No, you cannot reuse disposable gloves. By definition, they’re meant for one use. After that, you throw them out. However, you can use both disposable and reusable gloves at your industrial facility. Let’s look at how you can use disposable vs. reusable gloves in your facility. Then we can examine how to clean reusable gloves.
When Should You Use Disposable Vs. Reusable Gloves?
Disposable gloves, such as latex or nitrile gloves, are typically tight and fit close to the skin. They have strong levels of chemical resistance to prevent chemicals and germs from spreading across touch surfaces. Using disposable gloves prevents cross contamination, so they often work best in food service or medical settings. However, you can use nitrile or latex gloves in an area of your facility where they need to handle chemicals or other sensitive materials.
Reusable industrial gloves come in a wide range of types and have a variety of uses. These glove types include:
- Nitrile-Dipped Gloves: These reusable gloves are made of fabric and dipped in a nitrile coating to protect wearers from chemicals, cuts, and punctures.
- Polyurethane-Dipped Gloves: Also known as PU-dipped gloves, these are similar to nitrile-dipped gloves. They’re made from fabric dipped in a polyurethane coating that resists punctures, cuts, and chemicals. Which type of coated glove should you choose? That depends on the tasks you use them for.
- Leather Gloves: Leather gloves work well for industrial tasks because they’re thicker than fabric gloves. They provide higher protection levels than fabric gloves, along with extra grip and insulation. However, they can crack and shrivel without proper care.
- Kevlar Gloves: This glove material is lightweight and durable, making it ideal for use in industrial facilities. Kevlar resists punctures and cuts, and it can be used as an entire glove or a lining beneath another outer material.
- High-Impact Gloves: These gloves are designed to prevent hand injuries for workers dealing with heavy loads. They specifically combat hand injuries caused by crushing loads, and workers often use them in the gas and oil industries.
These various types of gloves help your employees protect themselves as much as possible in an industrial environment. It’s best to take good care of this type of reusable personal protective equipment (PPE). Closed Loop Recycling helps you extend your industrial work gloves’ PPE lifespan.
How To Choose Between Disposable and Reusable Gloves
When you choose between disposable and reusable gloves, consider the tasks in your facility that require them. If your employees touch chemicals, medical supplies, or food ingredients, disposable gloves are your best and safest bet. They can throw disposable gloves away to reduce the chances of cross contamination between products and improve employees’ hand hygiene. But if your employees work with heavy loads or loads with sharp edges or changing temperatures, reusable gloves are the right choice. Reusable gloves offer stronger hand protection in industrial environments than disposable gloves. However, if employees in one part of your facility need disposable gloves while those in another part of your facility need reusable gloves for their tasks, it’s a good idea to invest in both kinds of gloves. Then you can distribute each kind of glove in the area where it’s needed most.
How Can You Extend Your Reusable Gloves’ PPE Lifespan?
You can extend your reusable gloves’ lifespan by using glove laundering and recycling services like the ones Closed Loop Recycling provides. These services put your gloves through the proper laundering processes for their materials. With proper laundering, your reusable gloves stay clean and protective for as long as possible. The right laundering processes are also environmentally friendly and take care of the planet while keeping your gloves clean.