Static electricity at work.

[Holmes34]

Hello EEVblog,

I recently started a new job in an R&D lab, and I have found out in my first week that the room I work in causes regular (5-10) static shocks a day. They are regularly audible. Basically the room has a rather scratchy (I assume polyester) carpet and some metal-rimmed tables which are stood on rubber feet, and also a metal door handle. I only ever receive static shocks from the metal table rim or the door handle, so I have assumed that the electrical isolation of these objects with reference to the carpet is a major factor contributing to the shocks. My other colleague who works in the room seems to be a lot less prone to them than me, but we are morphologically very different so I assume he somehow has very different capacitance than me? We wear the same shoes as they are company issued safety shoes.

Now I have tested a little bit using a ceramic cap to touch the table/door handle with first, but this frankly only reduces the shock and also makes me looks like a bit of a tin-foil hat type. I have considered the easily googleable advice of using fabric softener on the carpet to reduce static buildup, but this would take me a lot of time (pretty decent amount of carpet) and again would make me seem pretty nuts (I'd rather wait a few months to do this while colleagues make their own impression of me).

Does anyone have a good solution to this problem? I have considered a wearable but obviously this requires a reference to ground in order to dissipate the static, similar to how ESD wristbands work. It might also be possible for me to run a bare wire from the table to the carpet, but as the carpet is non-conductive I doubt this would do much to negate the voltage buildup between me and the table.

Any suggestions would be most welcome, as I'm getting rather bored of being zapped every hour.

[james_s]

Shoes are often responsible for static shocks, other clothing influences it as well. I've found certain sweatshirts rubbing on my desk chair have a tendency to build up static and sometimes the chair itself. I've formed a habit of touching a metal shelf as I stand up so I don't build up a charge.

[TimFox]

Attending college in Minnesota and living in a dorm with carpeted hallways and steel-framed doors, I found myself holding a 10k resistor in my hand while walking down the hall in winter (very low indoor relative humidity), touching door frames along the way, to avoid a strong shock by the time I reached my room.

[CatalinaWOW]

I don't know what the restrictions are in the room you are working in, or the budget you have for solving the problem, but there are a number of options.  Clearly the equipment used in the room is not static susceptible or the problem would have been solved already.

1.  There are ionizers that spray an area.  Usually just a workspace, but room size units exist.
2.  Resistively isolate doorknobs and tables.  Some child safety protectors for doorknobs would be a good starting point, as would edge protectors for tables.
3.  Inference from your delicately stated morphologic differences could mean that your colleague perspires more than you, making his shoes more conductive.  You can follow this lead without wearing many additional layers of clothing.  Various products exist to vary the conductivity of footwear.
4.  Anti-static carpet cleaners exist.  A word with the janitorial department may solve the problem with little effort on your part.  Particularly if you can articulate any hazard to the functions going on in your room (not to you).

[RGB255_0_0]

Zap your boss a few times. Ideally after any probationary period you may be in. Explain it's the carpet.

[joeqsmith]

If it's an electronics R&D facility, I assume they have all the basic gear in place for it and proper training.  I also assume no UNI-T handhelds in use 

For a quick fix maybe invest in a small humidifier? 

[Audioguru]

Since you are the only person producing static then change your shoes. My favourite shoe manufacturer made a new set with nylon soles instead of leather. I was zapping everything around me until I replaced them.

EDIT: You and the other guy have the same kind of company shoes? Then maybe he cleans them with an anti-static cleaner? Ask him.

[coyote20000]

A humidifier would help out..

[mmagin]

I only do software stuff at work, so I don't have the static concerns of my home lab, but recently the ESD was getting aweful -- I was getting Electrophorus effects when I stood up from my chair, with lots of little sparks from my head to my headphones.  Didn't think it would be that good for my expensive Bose headphones or the laptop docking station.  I already run a little humidifier by my desk (for respiratory comfort, office environments get really dry), so I brought in the bottle of ACL Staticide I have and sprayed down my chair and the carpet near my desk fairly heavily.  Seems to be working so far.

On the other hand, If you actually work on ESD sensitive things at work, like anything involving loose boards or components, your employer should take ESD control seriously and buy you ESD floor mats, table mats, heel grounding straps, etc.