Avoid Sparks In Your Home This Valentine's Day
Unfortunately, the dry wintertime air can bring static electricity along with it. While most of us are familiar with its unpleasant shock, few know about its ability to actually spark a fire. Static electricity can be to blame for starting electrical fires in your home. There are a few things that you can do to reduce your risk of experiencing this unpleasant result.
How to Reduce Static Electricity
Dry air is a known culprit of static electricity. Because of this, it only makes sense to help humidify the air inside your home. You can do this by installing a humidifier or even a whole-home humidification system. Both will work to help introduce more moisture into the air. This can limit the formation of static shock that you and your family experience. One area where most people receive a shock is when walking across their rugs or carpeting. Most carpets and rugs use synthetic material that can hold an unwanted charge. You can help to dampen the charge by using an over-the-counter anti-static spray. Also, placing some plants on the floor level can help to provide humidity. This can keep your carpeting and rugs from creating a static electric charge. Another common area for static electricity in the winter months is your clothing. We’ve all tried pulling apart clothes and sticking to our bodies due to static electricity. You can help to reduce the amount of static electricity in your clothes. Use dryer sheets, a fabric softener, or even hang dry your clothes instead of drying them in your dryer.
What to Do When Static Electricity Strikes Around Your Outlets and Light Switches?
One alarming instance is when you feel a static shock from one of your outlets or your light switches. This can be scary because you’re dealing with things that use powerful electricity. The metal parts that are part of your outlets and switches can hold a static charge. This can include the screws in the cover plates that you may touch. If you often get a shock when you’re using your outlets or light switches, then it’s time to address the issue. You want to first start by measuring the shock. If it’s a light shock like what you’re used to when dealing with static electricity, then this can be an easy fix. If the shock is more severe, you’ll want to call in a licensed electrician. They can see if there is a malfunction in your switch or outlet. Using the tactics that we went over should help reduce the amount of static electricity in your home. There are some other strategies that you can use. Consider taking a dryer sheet and rubbing it over the outlet or light switch. This can help to discharge the screws in the covers.
Call Us Today
If your efforts to reduce the static electricity around your home haven’t worked, it’s time to give us a call. Let our helpful electricians assist you with all your home electrical needs.
