Static electricity....again


Ok, I'm ready to burn the house down and move to Florida. I had a similar problem last winter. I live in Colorado and it's been snowing here like crazy. It is super dry here. My brother fried two pre amps last winter due to lightning bolts flying from his fingers to his pre amp anytime he touched the pre amp...

So here's what I have going on. I have all of my cables lifted off the ground with wooden blocks. My Equipment is plugged into a ps audio quintet, except for my amp which is plugged directly into the wall (porter port).

I don't have any remote controllers in my set-up so whenever I touch my equipment, I ground myself on a screw on the light switch first. I'll have so much electricity built up in my body that I can actually feel the hairs on my legs stand up when I do this.

Okay, well it has gotten to be so bad now that when I am just walking across the room, I can hear a few small pops coming out of my speakers. These are directly related to the static that is building up via my socks dragging across the carpet. I'm %100 sure of that.

My question is, what the heck do I do to remedy this problem before I damage any of my equipment? My house is probably 20 years old. Am I having these issues because the ground in my house is no good?

Btw, last winter when I was having these issues, I sprayed fabric softener all over and that seemed to work for, oh, about 20 minutes.

I'm going to get a humidifier and see how that helps. Any other ideas would be greatly appreciated! I'm about ready to change my user name to Zues!
128x128b_limo
In the movie 'Man made Monster". Lon Chaney JR is pumped with large amounts of electricity. The remedy, in the movie for containing is to wear a rubber suit. No kidding aside water along with plants will do much to improve this problem.
Most anti static sprays that are available in CVS, etc. A not long lasting. In extreme situations you might need to obtain industrial grade anti static spray with up to 30 day longevity. Some carpets are extremely high voltage as it were.
It takes about 6-7 gallons of water/day to keep my house hydrated here in MN. Keep humidity at about 55. I've got one humidifier dedicated to the listening room and another for the remainder of the house. The Essick humidifiers with the wick really crank it out. I probably should use anti-static products as well but don't feel the need.
It's the Pot stupid! (no offence) All that Pot you guys out in Colorado are smoking has dehydrated your homes. All that burning. Day after day, night after night. No moisture left in your air. Try making Brownies instead. Seriously though, electronics with sophisticated logic circuits, or lots of digital stuff going on, including alot of modern solid state components are much more prone to the chance of static induced failures. Special static precautions are even required when assembling components with integated circuits, etc. I've heard of TV's breaking from the static charge of a finger touch. A tube system lacking any solid state devices is pretty immune to this. Probably old school discreet transistor stuff is better too. I AM in Florida and we have our own problems... Lightning. It gets close enough to make you jump out of your skin. Then it comes again! I'm sure you have seen pics. or heard tales of the destruction it can cause to electronics. Anyway, some good advice from others here for your situation.