Help with this potential electrical issue?


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Old 02-23-17, 12:44 AM
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Help with this potential electrical issue?

I think this issue is related to an electrical one.

Some nights (not every night) when I'm going to bed (my bed is at the corner of the room), when I run the back of my fingers across the wall, I can feel this vibration or buzz in my hand. It's a very unusual feeling, but it doesn't hurt or seem to cause any physical issues (that I know of). It does this only on the two walls I'm sleeping next to (ie. wall on my right side and wall above my head). I checked the other walls and there is no buzzing/vibration feel in my hands when I run the back of fingers against them.

Now I had read somewhere in a computer forum that people would sometimes feel this tingling or buzz on a computer/laptop and someone said it had something to do with "grounding" (or improper grounding?). They said that it's basically hundreds or thousands of tiny shocks that you feel but not big enough to harm you.

Does this mean there could be some sort of grounding issue in my building or just on the side of the wall I'm feeling it? I don't hear any noises, the ground beneath me isn't vibrating or tingling when i run the back of fingers on the ground....only on the two walls I mentioned.

Any ideas would be helpful thanks.
 
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Old 02-23-17, 03:10 AM
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Is it an apartment building or a single residence? If multiple occupancy, it could be from anything below or above vibrating in another apartment unit. Sheetrock doesn't conduct electricity well.
 
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Old 02-23-17, 03:46 AM
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It could be a ton of things, esp if the room is very quiet otherwise. A cheap transformer in use somewhere, a bad wallwart plugged in by a neighbor. A ceiling fan in use, even a dimmer switch can cause a slight hum/buzz. Have an electric clock or clock radio (some of us still do)? TV/other electronics in standby mode?

And I'm not positive, one of the sparkys can correct me, but a slightly loose electrical connection can buzz as well.

In an apartment building, it could be hundreds of things since sound/vibration can easily be transmitted a long way by the building structure.

If you can only feel it and not hear it...just stop touching the wall.

When I moved in here, I could hear what sounded like a slowly dripping faucet at night. Checked all my faucets, even so far as to put a sheet of TP in the sinks to look for water in the morning. Checked toilets with food color. Nothing! Still that sound, right behind my head (it seemed) while in bed. And it seemed relatively random to me but constant when it happened.
What I did before finding it was use my cheap little white noise generation/clock/radio on the lowest volume. Sometimes I forgot to turn it on and eventually the sound didn't bother me.

Finally FINALLY!! I knew there were no spigots or piping on that outside, but I had forgotten about the condensate drain for the A/C. My plastic shed was in front of it so I moved that and there it was. After the A/C ran and most of the condensate was out it would drip for a good 30-45 min. Probably due to some buildup or pipes not sloped well. Moving the shed and putting gravel in a shallow hole took away the noise forever. May have been a drip from the last 90 to turn down the wall, I dunno, but it stopped.

Yours might be harder since it's an apartment. Can't check all the possible sources. Since you don't have metal walls I imagine and sheet rock is non-conductive, it's not any sort of shock you may be feeling, it's a vibration of some sort.

You really REALLY just need to move somewhere where all these problems won't affect you so much. Like a deserted part of the country or back to CA and telecommute. Or instead of trying to find quiet places, find a nice noisy neighborhood, you'll likely adapt. For almost 6 years I slept 10 ft above two 16 cyl ALCo diesels running all sorts of speeds. After that, I could sleep anywhere. I took a nap once stretched out over 2 pallets of 500lb bombs, no problem.

These relatively tiny issues are going to make you sick just from worrying.
 
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Old 02-23-17, 05:01 AM
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If you think its electrical related, in an attempt to narrow down the issue, turn the electricity off (throw the breaker) to that room &/or those two walls. They maybe on the same circuit. Touch the walls, if the vibration is gone, you can be relatively sure its electrical related at least to some degree. If it doesn't stop, throw the main breaker for the whole house/apartment. If its stops, you know. If it doesn't stop at least you know if probably not electrical related.

When I say "relatively" sure, just because the vibration stops, still wont ensure that its "electrical" related directly, but maybe indirectly, but it will be a start. What I am saying is... for example.... if you turn the electricity off & it stops, doesn't mean its an electrical issue but it may be shutting off the electricity to whatever is causing the vibration. For example, a dimmer switch as mentioned above. So you still may have some investigations to do, but at least you'll know where to start.
 
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Old 02-23-17, 06:41 AM
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Thanks for the replies.

