Testing Earthing Bed Sheets The Simple Way

By Steve Dalloway – July 2022

On occasions we get clients wanting to test their either new Earthing Bed Sheets, or ones that they have had at home for a while.

On the new ones from us here at Sleep Earthed, they really don’t need to test them at all. Why ? Because we do that for every sheet we make before it leaves our UK factory. If it doesn’t pass our tests it’s never going to get delivered to you.

But there are a few people out there that have gotten hold of a Digital Voltmeter (DVM) and they really want to give it a go, so let’s help you !

There are a few absolutely great videos on You Tube that explain how to test the Earthing or Grounding Bed Sheets, but there are some highly ranked videos from places like Australia in particular, where the presenter has not a clue what she is talking about. I’ve watched quite a few and one in particular is so bad and misleading it actually made me cringe whilst watching it. On this video ( which to a Qualified Electrical Engineer like myself it is so misleading), the company selling the bed sheets has turned off all notifications on You Tube, so you can’t even tell them what a dreadful number of bloopers they have made in the video.

So if you want to make some tests to ensure your sheet is working, you need to in our opinion do three things.

Test the bedsheet material is conductive to the earthing stud / popper
Test the Plug and Lead that joins the sheet to the wall socket
Test that your Earth in the wall socket is there

These three tests are easy to do and I’ve added in some pictures to show you how we do it here at Sleep Earthed.

Test 1 – The Material Test

What you will need is:

Two Clean Ten Pence coins
A Multimeter ( Digital Volt Meter )
A Sleep Earthed UK Manufactured Bed Sheet or one from another supplier

The Silver Threads in all Earthing Sheets are actually nylon threads coated with silver ions for conductivity. The threads form a lattice / matrix that means that when its all connected and you lay on the sheet your body becomes connected to the earth via the wiring in your home.

The reason nylon is used is very simple – A pure silver thread would not survive a wash cycle without being destroyed. A nylon thread coated with silver Ions is much stronger, but still has to be treated with a little respect, mainly on the washing side of things. Using a detergent such as our tested Tru Earth one is ideal to help maintain your sheet and extend its lifespan.

Trying to get the prong of the test meter on a single thread is quite difficult, so we use two clean Ten Pence coins. This ensures we are touching a few threads but not damaging them with the prongs of the meter.

We set the Meter to measure 200 Ohms range and we should see a 1 appear on the display as below.

Then we touch the prongs of the test meter together. This should read between Zero to 1 Ohm. This tests the Meter is working correctly.

We then measure between two points anywhere on the sheet to get that resistance value of the bedsheet in Ohms.

We should see a reading on a brand new sheet of between 15 and 40 Ohms, where Ohms is the measure of resistance – This is what we look for when we test the fabric prior to production of the Sheets in our Leominster factory.

Make sure not to touch the sheet with your hands during testing, as this will alter the reading on the meter.

Next we test from the Popper or Earthing Pad which we sew onto the sheet to another point on the sheet using a 10p coin again.

This measurement should be also in the range of 15-40 Ohms.

As you can see this sheet above, like all the ones we make at Sleep Earthed has passed all the physical tests and is ready to be packed into our environmentally friendly biodegradable packaging.

So if you are doing these test on your sheet at home and the readings are within the 15-40 Ohm mark, then sheet is fine and is conductive.

Unlike the sheets that are made in China, we use our own specific double earthing pad which is secured to the sheet to give a better and more consistent level of long term earthing for our customers wash after wash.

If the earthing pad is green like the below, one it’s means its made by Sleep Earthed in the UK. If it’s black then its been made in China.

Test 2. Testing the Plug and 4 Metre Cable

For safety purposes all manufacturers add in a tiny “resistor” to the cable you use to earth yourself with.

You can’t see it, as its moulded into the plug on the end of the cable.

This has a value of 100 Kilo Ohms or 100,000 Ohms.

But why is this ? Well what this is designed to do, is prevent an Earth Fault affecting your bed sheet and in turn the person who may be sleeping on the sheet.

Now this is absolutely nothing to worry about, because the electronics in your homes electrical distribution board will detect any such fault and drop out the power faster than you can blink. Its just a safety feature that’s been used for a good while and will continue to be so in all bedsheets supplied worldwide.

Set the dial to measure up to 200 K Ohms and you should see that the lead measures around the 100,000 ohms range. This one is measuring 98.6 Kilo Ohms.

If this is the case then your lead and plug are working correctly.

If you see a figure 1. on the display, there then it’s likely you’ve not set the range to measure up to 200 Kilo Ohms.

Testing the Mains Socket in your home

In reality there is almost no reason at all why your mains socket would not be earthed, but its still worth checking.

This you can do with our Socket Tester and its incredibly simple to use.

Plug it in and if you get THREE RED LIGHTS you are all good to go.

Remember that the bedsheet uses absolutely ZERO Power and costs nothing to run whatsoever, as its just using the earth in your plug socket to connect to.

Also you can have the switch on the wall socket on or off – It really doesn’t make any difference as we are not connecting to or using the “LIVE” or “NEUTRAL” connections at all. However most people prefer to have it switched off permanently.

And you don’t have to unplug it when you are not using it either – another frequent question we are asked. See more in our our FAQ section.

And that’s it – Three simple tests and you can be 100% assured you have a good solid working Earthing Bed Sheet.

But what if I get a reading that’s outside the recommended readings above ?

It’s so unlikely that the lead and plug will be faulty, so you really need just to think about the bedsheet itself.

Over time and washing, the silver will become less conductive to a point where its not conductive at all.

Then sadly the sheet will have failed the conductivity test and you will need to look for a new one, as they can not be repaired.

Sheets should last between one and two years if they are cared for properly.

Why Do Earthing Sheets / Grounding Fail ?

Well this can be caused by a number of reasons and all of them are fairly logical.

Its not been washed regularly enough and the silver threads are coated with body oils which can’t be removed.
The sheet has been washed with aggressive / bleaching cleaning products and the silver thread is damaged.
Fabric conditioner has been used and has coated the silver threads making them non conductive.
The Earthing Pad is not conductive any more. ( Will never Happen on Sleep Earthed products )
Residues of regular washing powder / liquid / conditioner are still in the machine when you wash the sheet.
Washing the sheet at too high a temperature wont really affect the cotton, but it will over time degrade the silver threads.

Tips for extending the life of your Earthing Bed Sheet product

Wash in powders and liquids that are non Bio and eco Friendly such as Tru Earth strips
Don’t use fabric conditioner – This coats the silver threads and makes them less conductive
Wash regularly to remove body oils and skin cells – Every 1-2 weeks minimum
Wash the sheet on its own to prevent the fabric / silver threads being damaged
Avoid washing products that have bleaching agents in them
Don’t use a super long wash cycle
Don’t wash above 40C
Wash separately rather than with other garments
Try not to use moisturising creams / lotions and then go straight to bed. Let the creams soak into your skin first, so as they are not deposited on the bed sheet.

And that’s about it – This is how we do it and its super simple to do…..

We hope you have found this interesting and if you have any question please let us know by clicking here……