Possible grounding issue in apartment & question about showering
Hello! I'm currently renting an apartment with my roommate in a somewhat old building. Earlier today when I came back home, I loaded the washing machine and went to the kitchen to start preparing food. When I tried to use the oven, I felt a shock in the arm that was touching the oven up until my elbow. The shock was more like a very uncomfortable vibration that I felt in my muscle and lasted for as long as I was touching the oven. I turned it off immediately. After a while I tried again and the issue was still there. I googled it and I assume it's faulty grounding, I don't quite understand what that is though.
I had a similar issue a few days back in the same kitchen. I was trying to watch a video on my iPad and it was plugged on a charger. I could feel a (weaker) vibration in the palm of my hand and my fingers while I was holding it. A few months ago I felt weird tingling on my fingers when using the oven again, but it was definitely not as strong as today.
I contacted my landlord but have yet to get a response. I'm quite scared since the vibration today wasn't particularly weak or light. It was not painful but very very uncomfortable and I could feel it in my muscle.
I want to know two things:
-
A broader explanation on what is possibly happening
-
Can we use the shower? We are both students and travelling back to our hometowns for the weekend so we do need to use the shower (and the kitchen) :(
Also I know I'm basically an idiot but I truly just don't understand what's happening. Thanks!
Posted May 13, 2026, 6:31 PM UTC