So it's Wintertime in the US right now, all the air is dry and everything is charged. You, your clothes, and yes, especially in the Winter your records are full of static.
MUST KILL STATIC! 
Why though?
Because it makes your records get all Rice Crispies like, snap crackle and pop.
Plus it makes every piece of air floofies land on it and stick like a magnet so then your needle has to plow thru all that shit.
So How do I kill static before playing my records? 
First things first.
1. Remove the static from your body.
1A. Some people attach a ground bar underneath the front of their turntable console. Small electrical ground bars are available at all hardware stores for 2-5 buckish. Then from that mounted ground bar connect a small gauge copper ground wire and run it to the center screw of the nearest electrical wall plate. This will effectively ground the ground bar. Then you simply touch the goundbar before putting down the record which neutralizes your body. Sometimes when it's really dry you get a nice static shock which is always fun.
Think of that zap like free coffee.
OR
1B. Spray a burst of Static Guard on your clothes. 1 can of Static Guard = $3 It works and it makes you smell so fresh and so clean.
OR
1C. Stand on an anti static mat. I have a nice anti fatigue padded electrostatic discharge floor mat behind my decks that I stand on that I have grounded to my electrical wall plate. It was one of my more expensive upgrades over the years but I stand on a hard basement floor for hours playing records so the padding helps there, and it effectively grounds me so when I grab the record I am static neutral and in a small way it helps me discharge the vinyl as I handle it. I think I paid 300 bucks for that specialized rug but it to this day it really ties the room together nicely.
^One of those three things will work to remove your sweater zap powers.
2. Remove Static From Your Slipmat
NOTE: If you have a standard plain old rubber mat chances are it's not static charged. You can determine this by trying to stick a packing Styrofoam peanut to it while holding it sideways in the air. If it falls off it's good, whereas if it sticks you got static. Other cork mats or specialty mats (Moo mats) may not have static, you can skip this step if your mat that touches the record is static free.
If you have a standard felt slipmat, yes it's more than likely statically charged. Even the anti-static specialty ones that you can buy often still are charged in the winter.
These are the ones I have except mine are plain white. They cost 16 bucks on Amazon as of today. They work better than the basic slip mat for resisting charge but they still aren't perfect.
Anti Static Slipmat (Recommended)
Static Guard (Recommended)
INSTRUCTIONS: To remove static from ANY slipmat
spray the bottom of your slipmat with Static Guard or any other cheap static spray. Use a short burst so it doesn't penetrate to the top of the mat. Do NOT spray the surface of the slipmat that touches the record because it will make your records dirty.
ALTERNATIVELY: you could use the Milty Zerostat Gun for a chemical free alternative although I have been told that cheap old Static Guard for 3 dollars works better than that 80 dollar gun.
Milty Zero Stat III
3. LAST STEP: Remove Static from the Vinyl Record Itself
Now that everything touching the record is static neutral, you can effectively remove the static from the record.
INSTRUCTIONS:
Place the record on the now static free slipmat.
Use
Gruv Glide on your records. <$40 (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED)
3A. Spray one short burst (1 second long at most) on one of the 2 black pads.
3B. Rub the sprayed pad on the unsprayed pad to distribute the solution to both black pads.
3C. Turn on the motor on the turntable to it's highest speed. With the record spinning, take one of the two pads with the Gruv Glide solution sprayed side facing the record and start at the run in groove and as the record rotates maneuver the pad slowly towards the run out groove. Basically make sure the pad touches every part of the playable surface on that side as the record spins.
3D. Flip record. Use the other pad (solution side down) on the other side of the record and repeat by turning on the platter, starting at run in groove, moving the pad towards the run out groove.
You'll notice the pad now has white dust on it and the record is now static free. Turn off the motor. Flip it back over to side A and play a now static free and dust free record.
You'll notice the sound is now free of pops and clicks and basically as pure sounding as vinyl can be when there's no static charge.
Gruv Glide Extra Tips:
Gruv Glide is expensive but it will last for at least 10 years or more even if you use it all the time like me. My can is at least ten years and it still feels heavy. I use it every day I play records. Sometimes you don't need the spray, often the pads retain the anti static properties for multiple records. Gruv Glide is better than every dust brush I have ever used on a record. This replaced every record brush I ever had.
Gruv Glide is a mild cleaner but that's not it's purpose. It's good for picking up dust and maybe a few stray minor finger prints but it IS NOT A DEEP CLEANER. You will still need to thoroughly clean your records with other deep cleaners like Spin Clean or Groovy Cleaner Spray or record vacuum cleaners BEFORE you use Gruv Glide. It's designed to get the airborne stuff and static and minor impurities buildup the other cleaners left behind but it won't clean dirty records so don't try.
BTW: To clean the dust off the Gruv Glide pads just slap them together (away from your records) and the dust will fly off.
FINAL TIP: Also try Anti Static record sleeves like the Mobile Fidelty sleeves or
these Anti Static Sleeves at SleevecityUSA.com to KEEP the static off your records.
Hope this helps! Happy listening!
“Lesser artists borrow... great artists steal.” - Igor Stravinsky
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