Grounding Yourself?

[Fishy4004]

So, I watched many pc building videos. And 25% of them say to "Ground myself" by getting this wriststrap. I asked my super smart pc cousin and asked him about it. He said to wear Cotton shirt, no socks, jeans, and to work on hard floor. Is this accurate?

 

[tcsenter]

It should be sufficient to discharge any static you have accumulated by touching something metal or grounded. e.g. the chassis of the PC, or metal housing of the PSU while it is still connected to an outlet (assuming it has a real earth ground). I have a couple of those wrist straps, never used them (well I did try it on once but it was annoying) and have never zapped anything. I think in certain environments it could be a good idea if you are surrounded by static potential, where you could actually build-up static charge again while working on a computer even though you discharged immediately prior to opening the PC. But I've never had a problem.

Working inside the old CRT monitors and televisions, however, is another thing. There, the grounding strap is to protect YOU not the equipment.

 

[UsandThem]

I've been building computers since the mid 90's. The way I have always prevented static electricity damage is to touch a piece of metal (almost always a metal PC case) with both hands before handling each of the components. Now they sell grounding straps and this and that, but it you touch metal with both hands before picking up a component, you will be fine. Just don't rub your feet on carpet to generate a charge like this:

https://youtu.be/0ftYWzRFJUY?t=1m15s

And I even wore jeans AND socks, and on carpeted floors on some of my builds 😉

 

[Fishy4004]

I've been building computers since the mid 90's. The way I have always prevented static electricity damage is to touch a piece of metal (almost always a metal PC case) with both hands before handling each of the components. Now they sell grounding straps and this and that, but it you touch metal with both hands before picking up a component, you will be fine. Just don't rub your feet on carpet to generate a charge like this:

https://youtu.be/0ftYWzRFJUY?t=1m15s

And I even wore jeans AND socks, and on carpeted floors on some of my builds 😉

So, get case, put both hands on it, and get to work?

 

[Ken g6]

I just touch the case a lot. IME a humidifier helps prevent static electricity too.

 

[Fishy4004]

I just touch the case a lot. IME a humidifier helps prevent static electricity too.

Well that's something new. Is PC building as complicated as most think? I feel it should be easy but at the same time i feel it's not. I've never done stuff like this before.

 

[UsandThem]

So, get case, put both hands on it, and get to work?

I just touch the case a lot. IME a humidifier helps prevent static electricity too.

What Ken g6 said. I just touch the case before touching every component. Do this, and you will be fine. But like he also mentioned, if your house is abnormally dry and you shock yourself when touching things like doorknobs, use a humidifier to get some humidity in there.

 

[Fishy4004]

What Ken g6 said. I just touch the case before touching every component. Do this, and you will be fine. But like he also mentioned, if your house is abnormally dry and you shock yourself when touching things like doorknobs, use a humidifier to get some humidity in there.

Where I live it's usually humid during hot days, so I'm good.