Do you have a pair of gloves ready to go? Hand protection is a must-have for any outdoor task, and it can make the difference between an injury that heals quickly and one that lasts for months.
Which activity will require the use of new gloves? We’re glad you asked. Here are the five most common activities requiring a new pair of gloves, according to consumer surveys conducted by the Consumer Product Safety Commission:
Which Activity Requires a New Pair of Gloves?
1. Barbed wire fencing
Barbed wire fences can take a lot of punishment from careless or tangled fingers. But because the barbs on the wire are so sharp, gloves are a necessary tool for any job involving this type of construction work.
The right gloves will protect your hands and make your work significantly easier. Not to mention that they’ll keep you safe from any infection or puncture wounds that may result if you don’t wear them.
Our article examines some different types of gloves and explains when it is appropriate to use them.
A. Clothing preparation
It’s important that your gloves are clean before you start. You must first wash them in warm water and soap, then dry them thoroughly. If you notice that a glove is becoming worn out, you should replace it with a new one before starting work.
B. Types of gloves
There are many types of gloves available for construction workers. You can find these different styles at a local hardware store or department store.
2. Handling Cardboard Boxes
Many people are unaware that an activity such as handling cardboard boxes can be dangerous, especially when doing it without a new pair of gloves.
Without the right protection, the hands may become very sore and even cause pain in the joints. This is because cardboard boxes can have sharp edges where they were cut, which is bad if they get rubbed too hard over a period of time.
The most common areas where this happens are on knuckles and between the fingers.
People should always wear the right kind of gloves when handling cardboard boxes. The most important thing is to make sure that they fit properly and are the correct thickness.
This will prevent possible injuries during moving. The second most important thing is to make sure that your hands do not hurt when you first put on the gloves.
This can indicate that it is not a proper fit, and you should discard them and buy new ones of the same size.
To prevent injuries, it is also important that the gloves are not too long. This would be like trying to grab a box with the end of your fingers without lifting the weight of the box at all.
If your hands hurt after putting on gloves then it is important to try different sizes.
The best thing to do if you have sore hands and they refuse to go away after wearing a proper pair of gloves is to have professional medical attention.
3. Electrical work
If you are going to use your hands and fingers to work with any electrical installation or wiring, then you need to be wearing a pair of gloves that is specifically designed for this type of work.
These gloves will be made of material that will protect the worker from being shocked by electricity. The gloves should also be heat resistant and not melt while handling hot wires.
The following activities require a new pair of gloves:
1. Using your hands to work with electric wires and cables in any way, shape or form; (e.g. repairing, installing or removing all types of electrical cables, wiring and electric equipment, connecting to an electricity supply, using an electrical screwdriver)
2. Using your hands to handle hot wires/cables that are exposed or in contact with the bare metal; (e.g. pulling out and replacing circuit wires, repairing electrical wiring/electrical installations, cutting and bending electric wires/cables)
3. Working with electrical equipment that has moving parts and/or is of a high voltage (e.g. switch boards, switches, fuses)
4. Using your hands to make repairs to any form of electrical equipment (e.g. disassembling any electrical switchboard or any electronic device)
5. Working with any form of electric circuit box or box containing live current (e.g. for other electricians, anyone working outdoors without the correct equipment)
6. Working with electrical circuits with exposed terminals (e.g. using any metal tool or metal object to touch an exposed terminal on any type of electrical circuit)
7. Working with a power supply or equipment that is likely to be getting hot (e.g. repairing a generator, furnace, heating system, washing machine, air conditioner or alternative energy source).
4. Freezer work
Freezer work
The short answer to which activity usually requires a new pair of gloves is freezer work. Freezer work, cold working, and cryogenic are names for the three main types of operations that require the use of ice or refrigeration.
We now will discuss what freezer work entails and how those procedures can help improve production in a plant, company, or warehouse.
Freezer work also helps prevent accidents from oil spills or potential contamination on hard surfaces. It’s important to know the difference between freezer work and freezers in your facility.
5. Football
Football is a grueling sport, more so than any other that requires you to use many different muscles and parts of your body. The gloves add comfort to the game, but they also protect your hands from severe damage from the rough playing field.
Since only one player on each team wears gloves, they are assigned by the referee at half-time.
You should buy a new pair of gloves before every football match (or keep an old one at home). You can use just one pair of gloves during a season, but it’s not recommended.
