How to Deal with Static Electricity in Carpet

  It’s probably happened to all of us at one time or another – you walk across the floor and with the next thing you touch – you get a little static electrical shock. It’s usually not much of a problem, but sometimes it can be quite annoying. Many things affect the level of static generated such as differences in environments, different types of fiber, construction methods of carpet, materials used as backing, carpet pads, and sometimes even the type of floor over which carpet is placed can be a source of the problem.


  Carpet properly tested by the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists ensures an acceptable static performance level for carpet used in home environments. However, static performance can be altered over time as a result of wear, soiling, cleaning, temperature, and relative humidity. When any of these changes occur, the levels of static electricity can change as well.

  Today, carpet is available with built-in static inhibitors including specific fiber blends and specially engineered coated fibers which limit the static accumulation. If static shock becomes a problem in your home, the situation can best be reduced by maintaining a proper balance of relative humidity with a humidifier. You can also contact a professional carpet cleaner and have a non-permanent antistatic product applied to your carpet.