Static - can it be beaten?

Increase the humidity in your home as that is the underlying problem. There are tricks like soaking the record mat in Woolite, but proper humidity is the solution. I went around in circles with this problem with my LP-12 (I've caught the needle a few times) and now I use a hygrometer and programable humidifier. Haven't had static anywhere in the house for several years.

As I posted on another recent thread here, your house feels more comfortable and your fuel bills are lower too, with proper humidity.

Ron The Mon,
Needle-Freak

I have a similar problem with the LP12. I took a few records to my dealers to clean them a few weeks ago. Initially this got rid of static on these particular records but after a couple of plays I found the static creeping back.

Ron the Mon:

What do mean by 'proper' humidity?

Steve B

If you think the P9 is bad you should try the Nottingham Spacedeck. With the graphite mat on bad humidity days I get small bolts of elctricity crackling between arm and record! Its mainly cured by using nagaoka sleeves and keeping humidity up (even a bowl of water helped). Its easy to get portable humdidifiers (mainly used in this country for kids bedrooms ...asthma, croup etc).

John

Steve,
"Proper" humidity is a minimum of 50%.

Zerostat, record sleeves, washing records, and Woolite-soaked record mats are all trying to do the same thing; eliminate the static electricity caused by a dry environment.

It is better to eliminate the dry environment which causes the records (which are plastic, get it?) to get the static in the first place!

If you have a forced-air furnace, a built-in humidifier with programmable settings is the lowest maintanance way to go. Just set it and forget it. A warm air mister in the hi-fi/record storage room can be had as a programmable unit. A cheap portable humidifier with a separate hygrometer (humidity measuring device) may be used in the dry winter months. Depending on the size of your room or house, type of heating system, and finances, will determine the model to choose.

As I've said before, proper humidity pays for itself in the way of savings on heating bills. 68 degrees "f" at 60% humidity feels warmer than 71 degrees "f" at 40% humidity.

I originally checked my humidity as a solution to my felt mat lifting off my LP-12, but now my hi-fi sounds better and more consistant, as well as a reduction of over $100. on my cumulative heating bills this past year. Tell the wife about the fuel savings, take her out, and you get the benefit of a better sounding hi-fi and static-free records! Everyone's happy.

Do you have nosebleeds? Can you rub your stocking feet on the carpet and "ZAP!" someone? Is your skin itchy and extra dry? Do you need to put anti-cling sheets in your electric dryer? Does your record mat stick to your records?

All are symptoms of low humidity. Fix it.

Ron The Mon,
Needle-Freak

quote:

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...may be used in the dry winter months.

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Thanks for the very useful info. I live in the UK and can't recall ever experiencing a dry winter month!

Its very damp here at the moment (100% relative humidity outside) and static isn't currently a problem so there must be something in what you say.

My listening room is directly opposite my bathroom, so in the summer I could simply turn the shower on for a few minutes and leave the doors open.

Steve B

Chaps

We have little water vessels secured to some central heating radiators which cause the water to evaporate and hence keep the air moist. Central heating has a tendency to dry out the air.

I use them because we have some antique furniture and it does work.

Regards

Mick

Ron -

I appreciate the humidity point and will try your suggestions.

However, as several have said, living in London right now seems to be like living on the set of Blade Runner - it is permanently raining.

I can see that this might not have that much relationship to the humidity level inside my flat, but what puzzles me is the way the Rega mat suffers very badly from static build-up, but the Linn one doesn't.

Could this have something to do with their respective materials (wool vs felt)?

Tim

Tim,
The inside of your home has no relation to the outside. The winter months cause low humidity not because of the outside but because your home is closed to the elements.

The ouside of my house right now is VERY foggy and high humidity. But since my home is closed, the weather stays outside. Also, the heater in the house is drying the inside air further.

The only way to be sure is to get a hygrometer and put it near your turntable. A P-9 or LP-12 are not humidity measuring devices so don't compare apples to oranges. Only a hygrometer will tell the facts. If I didn't mention above, they only sell for a few pounds. Most hardware stores sell them.

Ron The Mon,
Needle-Freak

Ron -

I'm not suggesting LP12s or P9s are humidity measuring devices. I only have one tt - the P9, and while I get static on the Rega mat, I don't when I use an old Linn one on the P9.

As I said above - I appreciate what you say about humidity and I am aware that internal hunidity decreases in winter. But what I'm asking is: why do I get static with one mat and not the other? Is humidity the only factor? Surely some materials are more prone to static build-up than others?

Tim

Pop the mat in an antistatic record sleeve.

Andrew

Andrew Randle
Linn Binn Sinner

Tim,
It is possible that your LP-12 mat was in a moister room or on a surface that "grounded" it. Your explanation of materials being affected differently by humidity is also valid. Put your P-9 mat in the same place the LP-12 mat was and find out. Perhaps in addition to Andrew's suggestion, you can "rotate" mats when one becomes charged, until you fix your humidity problem.

Ron The Mon,
Needle-Freak

Mick Parry you are now offically the replacment for my grandparents.

Nothing facinated me more than the little china pots with a metal hook, secured to the radiators with water in them.