The most important thing to remember when buying a pair of football gloves is to check whether the suede leather palms are lined with some kind of grippy rubber material. This will make your grip on the ball even better, even if you’re covered in mud.
Some manufacturers make their football gloves out of thin stretchy lycra materials that slip on like a second skin and are really light. These are probably the best football gloves ever made, and they allow great freedom of movement of your fingers.
Thicker football gloves will keep your hands warmer, especially if it’s a cold or windy day. They also provide much more protection when you’re tackling or trying to get out of a tackle.
6. Grilling
That’s right, grilling! If you want to be cooking with a clean surface, you need to wear a fresh pair of gloves. We know what you might be thinking: “What? My hands are going to get dirty!”
And yes, your hands will get a little dirty if you don’t have protective gloves. But that is far less important than your brand new grill padress. Trust us on this one and go grab some gloves from the kitchen before you start flipping burgers.
Burnt hands are never fun and grilling with burnt hands even less so. Unless you are incredibly fast, it is impossible to flip the meat on your grill without accidentally getting some on your hands.
This isn’t a huge deal for your arms or legs, but for your hands it is pretty cumbersome to get the food off. And if it’s ground beef, there will be some grinding involved as well (you don’t want to touch that with burnt fingers).
So, after you’ve flipped the burgers and before you lift up the lid to your grill, put on a fresh pair of gloves. It won’t take much to ingrain this habit on yourself.
Just make sure that your gloves are clean so that you don’t irritate your hands when trying to get them off. If they are not clean, you can use a little dish soap to get the hardened grease off. Then dry them off with a towel.
Also, grilling barehanded is best avoided unless it is absolutely necessary. Your hands will get too hot! Don’t be silly – it only takes two seconds to put on a pair of gloves, grab the burger and put them back on after you have cooked it.
7. Landscaping
Landscaping
Landscaping does not require a new pair of gloves for most people. Only if you are in an environment where there is a lot of dirt and debris such as construction sites, do you need something more heavy duty than gardening gloves or cloth work gloves to be able to use gardening tools with ease.
Many people do not realize that gardening gloves do not protect your hands as well as work gloves. Work gloves are designed to protect your hands from breaking or getting cut while being used in hard work situations.
When you garden you are actually using soft tools so if you were to break a finger or cut your hand that would be a lot worse than breaking a finger with gardening scissors.
Gardening gloves are made of leather and are meant to be used in soft situations such as gardening. Leather gloves can also be used by people that have sensitive skin and injuries.
They are also great for helping gardeners who are on their hands and knees when they do yard work.
There is still one time when you should strongly consider using work gloves under your gardening gloves, and that is if you live in an area that has a lot of pine needles or other debris for you to dig up.
8. Yoga
Many activities we do on a regular basis can cause our gloves to wear out and lose their effectiveness. Yoga can also be one of those activities that slowly wears out your gloves.
With so many different types of yoga, it is hard to know which would cause the most wear and tear on your gloves. Some of the most common types of yoga studios carry gloves that are made out of cotton, synthetic, or a combination.
They also may have different thicknesses as well. It is important to know which type of glove will work best for your yoga class.
A. Cotton Gloves
Cotton is a tough fiber that can hold up to daily use without getting damaged or wear out easily. Cotton gloves are good at absorbing sweat and sweat marks on your hands. Cotton gloves also repel odor and bacteria.
B. Synthetic Gloves
Synthetic gloves are made out of a stronger fiber than cotton. These types of gloves allow for more air to be able to get through without wearing out your palm.
The disadvantage is that they can cause sweating in the palm area. Synthetic gloves are resilient and easy to clean, but will not absorb sweat as well as cotton.
C. Cotton and Synthetic Gloves
These types of gloves are a combination of cotton and synthetic fibers. They have the ability to absorb sweat plus the repel odor and bacteria such as they do with cotton.
They can be worn for longer periods of time than cotton, but start to break down faster in comparison to cotton gloves.
Conclusion
The gloves that are on the list, then, are usually related to specific activities, for either protection or performance. There is no definitive answer about which gloves you should use.
You can choose based on the conditions of your activity and your hand size. However, if you choose to use a pair of gloves to protect your hands from harm, then it behooves you to be careful about the type of glove that you pick.
