Work Gloves 101 » Glove Laundering

GLOVE LAUNDERING

What is the payoff?

Let's say you spend $10.00 on a pair of gloves. If the cost to launder them each time is .50¢, and you wash them five times, you're looking at an additional cost on top of your purchase price of $2.50 a pair. But another way of looking at it is that you actually save 95% each time you launder them instead of throwing them out and replacing them. In the long term, that's a serious amount of dough.

Naturally though, you want to know if it's that simple. Will the gloves shrink in the process, or otherwise feel compromised in all this effort to save money? The short answer is no. Advances in knitting technology have refined the whole process to the point where shrinkage is minimal enough to not be a factor when deciding to launder. (Contact our customer services reps for more detailed info on your style of choice. For example, laundering either lycra and Spandex at too high a temperature literally cooks it, altering gloves in the process.) One thing is for certain though: knit gloves are infinitely more launderable than leather, which is one more reason why high tech knits are leading the way in hand protection.

Choosing a launderer is the next step. You need to know what to look for. The following points need to be considered:

• Do they have cleaning and reconditioning capabilities specific to gloves?
  
  
• Do they offer door-to-door delivery service?
  
  
• How refined is their process relative to both the glove material and the type of dirt/contamination affecting it? (Ie. see Proban information at end of article.) A thorough process will involve sorting prior to laundering
  
  
• Do they offer repair services?
  

In terms of different gloves themselves, here is a rough guideline that may be helpful.

Kevlar® Gloves

Kevlar® is inherently cut-resistant, meaning that cut resistance is unchanged over the lifetime of the glove in spite of repeated laundering. Kevlar® can be washed over and over, with no effect on shrinkage, weight loss or changes in tensile strength. Kevlar® is resistant to many chemicals and solvents, with the exception of strong acids, bases and oxidizers. Kevlar® must never be bleached. However, oxygen 'bleach' can be used in place of chlorine bleach

Detergent Wash

• Use approx. 5lbs commercial laundry soap or detergent per 100lbs Kevlar®


• Use Hot water: 170°F/75°F


• Wash for 20 minutes


• Rinse with Hot water


• Repeat steps 3 and 4 if necessary


• Rinse in Cold water


• Tumble dry for 35 minutes at 155°F/70°C

Dry Cleaning

• Pre wash using perchloroethylene for 5 minutes


• Drain


• Wash for 20 minutes using perchloroethylene and 12 oz of anionic surfactant/100lbs of Kevlar®


• Tumble dry at 140°F/60°F or less.

Dyneema® Gloves

Dyneema® can be washed, dry-cleaned, and bleached, all without affecting the specific properties of Dyneema®. However, Dyneema® does have one limitation: temperature. It will not withstand temperatures—wet or dry—over 85°F/30°C, so keep this in mind.

• Standard detergents, ammonium, sodium hydroxides, hydrochloric acid, etc, are not known to affect the performance of Dyneema® fiber. This enables you to wash and reuse the gloves many times


• Use Cold water only: 85°F/30°C or less


• Tumble dry low or no heat

Leather Gloves

It is generally recommended that Leather gloves be dry cleaned. Soap and water removes the natural oils present in the Leather, causing them to stiffen and become brittle.

Nylon Gloves

• Use warm water: 105°F/40°C


• Wash with a regular detergent


• Tumble dry at low or no heat

Wool Gloves

• Use Cold water only: 70°F/20°C or less.


• Use a mild detergent and gently wash


• Tumble dry at low or no heat

Cotton/Polyester Gloves

• Use warm water: 105°F/40°C


• Wash with a regular detergent


• Tumble dry, medium heat

Coated Latex, Nitrile, Neoprene Gloves

• Use cold water: 85°F/30°C or less.


• Use a mild detergent.


• Tumble dry low or no heat.


• Bleach is not recommended.

Proban

Fabrics treated to be flame retardant are limited to a set number of launders, which can sometimes lead to a delay in laundering in the hope the garment will last longer. However, not washing fabrics such as Proban can pose an even greater danger by actually rendering them flammable due to a buildup of oils and other contaminants that hinder the flame-resistant treatment. Also, do not use pure soap when laundering Proban, as deposits left behind after washing again increase flammability. Bleach cannot be used, but oxygen-based bleaches are fine as long as temperatures do not exceed 75°F.