January 21, 2011

Static + Fleece = Zap!

Earlier this week I had a problem with transferring photos to my laptop — the SD card reader stopped working. I'm pretty sure this was caused by static electricity because I had been "zapped" by it a few times that day.

The photos were not vitally important ones; they were snapshots we took while walking our dogs by the lake. I thought the files might have been corrupted but then I was able to view them on our iPad. Since then I acquired a spare card reader from Lynn so I was able to bring the pictures into Photoshop and resize them for posting online. (See yesterday's posts for other results.)

Static is definitely a problem in the winter and I wondered what I should do other than adding moisture to the air in our house. One thing that I already knew but had gotten lax about is to keep synthetic fabrics away from the computer. This includes sweaters and blankets (unless they are made of cotton).

After reading about Materials that Cause Static Electricity, I think moisturizing skin should help. Maybe I should get a metal comb to cut down on static in my hair!

Speaking of static, we saw a segment on the news about dangers of static when you pump gas. It turns out that after sliding out of the car, you should "touch a part of your vehicle that isn't near your gas tank with your bare hand." And resist the temptation to get back in the car to stay warm while the tank is filling.

3 comments:

  1. I hadn't thought about the threat of static electricity but our house is so dry due to wood heat that I should watch out. I usually wear cotton. Thanks for the advice
    nellie

    ReplyDelete
  2. If you tumble dry, don't dry the clothes completely dry. I put fabric conditioner in the washing machine so its added on fast spin cycle and then let the slightly damp clothes dry in the air. No static problem.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks, Nellie and Pat for your comments. I usually wear cotton but had put a fleece blanket over my legs to warm up. From now on I'll use a cotton quilt instead.

    ReplyDelete

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