I'll try to clarify some more. It's in a 3 storey building. I don't have a neighbor adjacent to my wall, just a neighbor downstairs. On the other side of the wall, is still my place (it's my room within my room). I have a freezer plugged in on the other side of the wall....maybe I'll unplug it to see if that does anything but it's never been an issue since the buzzing sensation seems to occur sometimes and then it's gone.

I'll try the recommendations listed here though I'm not really sure how to do that. It may be something from the neighbor below....I'll have to ask and check it out.

Something fishy is going on with my body. I feel like something is constantly tremoring or vibrating within my body even though I'm perfectly fine when I'm not home. When I'm sitting here in front of my computer, it feels like either my body is doing it or something is doing it to me....it feels like i'm vibrating from inside even though the floor and tables are completely still AFAIK.

I wonder if it has anything to do with the buzzing/vibrating wall and electricity? Could some electricity be causing havoc with my own body's electrical system? It really feels like electricity is running through my body or something....it's so freakin weird I can't put a finger on it. I'm also thinking of going to the doctor's to find out if something is wrong my heart or something....it feels weird. But when I'm outside and sitting anywhere else, I feel 100% fine and normal. It's just when I come into this room and sit in front of the computer. I'm not feeling anything right now as I type but probably a bit later the buzzing inside my body is going to start again.
 
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Old 02-23-17, 06:58 AM
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Vibration

It is the freezer..............................
 
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Old 02-23-17, 07:51 AM
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Its certainly a good possibility. Now that we know the freezer is on the other side of the wall & the problem is intermittent, it wouldn't surprise me at all to know that its the freezer compressor/motor coming on & off. I'd unplug it for 12 hours or so (enough time to indicate that its likely to be the issue). Just FYI, don't go in & out of the freezer while unplugged if possible. Keep the lid/door closed.

If the freezer is the issue, you might consider getting some rubber grommets or something similar to sit the freezer feet on. That should resolve that. If it don't, its probably time to invest in a new freezer.
 
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Old 02-24-17, 09:26 AM
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The freezer is only about 1 years old now and it's a 100L freezer (not super big or anything).

So when I feel that buzzing on my hand, should I turn off the freezer (unplug it) and see if I still feel the buzzing in the wall or not? Just a reminder, the buzzing is not a noise/sound, but it's a tactile sense I get in my hand when I touch the wall. It's the exact same feeling you get when you run your fingers across the cover of a laptop/notebook sometimes.

Yes, it seems to occur on and off again. For example, I just went over to feel the wall and no buzzing sensation in my hand.

***UPDATE****

Right after I wrote this message, I went to feel the wall and the sensation returned. I checked the freezer and there was absolutely no sound on (no motor or anything), but I unplugged it anyways and the wall still gives off this buzzing sensation in my fingers when I touch it. It's DEFINITELY NOT THE FREEZER. The freezer wasn't even making any noise or the motor wasn't even on...it's as quiet as a mouse. I can put my hand on the freezer and there's no buzzing sensation from it.

There's something in the wall or something electrical in the building or below me that must be conducting some electrical current ...i think it has to do with "grounding" but I don't know enough about what faulty grounding is or would look like.

It's also not a vibration like something is moving (ie. building shake or computer turned on touching the wall). The wall is absolutely still and there's no noise, no shake, nothing.....the vibration is probably a poor word to use to describe the feeling. All I can equate it to is a feeling like electricity...it feels like a million little electrical shocks so small that it doesn't hurt or isn't noticeable until you graze your hands (especially the back of your fingers) across the wall and it really starts to buzz inside your bones of the finger. My hand doesn't shake, but it feels like the bones in my hand is buzzing. If you press too hard, then you won't feel anything from the wall. You actually have to gently feel the wall without much pressing to feel that buzz conducting through my hand/bones....it's a very unusual feeling/sensation, but I'm itching to know what the heck it is!
 
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Old 02-24-17, 12:31 PM
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You don't know all that much about electricity, but you think it might be a grounding issue because you read it online somewhere?

We don't live in South Korea, so no-one is going to be able without a doubt tell you what it is. Either get over it or move. Or go somewhere and have them run all sorts of experiments, it may indeed be some sort of sensitivity you have. I've heard of people that although otherwise completely fine, could not live near high tension lines (or near airports, or power plants, etc) because they had constant feeling of some sort, whether it be headaches, nervousness, rashes, whatever.

