Advice on setting up an ESD station

[wardenclyffe]

I have read many of the ESD related topics on this forum and some deal only with ESD mats, tools, or wrist straps. I was wondering what the bare essentials are for setting up a decent ESD work station. Do I only need a bench mat or should I invest in a floor mat as well? What about ESD safe tools/furniture - are they worth the money or a load of garbage? How about ESD shoes? Basically, I would like to know what people have experienced in the past regarding ESD stations and try to get an understanding of the range of tools from the bare minimum to the extravagant. I have read conflicting information online so I am hoping the EEVblog community can help me out.

One last question...is it acceptable to ground an ESD mat to the retaining screw in home wall outlets? There seems to be mixed opinion about this topic so I am interested to hear what you think. What other grounding options are available for home and/or lab use?

[Short Circuit]

Antistatic mat is all you need as long as you deal with risks.

For example always touch the mat before picking somthing from the table, or putting it there. This allows for discharge of your body before the part is put down. If the part is the first to touch the bench, then the mat is not going to prevent damage. Personally, I've made it into a habit to touch the bench with a finger before handling anything.

Matting on the floor is another way to discharge before accessing the workstation, but then you also need ESD shoes or heelgrounders. And those mats are either too small for comfort or terribly expensive.

If the oulet screw is earthed, then yes, you could use it to take ground for the mat. If you use common sense regarding electrical safety of course.
However, more common is to use a standard mainsplug with the neutral and line pins removed. Mind that the wire is supposed to have 1Meg resistance.

Most of the other antistatic stuff is for the procedurized companies. It's much easier to prescribe ESD safe tools than trying to write an instruction for using common sense