SME 20/2 Static Electricity

You could consider using a humidifier. It may help with both the static electricity and the storage conditions for your vinyl records. Some platter mat materials can help.

I use a grounding mat and it gets rid of all static.  You just touch it first before touching the turntable.  It comes in a 12 inch sheet and you can cut it to size.  The ground wire goes to the screw that holds the cover on your outlet.  Easy peazy.

You're noticing now only because its extreme, but static electricity is always a problem, everywhere, and there is no resolution, only a series of things you can do to try and keep it down at an acceptable level- whatever that is for you.

My room never has gotten to the point of sparks zapping fingers yet I know its there because its so easy to hear the difference when its gone. Or should I say less, since its never really gone.

The simplest, fastest and most cost-effective solution I have found is Static Guard laundry spray sold in stores everywhere but priced best at Walmart. Don't spray directly over records but do spray it all around the turntable and all components. I like to spray over speaker cables just before listening. Having done this a long time now and by varying the frequency the improvement is noticeable after as little as 20 minutes. In other words if you haven't ever done this the improvement will be pretty big. But then if you spray again a half hour later it will sound better, but not as much. But let a lot of time go by and again it will make a big improvement. What this tells me is static charges are constantly building up and interfering with sound quality all the time, and remember this is even in my room, a room I don't think anyone would ever say even has any problem with static electricity.

There's other more costly and possibly more effective sprays you can find on Amazon. Haven't tried them because they are more in the nature of leaving kind of a film on fabric, like the office chair that zaps anyone sitting in it. 

There are also some grounding type contraptions that track along the record helping static get to ground before it can build up enough to cause a problem. 

Basically you're right, your new materials are more prone to static buildup, and a mat is likely to cause as many problems as it solves. Use the spray, use your Zerostat on the record, raise humidity if you can, and see where that gets you.

@stereo5 
Great idea.  I will try the grounding mat.  
Thanks!

@millercarbon

Does Static Guard leave any kind of residue behind?  
I would be hesitant to use anything leaving a residue around my pricey electronics.

I would not spray static guard on equipment.  If you have carpet, a light spray on the carpet will help to reduce the static buildup that you develop from walking across the carpet.  The best overall approach is a humidifier, get a good cold air humidfier and put distilled water in it (to prevent mineral deposits from the evaporating water).

snackeyp, I have a 30/12. I live in New England and as soon as he heat starts running the relative humidity drops like a rock and static charges everywhere become worse. Look up triboelectric series and you will notice that vinyl is way down at the bottom. It loves to hold on to electrons. There are few things that are worse. Aluminum however is in the middle and could care one way or the other. It is a great material to make turntables out of. Transferring electrons requires intimate contact. Rubbing helps a lot. The charge is generated by the stylus rubbing the groove with a force of 5000 PSI. You can create thousands of volts of static electricity playing just one side. If the charge has no where to go the record will hold on to it forever. 
The SME tables are suspended by rubber bands. You have to make sure the upper platform is properly grounded along with the tonearm. Next you have to discharge the record WHILE IT IS PLAYING. The best way to do this is a conductive sweep arm like this one  https://www.sleevecityusa.com/Antistatic-Record-Cleaning-Arm-p/tac-01.htm. The bristles are conductive carbon fiber. It tracks along with the tonearm picking up incidental dust and discharges the record along the way. Things like mats and Zerostats DO NOT WORK. Vinyl is not conductive. Discharging one side will not completely discharge the other. Remember the static is being created by the stylus rubbing the groove.
So make sure the upper platform is grounded and get one of these arms and I guarantee you will never have a problem with static again. If you do I will buy the sweep arm from you.  

Gruv Glide works perfectly to remove static.  I won't get involved in a discussion of the sonic benefits or that stuff, but it is a total cure for static.  
I used to have difficulties with static with my Linn, but the Basis has a grounded bearing, which seems to have solved the problem.  I don't use it anymore, but I did use it on many records and never found it to harm anything.  

