I wear UGG boots in winter because it's fucking cold.
I also wrap myself in a blanket on the couch, and have a lovely area rug so I don't have to walk on a cold floor. All these things are necessary to survive the winter; my house isn't well insulated.
The problem with all this, is that I build up a static charge. So when I go to pat my beautiful sweetheart of a dog, I zap him. It's audible and I'm sure, quite unpleasant. Often on the head. He obviously doesn't like that, I think he's taking it personally, and I feel awful. It completely cancels out the affection I'm trying to show him.
So the question for the Lemmy community is:
How do I discharge the static before I pat my dog? I have started shocking my partner (which he doesn't like, but accepts over the alternative), before patting my dog. But as he's out tonight, I have no human vessel to offer as tribute?
What can I touch in my house before patting my dog so that he doesn't receive a shock?
Edit: standard Australian house and furniture
Another edit: I'm all the sheets to the wind so the engineering advice is not sinking in. But I'm loving the immediate response that I'd never have gotten on Deaddit.
Again: I can't stop giggling at how helpful everyone is being and how short m, drunk and silly I am, in a house with apparently no metal
And again: I should probably take me and my baby to bed now, but a big thank you to everyone who replied. You've all been lovely. Lemmy is really a different space to ask these questions! I'll be trying out many of your suggestions over the weekend; big thanks from me and my boy x
Final: thanks to everyone who responded. I did try the kitchen tap again last night and this time it worked! Mustn't have built up enough charge when I tried the night I posted. I will still primarily zap my partner's leg as it's usually closer and doing it makes me laugh. It's important he understands where he fits in the household hierarchy as well. I also learnt that American houses are very different (screws and radiators everywhere!) so that was interesting too.
You probably need to get a humidifier. Low humidity is very common in the winter, and creates (or at least encourages) static buildup. Added bonus is that it will make your place feel warmer at the same time.
You may also want to invest in better insulation. Even if you just rent, there are a variety of cheap and temporary options that can save you a bundle on heating and cooling.
If it’s cold and the place isn’t that well insulated, adding humidity can lead to disastrous results.
The humidity will build up and cling to the windows, it can freeze breaking the seals, but it can also run off into the wall causing mold and damage to the framing and anything else.
You shouldn’t have the humidity above 35%rh below freezing, unless you have very specific reasons too (hard wood, piano, health) but be prepared for additional costs eventually in some form. Wheter it’s upgrading to allow the house to do it, fixing issues, or preventing damage.
Also, raising the humidity makes the air feel colder not warmer, so that’s just plain false.
Do you have anything to support that last statement? A quick Google search returns countless hits saying that humid air feels warm. Examples:
https://teamhardingcomfort.com/2022/10/05/does-running-a-humidifier-make-your-house-feel-warmer/
https://airsmartly.com/does-a-cool-mist-humidifier-make-the-room-cold/
The only real exception I could find is swamp coolers, where it gets your skin slightly moist and evaporation cools you.
That’s the issue with quick google results, they are likely from fair weather states and refering to warmer temperatures.
https://www.montrealsciencecentre.com/blog/dry-cold-damp-cold-winter-weather-colder-when-humidity-higher
If the RH is too high your body can’t evaporate your perspiration which leads to it clinging to you and you feeling cold and damp instead.
Thank you for the meaningful response. While I have several issues with the information in that page (among others, 75% RH is very hard to reach in cold weather), I do see a path to how it could feel colder.
I try to keep my home around 40-45% RH in the winter, and find that it feels significantly warmer than when it's at 25%. It also greatly reduces the static shocks, as well as keeps my skin from drying and chapping.
I will concede it’s also not likely not an issue with everyone. I sweat at like 18c so it’s always going to feel colder to me since I’m always “drenched”.
So not even I’m entirely correct, but trying to explain too much loses people sometimes.
I've always felt humidity in winter/cold weather feels more cold, not warm. Am I alone in this appreciation of temperature?
I live in Scotland and yes, you don't want to be damp in cold weather. It feels miserable. You douse yourself in water to cool down on a hot day, don't you? In winter you do your best to keep snug and dry.
Re the static issue, give the dog a treat every time you shock it, train it to enjoy being shocked. 👹
You are not. A dry cold is not as bone chilling as a humid one. I assume there is something about body heat warming up water molecules or denser air or something.
I own the place but honestly, we've got "feature weeds" in our back yard so insulation is just another thing on the list
I'm going to agree with the other commenter. We had the same issue and started running a humidifier and it resolved the static issues. Not only is it uncomfortable for your pet, but it's also really bad for your electronics.
Watch out with the type of humidifier though. Standing water and parts that never dry (e.g. inside hoses in the humidifier) are perfect breeding grounds for bacteria. And "cool mist" type humidifiers use ultrasonic frequencies to atomize all that crap that builds up in your humidifier and spread it into nice little droplets, which are perfect for getting germs really deep into your lungs.
If you tend to get respiratory infections quite often, your humidifier might be to blame.
Mate, my lungs are mostly chalk and I have half the sinus space of most humans. Humidifiers just sound like my version of Skynet
My son has a chronic respiratory illness, and as much as I'd love to raise the humidity in my flat, doing so using a humidifier would probably send him to the hospital pretty fast.
actually, (unless you have been told not to) humidity can help.
Humidity yes, bacteria and other germs, especially germs that can live in water are a massive no-go. Germs like Pseudomonas aeruginosa would give him a permanent lung infection and many strains of it are resistant to pretty much all antibiotics.
For people with his condition, a Pseudomonas infection is usually the point where stuff like sports or even walking up stairs permanently ends.
So raising humidity isn't bad, but the means to do so are a killer, literally.
Btw, thanks for the downvote. I'm sure you know much more about the illness of my child, an illness that I haven't even named here, than I do, who has to make sure that kid survives. Seriously, that kind of behaviour triggers me so much. That happens so often, that people who haven't even heard of that illness before know everything better. It seriously makes me angry.
That kid spent ~5% of his life in hospital, getting IV antibiotics due to his condition. He takes ~30 doses of medicine a day, just to keep him alive. But people who wouldn't even know how to spell the condition think they know better.
Pro tip: If you aren't affected by the specific illness in question / aren't taking care of someone who is, keep your armchair medical knowledge to yourself.
That's using even more electricity mate and I'm producing enough of my own!
you can make a humidifier with a bowl of water with a towel in it, for faster humidification add more bowls and towels.
And put them near a breeze, like a fan. Opening your windows for a breeze will defeat the entire purpose of humidifying your home.
It's currently 5 degrees Celsius
Do you want solutions or just to complain about the problem?
Yes.
There are a few different types of humidifiers out there. Here are the 3 main types:
Vaporizers. These literally just heat the water until it boils, and the steam evaporates into the air. They use a lot of electricity, which also creates a lot of heat (note: exactly the same amount of you have an electric resistor furnace). They can be a safety risk (because boiling water), and require frequent cleaning/descaling if you have hard water. IMHO, these also make the air feel more humid.
Evaporators. These are basically just a fan over a wet towel. Very cheap, very low energy. Often less effective. As they are effectively standing water, you have to be careful to keep them clean or the nasties will grow quickly. This is also the type that "whole home" humidifiers typically are.
Ultrasonic. These are very popular these days, and may randomly be sold as cool mist, warm mist (if they have a small heating element). Low energy options that vibrate the water into a fine mist, which then evaporates. But they will also vibrate everything else in your water into the air. These deposits, like calcium or limestone, can affect your breathing. They will also leave dust all over everything you own. Recommend using distilled water for these.