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.
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.