Earthing - How to make a grounding (earthing) mat

How To Make An Earthing Blanket

Here are the instructions:

  So I have constructed my own earthing mats using an old bath towel, some aluminum duct tape, wire, a 100K ohm resistor (it keeps the current flow safe, less than 1milli-amp in case it were to contact high voltage like 110V - you can use any resistor between 100K and 500K ohm) and a repair plug from Home Depot.  I am using the pad temporarily to see if earthing works and I think it does and now I have ordered the starter kit from the earthing website (www.earthing.com).

  So if you want to try it (be careful and do this at your own risk-standard disclaimer), just to see if it works (this doesn’t really hold up for too long without periodic inspection and repair) and so if you are up to the challenge you can out lay out the aluminum duct tape in rows across the towel (it's very sticky), make sure you leave about 1/4 an inch of tape longer than the towel.  So you laid out the rungs of the ladder if you will.  Then put one strip of tape down the right and one down the left so it looks like a ladder.  Now fold the 1/4inch excess tape of the rungs onto the vertical strips of tape.

This is very important because the tape is only conductive on the top (non-sticky side), so if you don’t do this,  the pieces of tape will not be electrically connected together and won’t conduct the electrons from the third prong of your properly wired outlet (earth ground).  Now take some wire, speaker wire, any wire really (22-24ish AWG); I wouldn’t use home wiring because it is not very flexible and is too thick(12-14 AWG).  Then strip off about 2 inches of the insulation (if it has it) and put it on top of the tape grid in the corner for instance and tape it down (putting a bend in the wire helps prevent it from pulling out (a “U” or “J” shape).  At the other end of the wire which is as long as you want it to be, strip the end of the wire.  Take a 100K resistor (100,000 ohms) and connect it to the wire; twist it, solder it, use a crimp wire connector, whatever you can manage.  I good connection is desirable so you don’t have worry about it coming lose and stop conducting those free electrons to the tape on the blanket.  Then connect the other side of the resistor to the third prong (the round one, not the two slotted of flat ones-standard 110V in the USA) of the replacement plug (it is usually a screw terminal-use a screw driver to tighten it down). 

 I like to get a replacement plug that is big enough to house the resistor.  I also break off the hot and neutral blades on the plug just in case (bend them back and forth with pliers until they snap off). Now close up the replacement plug.  You will probably notice that the replace plug was made for a much bigger cord so I just wrap electrical tape around the wire  where it gets held in place (strain relieve) so you don’t pull the resister right out of the plug.  Make sure the strain relief (clamping action) is holding the wire in place.  Now take an ohm meter or multi-meter (you can buy one at Harbor Freight for less than $10-$3 on sale) and put it on a range that can see 100K ohm resistance and verify that there is 100K-ohm (100,000 ohms) between the third prong of the replacement plug and any part of the ladder grid. If you find some parts of the grid that reads out of limit then you have to connect the nearest good strip to the “dead” or none conductive strip.  I fold a piece of the aluminum tape in half and then tape it across the good and the dead strip to join them together electrically.  So this project can take an hour or two (not including getting the materials), but hey if you are willing, then before spending more cash  than you want to (or having to wait 5 days to get a pad in the in the mail) then go for it.  The tape will eventually get crinkled and eventually start breaking after time ( a few days) so it is good to re-inspect the connectivity of the grid from time to time.  I made 3 of them and will make one today for a friend.  I do recommend buying one though once you decide your properly made blanket (pad)  works for you .  I mean one prescription drug can cost easily $60 or even $200 and that is per month.  Buying a sheet is a one-time deal so to me it’s worth it; but it’s nice to know it will work first if you are skeptical and tight with the money.  If have buy most of the supplies it might cost $15-20 (plug:$2-$5, wire: few dollars), tape: $7-$12, 100K resistors: $2, meter:$6). You can be creative use old computer cords and what not. You can also buy and electro static discharge (ESD) wrist-strap  too from your local electronics store (e.g. Radio Shack) for under $10 that can be used will sitting at the computer or watching TV as well.  Good luck and stay grounded!

God Luck and contact me if you need any help of have questions,
Steve

P.S. To make sure your outlet is wired properly use one of these outlet testers that you can pick up at a hardware store or maybe even Walmart or Target (less than $5):