Holy shit the static

Hevach

So work had new carpet put in over last weekend. Cheap synthetic thin pile stuff you see in every office everywhere. Except the stuff is worse for static than anything I have ever experienced. Literally every moment the last week has been a potential Office Space door knob scene. I've gotten serious static shocks off things I didn't even know were conductive just walking across the 4x6 kitchenette. I just learned the hard way to ground my static wrist strap before I wash my hands because the sinks are now death rays. Everyone seems to be developing irrational fears of static. Handshakes don't happen, and I just watched my boss flinch three times before finally forcing himself to touch the coffee maker. Even the walls aren't safe, especially around corners and door jams, I'm not sure what's in there that's so conductive but there's something.

I'm already wearing my static strap everywhere and touching the clip to anything that might ground me before risking something dangerous like using my keys or touching a computer. But since I look ridiculous doing this (and I'm pretty sure it's becoming unhealthy since this morning I caught myself doing it at home, too), I've decided to come here fishing for anything else that might rein in the madness.

WildEEP

In new carpet like that all the little bristles aren't worn down and so its going to be more static prone. The easiest way is to put down a plastic over-mat that you can get at any office supply store. They are made from the same thing as the chair mats you see for people who still like to use their roll chairs over carpet. These are just bigger squares.
Put those down by entryways, conference rooms, and bathrooms. It'll cut down on the static buildup.

bowen

Set up a humidifier ? Static build up happens in low humidity environments.

Colt45

I've been shocked through cornerbead(the stuff that makes corners, well, corner-y. It's metal.) before, but it was because the drywall was still wet and there was a outlet with a short in it nearby. I've never heard of getting shocked through dry sheetrock mud before, especially through a charge as weak as a static shock. Maybe if your company bought such cheap carpet they also skimped on the finishing work on the walls and that's why it's so easy for it to shock you?

bowen wrote: »

Set up a humidifier ? Static build up happens in low humidity environments.

I agree with bowen, humidifier sounds like the cheapest and best way to fix it since your company would probably laugh your boss out of the boardroom if he asked them to spend money on his already expensive new carpet. That is unless you work with complex computer equipment, which you may considering that you own a static bracelet. If you work with electronics, a humidifier won't be usable, but your company might pay to fix it to avoid further more expensive damages. Either way, it sounds like you may have a solution unless there are some other mitigating circumstances we don't yet know about.

Aldo

Electro Static Discharges are not weak, they are just short. ;D If you need an argument for your boss to understand the severity of this: a lot of technical equipment cannot stomach ESD's or if they can they might not survive multiple blasts per day. He might not care about his employees getting zapped every minute, but it might get costly to keep on replacing equipment throughout the building. Of course, if he's only buying quality stuff this wouldn't hold up very well (there is a reason why some adapters are more expensive than others).

In case you enjoy turning this in a health&safety issue you could also mumble something about how someone with a pacemaker should not be allowed to enter this building any more.

bowen

I've noticed shit like this happens if you slide and slouch in your chair often too. You tend to build up huge amounts of static in the low humidity environments like that.

Enc

Steam clean your carpets. $25 to rent a steamer, and you probably won't need the cleaning chemicals.

Should stop, or at the very least greatly reduce, the amount of static you are having from the new carpet.

Siska

Give a product like this Anti-static spray + refill or something similar a try? Or if your office is using a professional cleaning company, they might actually have something.