Static electricity creates positive (+) or negative (-) charges that can either attract or repel other objects.
Try to rub a balloon against your hair. The rubbing action moves some of the loose negative (-) charges in your hair to the surface of the balloon.
Water is also made up of charged particles, with the two hydrogen atoms having a positive (+) charge. Water can easily be affected by a static electrical charge, because in its liquid form these atoms are free to move around any which way.