Why Is My Mattress Exhibiting Electrical Phenomena?

AI Thread Summary
The discussion revolves around unusual electrical sensations experienced in a household, particularly through bed mattresses, leading to feelings of movement, extreme heating, and waking sensations described as electrical pulses. Participants speculate on potential causes, including static electricity, mattress materials, and possible neurological issues. Suggestions include changing bedding to cotton, using humidifiers, and grounding the bed to plumbing. The original poster reports improvements after replacing the duvet with wool blankets and adjusting humidity levels, but some sensations persist. The conversation blends serious troubleshooting with humor, reflecting a mix of concern and lightheartedness about the situation.
DEW
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we seem to be suffering from strange, what I am pretty sure, is electrical activity in our house. We seem to be getting electrical charges through bed mattresses, that actually make the mattress feel as if it is moving and/or strange extreme heating up of the bed mattresses. Also, when we are asleep we are often awakened by strange, what I can only describe as electrical pulses attacking the duvet, that cause feelings of severe pins and needles. We're all getting cranky from lack of sleep and very fed up. Anyone any ideas of what is going on?
 
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Let's say this Twinkie represents the normal amount of psychokinetic energy in an average household. According to my calculations based on the phenomena you've described, if represented as a snack food the total amount of psychokinetic energy in your house would be a Twinkie 35 feet long, weighing approximately 600 pounds. Plus, poltergeists love duvets.

I recommend proton packs and a containment grid.
 
But seriously, have you just tried sleeping in a different room? Does it all still happen?
 
Your house isn't built on a Native American burial ground, is it?
 
You said "we" so I presume there's someone else in bed with you...does that person feel this, too?

Did it just start, or has it been going on for a while?
 
you really should throw a fabric softener sheet in the dryer with the duvet
 
OK...does anyone think DEW will come back?
 
Proton Soup said:
you really should throw a fabric softener sheet in the dryer with the duvet
And if that doesn't work, try a humidifier. Or different sheets/blankets. Sounds like static electricity to me.
 
He's probably dead. You jerks kept joking around while he was being attacked by vengeful spirits coming out of his TV and closet.

You should be ashamed. :mad:
 
  • #10
He's been crushed under the giant Twinkie.
 
  • #11
Okay, he took too long to come back, it's play time.
BACK OFF MAN
9teexi.jpg

I'M A SCIENTIST
 
  • #12
:rolleyes: Maybe it's time to move the foot of the metal bedframe off the broken extension cord running under it?
 
  • #13
Moonbear said:
:rolleyes: Maybe it's time to move the foot of the metal bedframe off the broken extension cord running under it?

or maybe this bed has a quarter slot
 
  • #14
CaptainQuasar said:
Okay, he took too long to come back, it's play time.
BACK OFF MAN
9teexi.jpg

I'M A SCIENTIST


God dammit, he probably crossed the beams. =/

He's stuck fighting Zuul in some other dimension right now.
 
  • #15
Well, fat lot of good you lot are! Here I am, a beautiful damsel in distress, and you lot are taking the mickey. Actually, it did cheer me up. But this is serious guys, something weird is going on in my house and yes I have tried the spare room, but it still continued. So, apart from ghosties, anyone got any sensible ideas of what's going on?:cry:
 
  • #16
Get a new mattress. One that isn't infused with spirits of the dead.
 
  • #17
WarPhalange said:
Get a new mattress. One that isn't infused with spirits of the dead.

And remember to always ask the realtor if the house is built on an indian burial ground.
 
  • #18
DEW said:
Actually, it did cheer me up. But this is serious guys, something weird is going on in my house and yes I have tried the spare room
Static is unlikely to be enough to wake you up. Much more likely is either getting too hot (prickly heat) or some allergy to the sheets or detergent.
Try some new cotton sheets and use them without washing them.
 
  • #19
WarPhalange said:
Get a new mattress. One that isn't infused with spirits of the dead.

That's ridiculous. The dead don't have spirits. It's the ones who are not dead yet but walk on earth.
 
  • #20
I did have the comfiest mattress ever, well up to six months ago, but if it was ghosties and ghoulies they might hang around my bedroom, waiting to jump into my nice new mattress and I would still have the same problem.

