A customer at my shop in Austin taught me a lesson about static discharge

I was fixing a guy's desktop PC last Tuesday when he walked up and watched me work. He asked why I wasn't wearing a wrist strap, and I told him I've never had a problem in 15 years. Then he pointed out that I was working on a carpeted floor in a dry building. I ordered a pack of grounding mats the same day. Has anyone else gotten away without ESD protection for years or am I just lucky?

2 comments

2 Comments

patricia9051mo ago

schmidt.amy that 25,000 volt number got me thinking about static. My buddy worked at a shop that had this old carpet that would shock you just walking to the break room. One afternoon he was carrying a stack of hard drives and a spark jumped from his hand to the metal case. Wiped out three drives right there. He said the carpet was that cheap stuff from the 80s that felt like sandpaper. Got him a mat the next day too.

schmidt.amy1mo ago

I read a study once that said a person can build up a static charge of 25,000 volts in a dry room with carpet just by walking around. You might not feel the spark until it hits a sensitive computer part, and by then it's too late. I think you dodged a bullet honestly, the mat was a good call.