eliminatestaticelectricity.htmlhttp://-/?-http://www.allyou.com/budget-home/live-green-save/how-to-get-rid-of-static-clinghttp://-/?-http://heartofwisdom.com/heartathome/17-ridiculously-useful-tips-to-make-life-easier/http://-/?-http://www.rodalesorganiclife.com/wellbeing/get-rid-static?page=0%2C1http://-/?-http://www.stylemepretty.com/living/2012/12/01/how-to-get-rid-of-static-electricity/http://-/?-http://www.diynatural.com/homemade-fabric-softener-dryer-sheets/http://-/?-http://www.allyou.com/budget-home/live-green-save/how-to-get-rid-of-static-clinghttp://-/?-http://www.electrostatics.net/articles/static_shocks.htmhttp://-/?-http://www.stylemepretty.com/living/2012/12/01/how-to-get-rid-of-static-electricity/http://-/?-http://www.school-for-champions.com/science/static_shocks_reducing.htm#.VfX9l53BzGchttp://-/?-http://www.electrostatics.net/articles/static_shocks.htmhttp://www.wackyuses.com/downy.htmlhttp://www.stylemepretty.com/living/2012/12/01/how-to-get-rid-of-static-electricity/http://www.familyhandyman.com/electrical/how-to-reduce-static-electricity-in-the-house/view-allhttp://www.stylemepretty.com/living/2012/12/01/how-to-get-rid-of-static-electricity/http://www.stylemepretty.com/living/2012/12/01/how-to-get-rid-of-static-electricity/


5/5

Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 1,052,794 times.

FeaturedArticle

Categories: Featured Articles

In other languages:

Español: eliminar la electricidad estática , Deutsch: Statische Elektrizität

entladen , Português: Eliminar Eletricidade Estática , Italiano: Rimuovere l'Elettricità

Statica , Français: enlever l’électricité statique , Русский: снять статическое

электричество

Article Info
http://ru.wikihow.com/%D1%81%D0%BD%D1%8F%D1%82%D1%8C-%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B0%D1%82%D0%B8%D1%87%D0%B5%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B5-%D1%8D%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%BA%D1%82%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%87%D0%B5%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B2%D0%BEhttp://fr.wikihow.com/enlever-l%E2%80%99%C3%A9lectricit%C3%A9-statiquehttp://it.wikihow.com/Rimuovere-l%27Elettricit%C3%A0-Staticahttp://pt.wikihow.com/Eliminar-Eletricidade-Est%C3%A1ticahttp://de.wikihow.com/Statische-Elektrizit%C3%A4t-entladenhttp://es.wikihow.com/eliminar-la-electricidad-est%C3%A1ticahttp://www.wikihow.com/Category:Featured-Articles

Documents

4 Ways to Remove Static Electricity - WikiHow