Testing an earthing mat is a helpful way to ensure it is working correctly. Although some people claim they feel the health benefits of grounding products straight away, some find themselves wondering if their device is really working.
If you’ve been using your grounding mat for a while and you’re not feeling the changes, you can use a special electronic tool (the multimeter) to get a reading on your device. With this, you’ll have no doubt that your product is correctly connected to your outlet and working as it should be.
Here’s how to test a grounding mat with a multimeter and why it can be useful to perform regular readings when you’re just getting started with grounding.
Why Test Your Grounding Mat Voltage?
Many people are turning to earthing products to reduce stress, inflammation, and countless other health issues in recent years. According to grounding fans, the human body can benefit significantly from a direct connection to the earth as the natural negative charge of the planet helps to balance the positive charge in our bodies.
Unfortunately, not all of us have the option to stroll bare-foot across grass and dirt regularly. The earthing mat offers another way to stay grounded. These products plug into the “grounding outlet” in your electrical sockets to recreate a charge similar to the earth.
Testing your outlets with a digital multimeter helps ensure the voltage in your home is within the correct range to support proper grounding. This is a device designed to measure voltage in an outlet, and it provides users with a reading of both resistance levels and AC current. Most come with a black cord and a red cord. Connecting each lead to certain parts of your sockets is how you measure their energy flow.
How to Use a Multimeter for Grounding Products
Before using an earthing product at home, it’s crucial to ensure your plugs are suitable for these devices. Earthing items require a socket with three holes – that offer neutral, live, and ground connections. If you’re in a location with only two holes, you may need to look for another kind of mat.
Step 1: Test Your Outlets
The first step in testing your device is looking at your outlets. If you know your plug sockets are functioning as they should, there’s a good chance your device is also working correctly.
To use your multimeter for testing, turn the device on according to the instructions provided by the manufacturer. Once ready, connect the red lead on your meter to the live port on your socket and the black lead to the “neutral” port. In the UK, the live pin will be on the bottom right-hand side of the three holes. Neutral is on the left, and the earth or grounding pin is located at the top.
Note the readings you get when measuring the neutral and live voltage, then move your black lead from the neutral pin to the ground socket. If your system is working as it should be, the voltage reading for both pairs of holes should be very similar. The greater the difference between your “neutral” reading and your “ground” reading, the more problems you’re likely to have.
Step 2: Test Your Earthing Product
After checking your outlets, you can use multimeter devices to test your earthing mat. For this step, ensure your adapter for the device is plugged into the wall. The power doesn’t need to be switched on. Then, set the multimeter to the V-20 setting.
Attach your black cable with an alligator clip to the earthing mat on the opposite end to the device’s wire. The other end of your cable should be linked to the multimeter. Plug the red cord into the VΩHz port for your meter, and hold the opposite metal probe between your fingers. You should get a reading of the number of volts in your body.
The reading of your personal voltage will differ depending on how close you are to other electrical products in the house. Touch your earthing sheet or mat with your opposite hand (the one not holding the red wire). You should see the voltage decrease on the screen: this indicates you’ve successfully grounded yourself, and the product is working as it should.
Step 3: Experiment With the Multimeter
You can play around with your multimeter to determine which strategies help you effectively lower your voltage. Some people find better results when walking around or moving on their mat. Others feel the results are more significant when they have more skin-to-skin contact. You could consider sitting on your mat with your legs bare to expose more of your body.
What Do You Do if the Product Isn’t Working Correctly?
If the outlet works and the earthing mat doesn’t, this could indicate the item wasn’t wired properly, which means you should send it back for a replacement.
If the mat is functional, but the plug is giving unusual readings, you can consider moving to a different place in your home to test the performance of your device there. If both items work as they should, consider placing your mat on another surface. Something underneath the product, such as your carpet or rug, could be disturbing its performance.
It’s also worth ensuring you get full and direct skin contact with the conductive surface. The mat won’t work as it should if you’re still wearing clothes, or you may find the results are subdued. Some experts in the grounding community also say it’s important to keep your device away from any other electrical products that might harm electricity flow.
Grounding mats are designed to produce free negative electrons, similar to those created by the earth. These signals may be disrupted if you’re in a room with many running electrical devices, like a television set or a games console. It might be worth switching off any other powered products in your room before you get grounded.
Always Test Your Grounding Mats
Now that you know how to test a grounding mat with a multimeter, you’ll ensure you’re generating positive results from your new investment. Remember to check if the earthing device and your outlets work before you start; this guarantees you can use your new product confidently.
If you notice the grounding mat isn’t working as it’s supposed to, and you’ve tested its functionality by looking at both the outlet voltage and the device’s performance, you may need to adjust your strategy.