If something was bothering me this much and I couldn't find a simple answer, I'd move.
 
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Old 02-24-17, 01:44 PM
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It really doesn't sound like anything to do with the building electrical system. Your thought of talking to the doctor might be a good idea. Weird feelings in the night and focusing on minor things in your body and in the immediate environment are pretty consistent with some measure of anxiety disorder. I think you understand this on some level given what you wrote back in post #5. It's certainly worth checking out, especially if this sort of thing shows up elsewhere in your life.

Other than I will say that sounds and vibrations can travel a long ways through the earth that aren't noticeable during the noise of the day. It wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility for some industrial process or railroad even a couple miles away to make a noticeable vibration at night.
 
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Old 02-24-17, 05:28 PM
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You might want to find out whether your building has metal studs or foil vapor barrier just behind the drywall wall surface.

That metal or foil could become energized in a manner that if you rub the exposed surface of the wall you could feel an uncanny tingling. Next you would have to find an exposed place where you could forcibly ground the suspected metal surface or object.

A small number of people can "feel" or "hear" electromagnetic fields or radio frequency energy in uncanny ways.

Maybe you are one of those persons.

Perhaps when total current draw on a certain trunk line running in your ceiling, perhaps to the main panel in another apartment, gets above a certain number amperes your body starts to react to it.

A few years ago, someone I knew who lived in a condo was telling of a neighbor who complained that another resident who lived directly above was running machinery for a business (things like photocopier, printer, etc.) late at night. The complainer mentioned humming noises. After inspecting the apartment above they did not find any of the machinery there. Some inquiring on Google back then found stories of people with "extra sensory perception" sensitive to electromagnetic fields.
 
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Old 02-24-17, 06:24 PM
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You should link to other applicable threads so that everyone doesn't have to ask all the same questions over again.

http://www.doityourself.com/forum/ge...ling-sick.html
 
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Old 02-26-17, 09:01 PM
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PJmax that's a completely different issue
 
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Old 02-26-17, 09:12 PM
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AllanJ

This response is excellent. I'm not saying you are 100% right but I like that you are thinking bigger and it helps me to consider all possibilities. I don't know how I can go about to confirm any of it. It seems that it would require the expertise of building contractors or someone of a profession to come in and inspect...it's probably too much trouble for me (a renter) to do and the owner should probably do it, but of course I might just get asked to leave then lol.

ibpooks also an excellent response. It's good to read some mature responses with relevant information that may be related to what I'm going through.

Just to clarify pj max, this issue has nothing to do with the building shake last year due to road damage and construction. Maybe the words that I used were the same so it sounds confusing. This issue is due to something I am feeling (an actual tactile sensation) in the wall but not ALL walls. It only occurs on 2 walls (as I explained earlier). When I feel that, I try all the other walls and none of them elicit a tactile sensation in my hand. It's not just me and it's not an anxiety disorder because the litmus test proves it. I'm perfectly fine. I think it definitely has something to do with what some of you said about something internal in the wall whether it's wiring/electrical or electromagnetic?

I just don't have any idea how I can go about to find the answers I need because it sounds like not many people (even on this forum) would know exactly what it is.

I really do like what the last two posters (allan and ib) said. I think they are onto something. Yeah, if I could speak fluently and contact people, it would be easier, but since I don't own this place, I don't speak the language, and it's just way too hard to even begin to ask about this here.

I guess I should try and contact an english speaking building expert and ask them these questions...maybe I can get some more info about it.

Yes Allan. I am a very sensitive person and I seem to be able to pick up things that most people don't or can't. It's both a good thing and a bad thing. I even have to wear ear plugs sometimes because I can literally here everything and everyone in the building doing this and that. It's awful.
 
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Old 02-26-17, 09:23 PM
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AllanJ, I'm not sure if this will help you but my walls here have no drywall. It's literally just a slab of concrete covered with a layer of cardboard or a lot of wallpaper. It's not a new building from what I can tell so it doesn't have that nice drywall + insulation + whatever else all the new buildings have in them.

Do you think I should ask the owner (who lives downstairs) if I can see what is in the room directly beneath mine? I wonder if he might have any sort of electronic device or machinery running. I've known him now for 3+ years so we have a good relationship. I know it would seem a little unusual to ask a question like that but, maybe it would help?

I do know they have a running treadmill but that issue was resolved a long time ago when I told them I could hear someone walking or running on the treadmill and they no longer use it.
 
 

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