Winter is here in Ohio as I am reminded every time I look out the window at the snow. With the snow, comes the furnace and the static electricity. (Never had this problem before with a boiler and radiant heat, but we sprung a leak last Feb. and had to have the whole system changed)
Every time I reach down to pick up Murphy, or pet him, I can feel the little "jolts" of static.
I'm sure I am not the only one, so wondering what others do to prevent shocking their pets. (Have a dehumidifier due to the flood, I know wrong one...but really don't want to buy a humidifier too, and looking for other alternatives, if any)
He doesn't seem to mind or notice, but I feel it, and think he has to also.
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Yeah being In MI we have it too and what we did was get some humdiifiers going. We have one in the livingroom, our bedroom and my office and it has helped.
It sure does hurt especially when I am the one getting zapped. I am sure they feel it too but could not really say.
Boil water, turn it off and leave the pot on the stove. Run the shower until there is steam and let that spread throughout the house. You can put bowls of warm water around.
We have the same problem here! Even when I run the humidifier it happens.
Sometimes I dampen my hand just slightly before petting them and then there are no shocks.
It feels so bad to shock them when I am trying to luv em up!
I have this problem as well! We have several large tropical fish tanks that add moisture to the air- alot of water evaporates each week. But the cats & I still get zapped! I don't have a solution, but I was wondering if spritzing the cats with leave in hair conditioner would help?
Fill a spray bottle with water and just a capful of perfume/dye-free fabric softener. Spray lightly around the carpeting the most heavily trafficked areas of the house. We just started doing that, and it is helping. We are also not shocking each other now.
Haha that happens here too! Sometimes Solo will come up to sniff my arm or something then gets a little jolt on his nose. Poor guy! He doesn't seem to really care though..its more of a surprise if anything to them.
When we have electrical shock from touching, I notice my cats sort of jump a little jump too, like I do. I like the ideas for humidifying the house. I try to touch wood right before I touch the cats, that helps too. I believe it grounds the electricty.
Great ideas all and thanks!
I think I'll wait this winter out and then invest in a humidifier when they go on sale in the spring.
Wetting my hand sounds great, as the water bottle is usually within reach, LOL. I'll also try the wood thing too Kris.
Could be my imagination since I know nothing about this, but there seems to be less static passed to Murphy if I wear a pair of
slippers with a rubber bottom.
Jan...I'm not a great cook, but I CAN boil water, good idea. I think I'll pass on the bowls of water around though, as there is no spot safe with Murphy, and I would end up posting another thread entitled, "Help, soaked carpet in winter. Do I use a humidifier or a dehumidifier". LOL
Thanks again and Happy Holidays all.