Dealing with Static on LP palyback

@spatialking 

my ex-wife's cats clawed the gasket

That would have been my wife's ex-cats, followed by my ex-wife's ex-cats!  Mine would sleep anywhere warm - top of the amplifier, laptop.  Caused thousands in damage.  The cat was nearly as bad.

Thanks for the information on your turntable.  It does not have an insulated platter, which eliminates that as a potential problem.  However, the mats you are using do seem to be insulators.  Have you tried a conductive mat?  The silk belt could act like a Van der Graff generator but both ends are grounded, so no to that idea.

I think a huge part of your problem could be the synthetic carpet.  Have you tried an anti-static spray treatment, designed to reduce static shocks and dust buildup?

I decided not to pay extra for Holbo's dust cover (the transport costs were prohibitive) and I bought some velvet cloth to cover it when not in use.

@spatialking 

I skimmed the posts and didn't notice if anyone has mentioned this.  Has anyone ever tried one?

https://upscaleaudio.com/products/tru-sweep-anti-static-unipivot-spinning-dust-brush

@lewm 

Where did I say I see electrons or that it is even possible to see them

I can only see the bulldust of more misquoting! 

I said you have no chance of seeing micron-sized dust particles.  I know you don't like ChatGPT but there are lots of atoms in a dust particle and even more electrons.  The numbers are staggering:

A micron-sized dust particle (around 1-100 micrometers) contains an immense number of atoms, ranging from trillions to quadrillions (10^12 to 10^18 atoms), depending on its exact size and composition, with a 1-micron particle potentially holding roughly 10^12 to 10^14 atoms of common materials like silicon dioxide, as atoms are incredibly tiny building blocks. 

The fundamental electromagnetic force is even more staggeringly big compared with gravity - 10^36 times more.  So a stray electron can effectively anchor a small dust particle to an insulator.

@dhite71 

Hudson has something similar for a tenth of the price. Hudson Hi-Fi Anti-Static Vinyl Cleaning Arm

The key is that both have an earth leakage path, and conductive bristles, something missing in the old Dust Bug and similar products.

You might just have nudged me into getting one!

The issue of whether you said one can see electrons or microns or whatever in an EM is moot.  If I misunderstood you to say that one can see an electron, under any circumstances, then I apologize.  Has nothing to do with the point of contention. And if an electron or a negative ion is neutralized by positive ions in a dust particle (your hypothesis), then that negative particle it is able to exert no force, no matter the potential magnitude of an ES force in comparison to gravity, which as we know is not a force at all.  We get an estimate of the magnitude of ES force in units of Volts. No volts above background, no ES force. Similarly, if EMI in the cartridge is able to neutralize negative charge traveling from diamond to vinyl surface (my hypothesis), such that significant V is not measurable or is measured to be similar to a background value, then no significant ES force can be present. My cheap meter can measure ES force in magnitude from background to +/-33kV.