The newest version of the Audioquest record brush is grounded via your body; the bristles are in electrical contact with the handle.  I have found that this works pretty well to dispel static charge in the process of wiping an LP before play.  All the other cures and preventatives mentioned here probably have one degree or another of benefit.  My own biases make me skeptical about Gruv Glide or any other spray used anywhere near my LPs or equipment. That's just my personal opinion, and I don't believe such sprays are essential in view of the other available options.

My advise for the grounding mat is an easy one, it only cost 15.00 and no need to spray anything or buy a humidifier. It is a no brainer. In the 7 years I have used it, I have never had a problem with static zapping my system. I cut the mat down to 3" by 3" and have it sticking out from under the turntable at the top of my audio rack.  It is held down by 3M double sided tape and does not move but is easily removable.

Just get one of these:

https://www.ds-audio-w.biz/ion-001-vinyl-ionizer/

My solution cost $15.00 and works, how much does the vinyl ionizer  contraption cost?

Another joke. Lewm, I'm on your side on this one. Spraying anything on your record is a bad idea and it will not stop the static problem neither will grounded mats. A mat will only discharge one side of the record, the wrong side. There is no magic in this. You have to have a path to ground from the site that the static is being produced. The stylus in the groove. Static electricity is terrible for records because it draws dust like a magnet which you can prove to yourself by holding a record you just played up to a light and you will see dust fly towards the record. The dust can become embedded in the groove and held there so your stylus can grind it into the groove instead of pushing it out of the way. Besides the grounded sweep arm the next best thing for record hygiene is a dust cover. 
By the way take a meter and see if your "grounded mat" is actually conductive. If it is not it would even discharge the side of the record touching it.  

I invite anyone to come to my house and give the grounding mat a try.  There will be a nice hot steamy plate of crow waiting for you afterwards. 

Me again. Another perfectly clear post misconstrued and misunderstood. I blame our public schools. The post clearly says to spray, and sorry gonna shout, didn't get through the first time, AROUND equipment. Spraying carpet ain't gonna do no good. You're not listening to the carpet. Not to mention, have you seen the size of your carpet? Makes no sense. No sense at all. Yet some noob telling people to do this. Based on what? Did he try it? Of course not. That would eat into his posting nonsense time.

What about residue on equipment? Same deal. Look. Prove it to ya. Cut and paste:

There's other more costly and possibly more effective sprays you can find on Amazon. Haven't tried them because they are more in the nature of leaving kind of a film on fabric

Pro tip: when the writer mentions something that's a clue.

Follow up:
I got a grounding mat yesterday and connected it to the ground on my outlet.  Results?  It did help.  There was a dramatic decrease in static on the record.  Some small amounts of static build up after playing one side but much less than before.  
Another thing I got is an AcousTech grounded Big Brush.  
https://www.musicdirect.com/analog-accessories/acoustech-big-record-brush
I tried running the brush on the platter before putting the record on, and again after the record was on.  
The combination of the grounding mat and the Big Brush eliminated any noticeable static from the records.  Even after playing a side I did not notice any static build up.  
I have Gruv Glide and have used it in the past, but stopped using it awhile back.  It does work, but it's really expensive and I did not feel the cost was worthwhile.  
There you go.  My take on what has worked for me.  
Thanks

Yes, you are listening to the effects of carpet, and everything else
in your room.

With 4000 posts you must think you're wise and accomplished.
Why make a blanket (carpet) statement without personally
treating your carpet?  Do you talk about fo.Q tape or HFTs without
trying them?

Do not do this: Spray anti static material, away from electronics, from waist height,
to moisten carpet.  Walk on the carpet so the spray can penetrate.

After a few minutes, vacuum with a good quality machine.  You will hear a difference.  For the better.

Also use a Walker Talisman, on hands and knees.  And treat your ceiling and walls with the wand.

Or do you think this would be a waste of your time, too?

I use used drier sheets, a light swipe and it works great. Zerostats DO work. In CO static in winter is a real deal even with a humidifier. I can tell a my zerostat works because I can often feel the hair on my arm raise when holding a record, then hit it with the zerostat and the charge is gone. Not a gimmick.