Help it HURTS US!!!!!
 

Ok we have at this time only one problem with Canada:sneaky: , it’s a little problem but it hurts us and no matter where you are and at what time it gets you, Static!!!!!!!:eek:

Ok I know it’s because it’s very dry, which by the way we love coming from Scotland where it rains 24/7 or at least seemed that way.
But my hair and the kids is on a constant lets wave at every one that’s passing, and every time we get out the car, go shopping or even today, Kissing them off to school we are getting shocked.

I am not talking little tingles here but whopping big bangs when ever we kiss the kids touch any thing off the shelves or even get out the car….

Please help, what things can we do?, use? maybe even eat? to stop this happing to us…. :)

Re: Help it HURTS US!!!!!
 

http://www.static-sol.com/articles/static_shocks.htm

Everything you ever wanted to know about static electricity but were afraid to ask :lol:

Re: Help it HURTS US!!!!!
 

Great link Shears:thumbup: , will also make the kids read up on this as at this time they see it as a sport, Who can shock the most contest....:mad: but I still need help with the limp, flyaway hair:confused:

Re: Help it HURTS US!!!!!
 

Can it be something you get used to? .... or maybe after a while you dehydrate sufficiently for it not to be so much a problem?? :ohmy:

It's just that when we first came here I too found it dreadful, to the point of be afraid to touch anything metal at all..... now I get the occasional shock and they don't seem so bad.

One good tip when you are getting out of the car, is to touch the metalwork with your car key as you get out ..... you hear a "sizzle" at the key, but usually don't feel a thing! :thumbup:

Also try to gradually change your wardrobe to get rid of man-made clothing .... all that synthetic stuff sure builds up the charge! :blink:

Re: Help it HURTS US!!!!!
 

addendum:

Gas stations here have notices on the pumps warning you to touch the car to discharge the static before attemtping to fill up.... I presume it's a real risk!

Recently a nurse who had just applied alcohol hand rub to her hands reached to touch an 02 cylinder while her hands were still fumy, and the resulting spark ignited the fumes in the oxygen rich atmosphere!

The nurse suffered minor burns, and the patient had to be treated for shock (traumatic, rather than electric!) :eek:

Re: Help it HURTS US!!!!!
 

Yes, I suffered really badly when we first got here too.
I think it was made worse when I wore my crocs as my indoor shoes.
I touch the car with my key when I get out too. :)

Things do seem to have got better now, 5 months later. Having said that, my daughter and i often have painful goodbyes! Lol. :ohmy:

Hope things get better.

Re: Help it HURTS US!!!!!
 

A "High Five" is a good way of discharging, and if you slap eachother hard enough, it is quite hard to tell if you have had a shock as well! :rofl:

Re: Help it HURTS US!!!!!
 

I'll remember that one!

Thaks Mo! :rofl:

Hope you and yours are keeping well.

Re: Help it HURTS US!!!!!
 

Lil lad is still porrly-sick.:( I just tucked him into bed and his temp is 39.3! This morning it was 38.6 and this afternoon I took him to the docs where they measured it at 36.7 :confused: He hd not taken any anti-pyretics, and I was quite hopeful that he was improving, but now it's swung right back up there again. :blink:

He does have a bit of a cough now, so the general concensus is that it is a flu-bug. ..... but after 6 days, I would expect his fever to be improving really. :unsure:

The rest of us are fine .... how are you and yours?

Re: Help it HURTS US!!!!!
 

Good shampoo/conditioner(not the drug store crap) and avoid the flatiron. Straightened hair holds charge like nobody's business in winter.

Re: Help it HURTS US!!!!!
 

No idea how to stop it happening.................I suffered with it loads when we first got here but it doesn't seem so bad now...................wait till you go shopping :ohmy: bloody carts hurt like hell!! :eek:

Re: Help it HURTS US!!!!!
 

I've made reference to this before - it is so not funny sometimes ! And we've only done two-week stints at a time. It's something I've been seriously concerned about - we're quite a tactile family !! I've been reading the thread about the humidifiers with interest too. Do many people go this route?

It is interesting to hear that people's experiences of the shock treatment seems to diminish somewhat over time. Hurrah !

Can someone tell me if this is why there are so many wooden floors ?! Or is that just a practical/fashion reason (which I like but when they are everywhere, I think it is quite cold). Is a wool carpet OK versus a more man-made fibre content?

Re: Help it HURTS US!!!!!
 

Apparently true magnetic north is placed directly over canada no I didnt know that either ,until someone enlightened me ,could be the reason for all that static :)

Re: Help it HURTS US!!!!!
 

Get a humidifier(sp?). I was in a recording studio in Toronto last year just around this time of year as well. We had some pretty serious issues with static. The building had automatic humidifier but with winter chills the heating was up and the rooms got very very dry. They had to up the humidity in the rooms.

So - get a humidifier at home. It does help.

Re: Help it HURTS US!!!!!
 

Put your hand on the top of the cat door before your foot touches the ground - this will stop the shock at your hand and discharge the static through your shoes, you won't feel a thing. Been doing this for years.