How to Remove Static From Your Workspace

Static electricity is everywhere. In fact, you may be carrying 25,000 volts of static electricity on your clothes right now. Usually, static electricity is little more than a nuisance or source of amusement (remember rubbing balloons on your head as a kid?) but in some situations, static electricity can be destructive and dangerous. Fortunately, reducing static electricity is easy with the help of anti-static brushes. No matter what industry or line of work you are in, anti-static brushes can help you reduce potentially harmful static buildup.

What Causes Electro Static Buildup?

Static electricity occurs when electrons build up on a surface. Static build up does not occur when there are other ions in the air for the electrons to bond with. For instance, in humid weather, the air is full of water molecules. Water conducts electricity. Materials that conduct electricity prevent it from building up. Conversely, Low humidity is a major cause of electro static build up, which is why it static electricity is more common in the winter, when the weather is drier. Some materials, such as PTFE, attract and hold onto static electricity. In dry weather and where insulating materials like glass or PTFE are used, it may be necessary to take additional steps to eliminate static electricity.

What Industries Have the Worst Static Buildup?

Electro static build up can be a nuisance in just about any work space, but there are industries that need to be especially vigilant about removing static electricity. Some of those industries include:

Information Technology

Static electricity can damage computer parts, especially during hardware upgrades. Before you begin the process of swapping out hardware, use an anti-static brush to remove static electricity from the inside of your computer.

Semiconductor manufacturing        

Reducing static electricity is essential for semiconductor manufacturers. Anti-static brushes come in a range of sizes, and can be used to reduce or eliminate electro static discharge build-up on all of your manufacturing surfaces.

Healthcare

In hospitals, static electricity can be hazardous, particularly if there is build up near volatile items such as oxygen-rich gases. Anti-static brushes can remove static build up from operating room equipment and reduce the risk of explosion.

Thunderon^®

Thunderon^® is a patented organic fiber of copper sulfide chemically bonded to acrylic and nylon fibers, Thunderon^® performs better than conventional carbon, stainless steel, or metal-plated fibers. Thunderon^® offers unmatched corona discharge, superior conductivity, enhanced abrasion resistance and superior bend recovery, and antibacterial and odor-elimination properties. It is available in a wide range of materials, including filament, cloth, rope, tape, yarn and brushes.

Thunderon^® is ideal for use in printing, office machines, business machines, photo finishing, paper converting, plastic converting, and textile machinery. It also has bacteriostatic applications in hospitals and clean room environments.

Thunderon^® Corona Cord^™

Micro-conductive Thunderon^® fibers furnish thousands of conductive points causing ionization and grounding of static charge. Thunderon^® Corona Cord^™ is ideal for film, printing, paper, rewinding, labels, extruding, textile, conveyors, laminating, packaging, plastic, gravure, web, etc.

Cleanrooms

Medical device, pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical and electronic manufacturers use clean rooms to protect their products from contamination. Hospitals also use clean rooms to protect patients with severely compromised immune system from coming into contact with anything that can cause infection. It’s essential that clean rooms remain free of contamination of any kind.

Static electricity can attract dust, which in a clean room is a microcontaminant. Because clean rooms are supposed to be free of all contamination, dust particles need to be eliminated. However, the equipment that is used to keep clean rooms clean can build up a lot of electro static discharge – and in turn, attract dust. It’s important to remove electro static discharge buildup in HEPA filters and on surfaces made of glass, PTFE and plastic.

Contact Gordon Brush^®

For more information about how you can remove static electricity from your workspace, contact Gordon Brush^® today. Our representatives will help you find an anti-static brush that will suit the needs of your industry and application.