[Quiet Earth]

A friggin' dryer sheet? Are you kidding me?? Unbelievable. Wait, let's back up a little bit.....

I use a Boston Audio Mat1 on my turntable platter. I like the way that my table sounds with that particular mat. The sound is quicker, clearer, and more dynamic with that mat. It can be a little bright, but not too bright. It made me revisit the cartridge alignment until I got it just right. A worthy accessory.

The Boston Audio mat is made from carbon and it is very rigid and dry. The only downside is, every play of a record side generates some static which is a real nuisance when it comes time to flip the record over. I have always just dealt with the static issue because I like the way the mat sounds. Well, a few weeks ago I placed a generic fabric softening dryer sheet underneath my turntable platform and the static that I normally deal with is gone. Static from playing a record has been completely eliminated (so far). The static charge from walking across the carpet has been greatly reduced, but not eliminated. That I can deal with.

The dryer sheet is new from the box (unused) and it rests on the main rack shelf. It barely comes into contact with the bottom of the turntable platform. Dryer sheets are folded, so when you lay one out flat it will peak up a little bit at the fold. The turntable itself rests on the platform, and the platform rests on the rack shelf. The dryer sheet doesn't come anywhere near the platter or the record. It just sits there underneath. Yet it still works.

Try this at your house and let me know if it makes a difference in reducing static build up around your table. I realize that what works for me may not work for you, but give it a shot anyway. What do you have to lose?

FWIW, we haven't turned the heater on yet because it's not cold enough right now. I don't know if this tweak will be effective for me during the winter months. I also don't know how long the dryer sheet will last. It's only been a few weeks so far. I will report back as soon as I start having static problems again.

Let's play some records!

[sfox7076]

And those grungy used records I bought smell better too!

[GentleBender]

My static is not as bad as yours, but I will give it a go. Better than dealing with all the dust that is attracted to a static charged record. Mine seems to be worse if I leave an LP on the platter, happens quite a bit. 

[Scott F.]

Cool idea I'll have to give it a try.

[rollo]

  Cool inexpensive solution so far. If it fails then consider grounding you stand to a wall outlet  [ attach wire to stand by screw and then attach wire to screw holding cover plate, done ]. or, buy an anti - static mat to stand on before you touch a thing. Check out Edmund Scientific. Very affective and not expensive. Just may not have wife factor approval.


charles

[sunnydaze]

I run a cheapo piece of zip cord, one bare end attached to phono stage ground post, other bare end laying on my shelf.  Touch it before touching arm, or any other piece of gear.  No more static shocks.

Instead of ground post, it can also be attached to ground prong of blank 3 prong plug, and plug it into wall.

This won't eliminate static buildup in your playback system or your body, but it allows you to drain it and prevents those annoying (and potentially gear damaging) shocks that happen when you touch stuff on your rack.

[Charles Xavier]

Will the ground wire work on an amp if you go to a chassis screw then to the ground on an outlet ?

[sunnydaze]

Will the ground wire work on an amp if you go to a chassis screw then to the ground on an outlet ?

I don't think so.  You may be grounding your gear, but your body will still be "charged", hence a discharge shock will happen when you touch your tonearm or other metal.  I don't know why a shock is not felt when I touch the bare wire end of my discharge station described above.

[Quiet Earth]

Well, we started running the heater about a week ago. Just a little bit first thing in the morning and for a few hours in the evening. Still no static problems. I'm using the same dryer sheet too.

I have been vacuuming a lot of records lately with the Nitty Gritty. That always makes things worse static-wise. The dryer sheet says "bring it on", so I keep bringing it. No static. I will report back as soon as conditions get really dry - when the heater is working full time. I'm sure the static will return, but maybe it will be minimal. Time will tell.

Meanwhile, I am spinning a lot of records and enjoying a lot of music. Life is good.

[bladesmith]

Cool.   

[sebrof]

I saw your post and put a dryer sheet under my TT mat. Seems to help quite a bit.
Thanks for the idea.