Seriously now, I'm getting unwanted electricity from somewhere, any ideas.
 
  • #21
DEW said:
I did have the comfiest mattress ever, well up to six months ago, but if it was ghosties and ghoulies they might hang around my bedroom, waiting to jump into my nice new mattress and I would still have the same problem.

Seriously now, I'm getting unwanted electricity from somewhere, any ideas.

If it's electricity, you're ok, because you can measure it. Build an electroscope and find out. It's really easy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electroscope

And a bonus is that if there is a lot of electricity you can turn it to a power source. However, dead spirits are currently beyond physics so those could be a problem.
 
  • #22
Thats a good idea, detect if it actually is electricity, how much of it there is and then all I have to do is work out how to harness it and then I could sell it back to the National Grid. Looking on the bright side, I could be quids in here but, on there otherhand, am I ever going to get a good night's sleep ever again :cry: :cry: :cry:
 
  • #23
Any high voltage transmission lines nearby?
 
  • #24
DEW said:
ISeriously now, I'm getting unwanted electricity from somewhere, any ideas.
Did you read my post about static electricity...?
 
  • #25
I did read your post about static electricity and that's a good point. I'm going to get rid of everything off that bed that doesn't need to be on it and see what happens. And, I'm going to raise the humidity with a wet towel on the radiator.

Outside, to the front of the house is the telegraph pole from which is our telephone line, which joins on to the front of our house, to the side of my bedroom window and also two street lamps which are fairly new. Inside, in my bedroom the only electrical things that are plugged in all the time are my Lumie lamp and my radio (radio is on all night come to think of it).
 
  • #26
DEW said:
Well, fat lot of good you lot are! Here I am, a beautiful damsel in distress, and you lot are taking the mickey. Actually, it did cheer me up. But this is serious guys, something weird is going on in my house and yes I have tried the spare room, but it still continued.
Are you the only one who feels this, or do others in your house feel it too? That could help sort out if it's something with YOUR wiring, or the HOUSE wiring. Tingly feelings that wake you up from sleep could be neurological.

So, apart from ghosties, anyone got any sensible ideas of what's going on?:cry:

Phew! When I first saw your post last night, I was worried you might have been another person who thought this was psychics forum. :biggrin:

Aside from tingling from neurological problems, if others feel it, I don't have many ideas, especially if it's felt in more than one room. Something electric contacting the bed frame was my best guess. I don't think static electricity would build up so much to last as long as you're describing. You don't happen to live with any practical jokers, do you? :rolleyes:
 
  • #27
Okay, wait! I've got an idea! You can figure out whether it's related to the house electrical wiring by shutting off circuit breakers at night before you go to bed, cutting off the power throughout the house.
 
  • #28
CaptainQuasar said:
Okay, wait! I've got an idea! You can figure out whether it's related to the house electrical wiring by shutting off circuit breakers at night before you go to bed, cutting off the power throughout the house.


And hope that stuff in your refrigerator stays cool?
 
  • #29
misgfool said:
And hope that stuff in your refrigerator stays cool?

Oh, I wasn't thinking. Yeah, if you're somewhere where it isn't really cold right now as I am the ambient night temperature might not be cold enough.
 
  • #30
Sounds to me like restless leg syndrome. has nothing to do with electricity or mattresses.
 
  • #31
tribdog said:
Sounds to me like restless leg syndrome. has nothing to do with electricity or mattresses.

That's what crossed my mind when I suggested it might be neurological, but I'd prefer leaving a diagnosis for a physician since it could be other things too, and we still haven't gotten an answer of whether anyone else in the house experiences the same thing.
 
  • #32
misgfool said:
That's ridiculous. The dead don't have spirits. It's the ones who are not dead yet but walk on earth.

Well, then don't infuse your mattress with living people.
 
  • #33
dlgoff said:
Any high voltage transmission lines nearby?

not sure that an electroscope would pick that up, but it should be a bit easier to convert to a power source.
 
  • #34
Static electricity won't necessarily dissipate in time if you keep on generating it. If A person wears cotton or flannel jammies or undergarments in bed everytime you turn over you generate more static.

Some fabrics especially polyester, silk, cotton, or wool can generate quite a lot of static if you move one over the other. What is the fabric on the mattress made of. What are the sheets and blanket made of.

