If you have a sofa or a couch at your house, you must have experienced the zipping feeling your coach gives you at times. As the winter season approaches, people get to experience static electricity.
Often people don’t understand why a sudden zap of electric current shoots through while they put on their sweater, touch their TV, or sit on their couch. It can be surprising to experience a sudden jolt of electric current or electricity surge in the middle of everyday mundane activities. If you have many vulnerable objects and enough furniture in your house, it can be disruptive.
Why does my couch shock me? Your couch can shock you as it is constructed with a material named microfiber. This material is also a good conductor of electricity. So when friction produce charges, microfibers conduct and retain static electricity that gives you a shock.
How Do Couches Produce Static Electricity?
When objects (two or more) are rubbed against one another, it transfers electrons between the surfaces. When electrons are transferred, ions form and have a collective positive or negative charge. When the electrical charges build upon the object’s surface, it causes static electricity.
It is necessary to remove these charges properly or transfer them to the ground; otherwise, they may discharge and result in electrical sparks and shocks like negative outcomes. Although these sparks and shocks have minor damage, they may wreak havoc on sensitive objects, machinery, and electronics. This is why you get shocked when you sit on the couch.
How To Prevent Getting Shocks From My Couch?
There are several ways to prevent getting shocks from the couch and make them resistant to this type of static electricity inside your house. Following are the quick ways that can help make your couch and sofas anti-static.
Using A Humidifier
One prime factor that accumulates static charges on your furniture, including sofas and couches, is simply dry air. When the air in your house or room gets drier, there’ll be more chances of such type of friction that can produce static charges and ions formation on couches and sofas. Therefore, use a humidifier as an effective tip to lower dry air in your home environment.
Humidifying machines are available at low prices at any local store, or you can buy them online on Amazon. These machines help improve the air quality by increasing moisture and saving your furniture from this static electricity and its harmful implications.
Make Use Of Anti-Static Products Like Spray
You can buy anti-static sprays-like products from any store to eliminate electrical sparks and shocks from your couches or furniture around your house. These products come with easy-to-follow instructions to get you the best results and avoid such shocks. Anti-static spray can be applied on fabric without any fear of damaging the integrity surface and quality. When you use anti-static spray, you get the convenience of easy use.
Make Your Anti-Static Spray At Your House
Anti-static spray can also be made at your own house if all the necessary ingredients are present without requiring you to buy them online or any local store. Firstly take an empty spray bottle and fill in the anti-static spraying mixture to spray on the fabric material of your couch evenly. You just need to add white vinegar and water equally to the spray bottle.
Then mix these substances properly by giving a good shake to the bottle and then spray the anti-static mixture on the couch. Give time for drying, and eventually, you get rid of static discharge and shocks. You can also achieve similar results by using another chemical, a fabric softener liquid. Add nine parts of water with 1 part of the fabric softener liquid to make the spray.
Using Fabric Softener
The next trick for getting rid of couch shocks is using dryer sheets or fabric softeners mostly intended for washing and laundry purposes. They contain anti-static properties, so you can use them for rubbing the fabric down the couch to discharge static electricity. A good benefit of using fabric softener on the couch is getting a pleasant scent.
How Can You Avoid Static Electricity On Your Couch?
Static electricity can be a big issue in winter and autumn at your house. So during these dry and cold months, the best way to eliminate static electricity is by avoiding the use of synthetic fabrics and also by improving indoor humidity. You must prevent the buildup of static that protects you from shocks and static cling. Make anti-static spray at your house to overcome the building up of static electricity.
What Can I Do If I Don’t Have A Humidifier?
If you can’t purchase a humidifier immediately or don’t own one, you can use other ways to fix the problem of dry air during the winter months and add moisture to your house environment. For instance, you can add more plants to your house, which can help eliminate the issues related to static charges. This is because plants respire and add more water vapor to your home environment.
The next trick would be to fill a pot full of water and then put it on the stove. When water on the pot boils, the water molecules in the surface layer evaporate and humidify the air surrounding the air.
Will There Be A Vinegar Smell On My Couch If I Use The Homemade Anti-Static Spray?
People have this concern that using homemade anti-static spray by mixing water and white vinegar for spraying on couch fabric can make your couch retain the sour odor and distinct vinegar. However, this does not happen. The vinegar evaporates quickly and doesn’t leave any sour smell on your couch.
Final Words
In winter, people get a little shock whenever they touch their couch. This happens due to the build-up of static electricity. You can keep your home’s humidity at least 30% in winters or use a humidifier to keep the moisture content up. Another means would be to use anti-static spray on the couch.