Ten Things to Know When Selecting Chemical Resistant Gloves

Guest Post By: Impact Products  |  September 21, 2018

Often cleaning workers and their employers think work gloves are about the same. Nothing could be further from the truth. Cleaning pros work with chemicals, so knowing how to select the right chemical resistant glove for the task at hand is crucially important.

Tips for Selecting Chemical Resistant Gloves

1. Know the types of chemicals and chemical ingredients you are working with.
   
   
2. Review the chemical’s Safety Data Sheets to know what ingredients may be potentially harmful.
   
   
3. Chemical resistant gloves are generally made of latex, Nitrile, Neoprene, and PVC. Use a “chemical resistance chart” provided by some glove manufacturers to determine which material will work best with which chemical ingredients.
   
   
4. Consider the dexterity of the glove; this refers to how easy the glove is to work with.
   
   
5. Look for gloves that are puncture- and snag-resistant; a snag can catch on an object and cause the glove to tear.
   
   
   
   
6. Determine the needed length of the glove. Long-sleeve gloves, often recommended when working with chemicals, are designed to fit over the hand up to the elbow.
   
   
7. Select the right sized glove by measuring at the fullest part of the hand, not including the thumb. Chemical resistant gloves typically come in four sizes: small, medium, large, and extra-large.
   
   
8. Selecting the incorrect chemical resistant gloves can result in permeation, when a chemical passes through the glove; breakthrough, the time from contact with a chemical and detection of the chemical inside the glove; degradation, when the glove properties change due to chemical contact.
   
   
9. OSHA’s Standard 29 CFR provides employers with guidelines as to appropriate hand protection.
   
   
10. Test the glove.

“Some distributors or manufacturers will provide samples of their gloves,” says Vicky Adams, Category Manager for Safety, Gloves, and Foodservice products for Impact Products.  “Wear the gloves; make sure they are as comfortable as they are protective.”

Impact Products is a manufacturer and supplier of branded and private label non-chemical commercial cleaning, maintenance, safety and related products. The company’s offering encompasses a full suite of janitorial products including floor care products, waste receptacles, washroom accessories, gloves and safety products, Impacting Everything: Easier, Safer, Better. Markets served by the company include commercial cleaning, industrial services, healthcare, government, schools, office buildings, hospitality and foodservice. Founded in 1963, Impact’s broad customer base is served out of Toledo, Ohio; Riverside, California; and Purvis, Mississippi. Impact Products, LLC is a division of the S.P. Richards Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Genuine Parts Company (NYSE: GPC).