Earthing Sheet Fabric and What You Need to Know

Now, more than ever, there are many choices in earthing bedding from different earthing sheet fabrics to product designs and even the materials used.

If you are looking for a long-lasting and reliable earthing product, you need to know:

• How conductive is the fabric?
• Is there a warranty?
• How long will is really last?

Comparing Conductive Materials

All grounding bedding (earthing sheets, pads or bed mats) must contain conductive component which allows free electrons from the earth to pass freely through the product to you (see our article What is Grounding for more).

The conductive material or fibre used in grounding sheets is usually silver or stainless steel or carbon.

These conductive fibres are then blended with cotton or polyester to be made into a fitted sheet, half sheet, sleep mat, or underlay.

Different conductive materials have different strengths for earthing, as well as different longevity.

Let’s look at Silver, Stainless Steel and Carbon in turn.

Silver Fabric – Highly Conductive but Stops Working Quickly

The silver used in grounding fabric is made by adhering 99.9% pure silver to a nylon fibre core. The technical name for this is ‘silver-coated fibre’.

One of the strengths of silver is that it is highly conductive.

However, silver is easily damaged by sulphur in sweat and the myriad of ingredients in creams & lotions. These can damage (oxidise) the silver. We have all seen dark, tarnished silverware – this is oxidation and will weaken or destroy conductivity and its effectiveness for grounding.

This is especially a problem if the grounding sheet doesn’t contain much silver or is designed for bare skin contact, for example grounding sheets made from cotton (95% of the fabric) and silver fibre (5% of the fabric). Low silver earthing sheets can lose conductivity in months. In warmer months, you are more likely to sweat and may oxidise the silver faster. As the conductivity of the sheet decreases, your good experiences are likely to decrease too. Your aches and pains, inflammation or sleeplessness may come back as your sheet stops delivering the full earthing experience.

There are now 100s of vendors selling low-cost Chinese-made silver earthing sheets. Most silver grounding bedding with 3-7% silver fibre will not last longer than 6-months.

Budget for a replacement sheet and take a good look at the manufacturer warranty as well as the retailer’s warranty before you buy.

Stainless Steel – Highly Conductive and Durable

We began making fitted grounding underlays and half-sheet grounding underlays with stainless steel in 2019. See our latest bedding range here.

We moved from making silver earthing bedding to stainless steel because:

• No concerns about sulphur in sweat, body and hair oils, or ingredients in creams and lotions. None of these can damage conductive stainless steel filament.
• Excellent conductivity for grounding. We use the highest quality medical grade (316L) solid stainless steel fibre.
• Suits an Underlay Design. Stainless steel can be woven into breathable fabric that feels like denim jeans. You can place your favourite cotton or natural fibre sheet on top.
• Extra-long Warranty. We expect our Better Earthing fabric will outlast every other earthing sheet, earthing sleep system or earthing mat worldwide. We give a 3-year warranty on earthing effectiveness of our underlays.

Our first range of stainless steel earthing bedding was a Premium range. It was crinkly in appearance and needed to be kept tight across the bed for maximum conductivity and durability (with buckle & strap system).

In 2022, we innovated and have a new line of stainless steel underlays that do not require buckles and straps. And, they can be washed on any settting with any detergent.

Carbon – Low Conductivity for Earthing

Carbon-coated polyurethane has been used in grounding mats since 2015, and more recently in black sleep mats. It is a lightweight material that is hypoallergenic, but unfortunately has low conductivity with a propensity to breakdown.

Carbon is an average conductor compared to metal. When carbon is used as a thin surface coating, it generally breaks down on a microscopic level. This can even happen when the product is unused, for example sitting on the warehouse shelf.

Most black carbon-infused sleep mats are advertised as able to be used as an underlay or with direct skin contact. Bear in mind that they will be less effective as an underlay, it may take as long as 20mins for enough body moisture to build up in your regular cotton beds sheets for electrons to be able to pass through from the sleep mat to your skin.

Like silver grounding bedding, most black carbon-infused sleep mats are made in China and have poor longevity. Given that both materials are prone to break down, it is likely better to opt for the more conductive silver. Shop around to compare warranty and price.

Why a Warranty is Important

Earthing sheets are not like regular cotton sheets. A regular bed sheet will last for years before it develops obvious signs of wear such as holes. A grounding sheet only lasts for as long as it remains conductive. If conductivity fails, you have an expensive grounding sheet that perhaps looks good, but no longer grounds you to the earth. This can happen in months with no visible signs.

With silver earthing sheets, conductivity can decrease due to sulphur in everyday sweat or with incorrect washing. This can be a major problem if there is only a low percentage of silver in the sheet to start with.

With black carbon-infused earthing sleep mats, the carbon can break down on a microscopic level. This is why a long warranty is not possible for carbon products.

Be sure to get a warranty in writing that your earthing product will earth effectively for a fair period of time.

We give 3-years on our earthing bedding. Like any product with a warranty, it should last longer when cared for.

View our innovative earthing bedding in the better earthing shop.