Posted By Helen Flinn Hi All I was just wondering if anyone out there could help me with regards to the static problem we have in our office. People are reporting that they are getting electric shocks from furniture/lift call button/each other and I'm not sure what I can do to help remedy the problem. Our office does not have air con and it is warm all year round (even with the heating off). It is not a continuous problem - it is always worse in the autumn and spring, but tends to die out in the summer and winter. And it doesn't affect everyone, but the people it does affect are getting some pretty powerful jolts. The carpet tiles we have are supposedly "anti static" and I have tried anti static sprays to see if they will help, but to no avail. Other than insisting on rubber soled shoes or providing every one with earthing strips does anyone have any ideas what I can do before someone with a dodgy ticker gets zapped and ends up in casualty?!

Posted By peter gotch Hi Helen, Solutions include pot plants that need regular watering and antistatic spraying of desks, walls etc. Some years ago we had two reportable injuries arising from "carpet bugs". Our contract cleaners could not solve it. We took second opinion from Rentokil who identified problem within about 10 minutes. Bits of nylon carpet being picked up by static and flying towards non-conductive clothing, typically women's tights and piercing this. Thereafter scratching itches leading to infections. Regards, Peter

Posted By Brett Day I'm assuming that this buiding has air conditioning, it may be worth speaking to the company that maintains it and seeing if humidity controls are working. Father was an a/c engineer and often dealt with these sorts of problems, can be caused by kit not working properly amongst other problems including poor ventilation. He was a fan of plants as they don't use electricity to humidify unlike ac.

Posted By Stephen D. Clarke Hi, We have had static problems and in summary there are a number of approaches: • Chemical treatments that reduce static on furniture and carpets. • If its a PC issue newer computer screens are supposedly much less of a problem than earlier models. • Re-arranging your workplace can help; it is common that a large number of electrical items in a relatively small area can cause items to charge. • Touching the wall before touching the door handles, taps, or anything else that could cause a spark could be tried as an immediate solution. • Static humidifiers sometimes work. • Open a window. • Place pot plants around the office. • Buy some mats that allow the personal charge to be dissipated and place them in front of the most used equipment. • Anti-static coats which contain carbon woven into the fabric which safely dissipates static charge. • Spaying carpets every 6 months with a solution of fabric conditioner helped us and is a cheap and effective answer.

Posted By Merv Newman Good stuff from Peter and Richard. However, one important, in my eyes, point was missed. The wearing of synthetic fabrics. Friction on Nylon or similar fabrics allows a static charge to build on the surface of the material and on the surface of the human body. This will occasionally discharge, sometimes to an earthed body, sometimes just to the air. So, be Green. Cotton knickers and Y-fronts only. And spraying fabric softener on carpets and chairs is a well known remedy. Try it next time you do a white wash. Maybe a double dose if you have a dry skin. Merv