Testing Earthing Or Grounding Sheets and Mats Easily

Steve Dalloway – Qualified Electrical Engineer.

When your bedsheet, pillowcase or mat gets to 18 months / 2 Years old, its good to test them to see if they are sill conductive.

By using our Sleep Earthed Test Meter and step by step guide, you can easily see if its working or not.

Some cheap testers you can get on Amazon really don’t give you good enough accurate results, but with ours you will find out immediately if your sheet or mat is fully functional.

Unpacking the test meter and what’s in the box

In the box you will find the test meter, test leads, the manufacturers instructions and some batteries.

First remove the cover – Insert the batteries and pop the screw back in – Tighten the screw gently to fix the cover in place.

 

Removing the protective caps from the test probes

The test probes are red and black and have protective end caps on them – these can be removed and discarded as they are not needed.

Switching on the tester, plugging in the probes and and setting it to the correct Ohms measurement range

Plug in the probes exactly as the below image and then turn the rotary switch to Ohms range ( Ω ) also as below image.

Touch the ends of the probes together and the reading on the screen should be very low – See below image.

This is to ensure that the meter is working correctly and when the probes are not touching each other the reading is O.L which means no conductivity / continuity.

 

We are going to break down the testing into Three Parts

1.  Testing the Earthing / Grounding Cable

2. Testing The Earthing Sheet itself

3. Testing The Earthing Mat

 

1. Testing the cable
( There is no need to test the plug as this is hard wired )

The cable will read close to 99 Kilo Ohms Ω ( 98 thousand to 100 thousand ohms is fine ) as the lead has a safety resistor built into it.

Why ?

Well this is so, so it will protect you in the unlikely event lightening strikes your home.

This is perfectly normal and all earthing products have this safety measure as standard.

Some people with old cheap testers from Amazon tell us “my lead is faulty” but actually it isn’t.

This superb test meter has an AUTO RANGE FUNCTION, so it automatically switches on the the Auto setting for you when you select Ohms.

Notice the meter closeup picture below is showing the KILO Ohm Range Ω denoted by the “K” and Ohms Ω  Symbols.

If your cable says similar to the below, it’s fine and you have successfully tested your cable.

The only time cables become faulty is if you accidentally suck them up a hoover and damage it in that way.

We also do replacement cables if yours is in any way damaged.

That’s it you’ve tested the cable !  Well done !

 

 

2. Testing the Earthing or Grounding Sheet / Pillowcase

What you need for this is a nice shiny clean 10p coin and the meter.

Press the black probe onto the popper on the green pad as below.

Put the coin anywhere on the earthing sheet and put the red probe on top of it.

Don’t try and pick up an individual strand as this will damage the silver threads.

The meter is now on Ohms range Ω ( before it was Kilo Ohms ) and on a new sheet the reading will be typically under 30.00 Ohms.

This sheet is measuring 21.1 Ohms Ω resistance which means it’s perfect and working as its brand new.

As sheets get older they get less conductive and get into the 800 + Ohms range as the silver in the sheet degrades.

This is still fine, but when your sheet says O.L this means its now non conductive and need to be replaced.

 

 

Close up of the meter ( below ) showing the new sheet has a low resistance of 21.1 Ohms Ω – This is really excellent !

Remember as the sheet gets older the conductivity of the silver reduces ,so its not uncommon to see this number in the 800+ ohms range.

The meter below is testing a new unused sheet.

 

 

3. Testing the Earthing or Grounding Mat

 

When testing the Earthing Mat or an Earthing or Grounding sheet its always important to make sure the meter is reading correctly.

1. Switch to Ohms Ω range as below image.
2. Meter should read O.L which means open circuit when the probes are not touching.
3. If when testing your bedsheet or mat and you see this  O.L  then the mat / sheet is not conductive and needs replacing.

 

 

1. To make sure the meter is working well, touch the metal ends of the probes together and you should get a low reading of less than 5 Ohms.
2.  The reading below is 0.4 of an Ohm which means the meter is working correctly.
3.  We do this to make sure that the meter will give us an accurate reading and that the cables / meter are not damaged or faulty.

 

Testing the Grounding / Earthing Mat

When testing the conductivity of the mat its important to know that the mat has a much higher resistance than the bed sheet material.

The mat is made from a carbon infused leatherette and the resistance of the mat is typically around 1000 Ohms or 1 Kilo Ohm from the popper to any part of the mat.

The further away from the popper you go the higher the resistance will be.

The picture below shows a measurement from the coin to the popper of 0.879 Kilo Ohms or 879 Ohms which is perfectly acceptable.

It’s important that you apply a little pressure on the probes to get a good solid connection.

 

Close up of meter – Note 0.879 K Ohms on the display below which is 879 Ohms

This means the mat is conductive and perfect for use.

If the mat shows O.L then its not conductive any more and should be replaced.

Mats will last for many years but it is worth for your peace of mind checking them every few years.

 

 

  Remember – Switch the meter off when the testing has been completed.

 

 

Testing Complete – Well done, you did it !

Don’t forget when your body is used to Sleeping Earthed or Grounded, it will tell you when the sheet or mat needs changing, as you will stop getting such a good nights sleep.

But its good to actually do the tests with this inexpensive meter to confirm your gut instincts.

We hope this simple How To Guide has helped you and if it has drop us a line or even a like on our Facebook or Instagram platforms.

Can we help you further or have you any questions for us ?  Use our Contact Us form or give us a call on 01527 522 522 if you are in the UK and (+44 1527 52 522 ) if you are outside the UK.