Options for ridding records of static electricity

I was inspired by this posting I read here about a DIY anti-static solution. I’ve been running my version for just over a month now. I can confirm that LPs are lifting off the platter without static crackles now, and that they are sliding back into their sleeves much easier than they come out. I am not going so far as to say that every single trace of static is completely gone after a single play, but I will say that after playing each side of an LP there is less static in the disc than before playing it. We’ve got two turntables running in the house, and the static solution is only set up on one of them. Static builds on the turntable with out the solution, and dissipates on the one where I have the brush running. It is a very nice feeling to lift a disc off the platter and have it feel like inert plastic versus some kind of active static monster.

The solution isn’t novel or particularly innovative, it’s a DIY scaled down version of solutions that are working daily in factories everywhere. You need a conductive carbon brush with an anchor point for a grounding wire, and you need to make sure that grounding wire makes it to an earth point. I’m using the panel screw on the wall plate (after I verified that the screw was indeed grounded using a multi-meter).

Link to image: https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/bYY2Gjrmj_P-l2kgWdtM-h3eozBEELUwmKtKsp9e8cOsZzgoPFhyZZSp0z1eUlTDJq...

The toughest part for me was sourcing a good quality conductive carbon fiber brush at a reasonable price. If you are blessed to have old computer printers laying about you might be able to disassemble one and cannibalize the brush that most printers have built in. I ended up ordering my brush from Amstat Industries. Four inches was the smallest size I could order and cost was twenty four dollars for the brush and twelve for shipping for a total of thirty-six dollars for the brush to my door. I know that in the UK there are similar manufacturers of anti-static brushes one could source.

This DIY version has a good number of conductive carbon bristles in play across a large surface area, and I can have it making direct contact with both sides of the LP at the edge - or I can back it off to keep it silent at a 1-2 mm gap distance.

Thanks for reading. Hope this helps someone.

dcarwin, As mentioned somewhere up the thread, Audioquest now make their well known carbon fiber record brush with a metal handle that is electrically continuous with the brush fibers.  (Earlier versions did not establish contact between fibers and handle.) When you hold it whilst brushing the LP, your body provides the electrical pathway to ground via your feet or you can just touch your metal equipment stand, in case your feet are insulated from ground by rubber shoes or nonconductive carpet.  I also own, but have never used, a Mapleshade brush that has a ground wire with a clip at the end, also to fasten to a grounded object.  Problem is its fibers are of natural origin and they both encourage static charge and also lose bristles which can foul up a stylus.  This latter is why I don't use it.

lewm:  The solution I describe and link to is passive, in that it works while you play the record, and one does not brush the surface of the record manually.  I hope that's clear, in that your response infers I was re-posting some info about handheld conductive brushes. 

If one wet-cleans the record, then this solution works to prevent any buildup of new static.  For new (unwashed) static-y records, the solution dissipates the pre-existing static after a couple plays. 

Lewm, you certainly would not run subwoofers up to 300 hz. I do not know about your transformers but my Sowter is down 3 dB at 40 Hz and flat up to 20 kHz. I cross over at 125 hz. I cross that high for several reasons. First is any good Subwoofer driver can easily run that high. Breakup usually does not occur until well over 500 Hz. Next is removing as much of the bass load as possible from the stats. Low bass requires long excursions even for large panels. Those long excursions doppler distort all the higher frequencies. Removing those excursions cleans up the pannels in a noticable way. The Higher cross over makes it easier to integrate the subwoofers. This is just my experience. Subwoofers go down lower effectively. You only have to listen to my system for a minute to get the idea. But again there are consideration that require capabilty beyond what most systems offer such as digital bass management and Room control. Many audiophiles are digital phobes and trying to explain this to them is like running into a brick wall. It is not my problem. But you as a fellow ESL user, who understands these speakers and what they can do really should experience this. If I could blind fold you you would never guess there were subs in the room until a really low not can along.
You would know right away that you werer listening to tall ESLs. Nothing else sounds like that. 
Now back to static and some interesting results. dcarwin above has it right, conductive brushes attached to ground.
As you recal just spinning a record for hours with the dust cover up does not create a static charge at 54% relative humidity. Neither does playing the record at 55% relative humidity! So under what conditions does a record develop a static charge and what is the immediate cause? It appears I do not have a static problem because under the conditions I play records static charges are not formed. What are those conditions?
We would need everyone who has a static problem to tell use the spec of their record playing set up and the conditions under which it is used, relative humidity etc. Maybe we can find a common denominator. If humidity is the main problem I will not be able to test for that until well into the winter when I can drop the humidity to 20%. I took a record and slipped it out and into it's paper inner sleeve 10 times over two hours and it did not develop a static charge. But, if I rub the record aggressively with paper I can generate sparks. I'm sure Antinn is laughing. 

@mijostyn, 

Know for sure I am not laughing.  But, I have a lot of respect for you!  It takes a rationale and courageous person to face their own preconceived notions unbiased - its also show discipline,   My compliments!

Stay safe, 
Neil