What kinds of jobs should use disposable safety gloves?

Disposable safety gloves create a protective barrier around your hands to protect against germs, bacteria, and disease. This makes the answer seem obvious, right?

Disposable gloves, like most protective gloves, can protect the wearer from the hazards of the job. For disposable gloves, this can mean protecting the hand from things like liquids and chemicals.

But unlike many other gloves, disposable gloves serve another purpose. They can also protect product or items from being contaminated by the wearer's hands. Food service is the most common example of this type of protection.

There are many kinds of disposable gloves. Polyethylene gloves, often referred to simply as "poly gloves," are the most basic type. Poly gloves provide very little protection to the hands and are almost always used to protect products from being touched with bare hands.

For this reason, synthetic materials such as vinyl and nitrile are becoming more popular. Vinyl gloves are often not as form fitting as latex gloves, while nitrile gloves are a close match for the fit and feel of latex. Nitrile gloves also offer superior chemical and puncture protection compared to latex and vinyl.

Reframing disposable safety gloves as protection from more than germs means other professions could benefit from using them as well.

Think about automotive technicians and gardeners who are exposed to any number of elements, much like housekeepers and food service workers (learn about another potential use for disposable gloves in How to Safely Dispose of Office Trash). Consider the effects of repeated exposure to some of the basic cleaning solutions and oils that these professionals handle daily. A simple pair of disposable safety gloves can mean fewer rashes and irritations on the hands and provide valuable protection to workers in various fields.