We have a static problem her in the SW USA. Sometimes when I pull up the sheet to get in bed it looks like a miniature lightning storm going on under there.

If all else fails run a copper wire from the mattress to the nearest water faucet. :biggrin:
 
  • #35
edward said:
If all else fails run a copper wire from the mattress to the nearest water faucet. :biggrin:

...that's actually a pretty good idea.
 
  • #36
edward said:
Static electricity won't necessarily dissipate in time if you keep on generating it. If A person wears cotton or flannel jammies or undergarments in bed everytime you turn over you generate more static.

Some fabrics especially polyester, silk, cotton, or wool can generate quite a lot of static if you move one over the other. What is the fabric on the mattress made of. What are the sheets and blanket made of.

We have a static problem her in the SW USA. Sometimes when I pull up the sheet to get in bed it looks like a miniature lightning storm going on under there.

If all else fails run a copper wire from the mattress to the nearest water faucet. :biggrin:

Static electricity was really bad when I lived in Alaska, as well. A very dry climate, combined with a radiator for heat, makes for an incredibly large amount of static electricity (and the poster did mention they have a radiator). Every sensible resident had humidifiers in their room, but it was never enough to eliminate the static electricity problem.

Our base commissary has problems with static electricity, as well. It turns grocery shopping into an ordeal. It gets to the point where I'm half scared to take a can off the shelf because I know I'm going to get an electric shock. They have no cell phone reception in there, either. It's a really strange building.

Grounding the bed to the plumbing would be a great idea.
 
  • #37
would grounding your bed to the plumbing increase your chances of getting fried if lightning hit the plumbing in your house or somewhere else in the vicinty? Just a thought...

I've heard of people being shocked through their tap while washing their hands during a thunder storm.
 
  • #38
redargon said:
would grounding your bed to the plumbing increase your chances of getting fried if lightning hit the plumbing in your house or somewhere else in the vicinty? Just a thought...

I've heard of people being shocked through their tap while washing their hands during a thunder storm.

No. If the plumbung is grounded and plumbing typically is as it's in the ground, there is no chance of getting fried.

Edit: I was going to correct the "plumbung", but it sounds so cool, that I'm just going to leave it like that.
 
  • #39
misgfool said:
"plumbung"

-- a plumbing problem that's too personal for me to presume to offer advice! :smile: :smile: :smile:
 
  • #40
No one else on my mattress but me. The only person suffering is me. It can't be neurological because it only happens at home and no where else.
 
  • #41
Anyway, I followed Russ' advice about static, replaced the duvet with cotton sheets and wool blankets, stuck wet towel on the radiator, left window open all night (it was freezing!) and I'm glad to say it was much better. I got my first full night's sleep for over six months. Thank you Russ. The only problem is that it's still going on but nowhere so bad, so I'm hoping that the static will actually reduce now my lovely great big gorgeous duvet has gone to the spare room. I had no idea that static could cause a major problem like this. Some nights I've been woken up by what's felt like someone shaking my shoulder. Seriously weird.
 
  • #42
Proton Soup said:
not sure that an electroscope would pick that up, but it should be a bit easier to convert to a power source.
I was thinking of those coil spring inductors. :bugeye:
 
  • #43
physics girl phd said:
-- a plumbing problem that's too personal for me to presume to offer advice! :smile: :smile: :smile:

No doubt. I don't know if she needs a pipefitter or a proctologist.
 
  • #44
I've gone for two nights now without my ultra thick, winter warmth duvet and the electrical activity which was attacking the top of the duvet is not happening with the wool blankets. The only problem is I still have something going on with the mattress, but that's not so bad now either and, hopefully, this will subside too. Put it this way, I can sleep through it. Heavenly heavenly sleep.

:zzz: :zzz: :smile: :zzz: :zzz: :smile: :zzz: :zzz: :smile: :zzz: :zzz:
 
  • #45
I don't need a proctologist thank you. :blushing: :rolleyes: :confused:
 
  • #46
Try scrolling through the 'smilies' window; you missed a couple. :biggrin:
 
  • #47
Just because little smilies make me happy, there's no need to be nasty about it. I could always help you learn how to use the smiley feature ! :devil:
 

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