Best Janitorial Gloves for Cleaning

While janitors work, they’re exposed to harsh chemicals and irritants. Over time, hands without gloves can suffer wear, injuries and irritation, making them essential for any good janitorial job. With so many glove options available, you need to know what gloves will get the job done and protect workers’ hands effectively.

Finding the right protective gear is crucial for promoting a safe, efficient and comfortable working environment, and your janitorial staff needs the best gloves to keep them healthy during the work day. Keep reading to learn more.

The Importance of Wearing Gloves

Without suitable janitorial gloves, janitors’ hands will take on damage from daily chemical exposure and cleaning work. Therefore, it’s crucial to ensure your employees have access to the various kinds of gear they need to stay protected during work. Here are three ways gloves help protect employees during the say:

1. Protect against chemicals: Many cleaning chemicals have harsh ingredients, which can strip, burn and hurt the skin. Products like vinegar, solvents, ammonia, bleach and detergents can all irritate or burn the skin. Using gloves blocks chemicals from getting to the skin, keeping hands safe and clean throughout the day.
2. Protect against germs: Most janitor work involves cleaning places teeming with germs and bacteria. With gloves, janitors can clean germ-filled areas easily, throwing away the gloves once they’re done to reduce the spread and help prevent themselves from getting sick.
3. Protect against hot water: While hot water doesn’t seem as big a problem as chemicals and germs, it can do serious damage to the skin over time. Repeated exposure to hot water used in janitorial work can lead to dry, cracked and bleeding hands. Disposable cleaning gloves keep hands from getting wet and cracked due to working with hot water.
4. Protect against wounds: While working, janitors scrub hard, handle hazardous materials and navigate sharp corners and objects. Wearing thicker, more durable gloves protects them from cutting, scratching or otherwise hurting their hands. If an existing open wound becomes infected, it can lead to more severe health concerns, making glove use crucial.

Reusable vs. Disposable Gloves: Pros and Cons

How do you choose between reusable and disposable cleaning gloves? The right gloves will depend on what job they’re needed for and if health standards require janitors to throw them away after use. Any glove used in janitorial work should help protect against pathogens, chemicals, liquids and more to ensure workers don’t contact dangerous substances.

Let’s compare the two options:

Reusable Gloves

These gloves are ideal for withstanding chemicals and hot water, as they have solid and protective builds that prevent tears, punctures and leaks. While they’re extremely durable, given their reusability, they’re not always comfortable to wear and don’t offer the best dexterity. Additionally, donning reusable cleaning gloves can lead to cross-contamination if they’re not properly cleaned off, since they come in contact with many surfaces.

Disposable Gloves

This option is easy to remove and can be swapped out to prevent cross-contamination. The lightweight build gives wearers better dexterity and sensitivity, making them ideal for delicate tasks. Though they work well against mild chemicals and irritants, they won’t all stand up to harsher chemicals. Plus, disposable gloves can tear easily and create more waste than reusable gloves.

Either way, both glove options have their benefits, so it may be worthwhile to stock your janitors’ supply cabinets with both.

Best Reusable Janitorial Gloves for Cleaning

Ultimately, latex-free or nitrile gloves will provide more robust puncture protection and withstand extended contact with more potent chemicals used in cleaning agents. Opt for reusable gloves when continually dealing with harsh chemicals, as they’re durable and resilient.

Make sure to wash and dry any reusable gloves thoroughly to prevent cross-contamination. Additionally, dispose of them if any chemicals get inside the glove. It can help to designate specific pairs of reusable janitor gloves for certain job duties so they stay separate and organized.

Best Disposable Janitorial Gloves for Cleaning

These gloves allow janitors to easily dispose of them when they get contaminated and quickly put on new ones, protecting their hands without interrupting the flow of the work day. Let’s look at disposable nitrile, latex and vinyl cleaning gloves for janitorial work.

1. Nitrile

For durable, chemical-resistant, latex-free gloves, nitrile cleaning gloves are a suitable choice. These are highly resistant to chemicals and punctures and provide moderate protection against pathogens. Further, they’re lightweight and comfortable and can withstand mild temperatures. Be aware that nitrile gloves aren’t acetone resistant, so avoid using them around products with acetone. Overall, nitrile disposable gloves are more durable than latex but are stiffer and offer less mobility. 

2. Latex

These disposable gloves are thin and flexible. A pair of latex gloves offer good protection against pathogens and allow better hand dexterity and sensitivity. The most lightweight and stretchy glove, they’re comfortable and will still protect hands from cleaning products. That said, some people have latex sensitivities that make wearing them impossible and they can’t stand up against harsh chemicals. 

3. Vinyl

Another option for a lightweight disposable glove is vinyl. These cleaning gloves have the advantage of being latex-free, so they won’t irritate the skin of people with latex sensitivities. This glove material provides average resistance to some common alcohols and other chemicals and can handle low heat. However, vinyl tears more easily than nitrile and latex and offers low protection against pathogens. Also, they’re less flexible than latex and provide lower dexterity.

Find the Best Gloves for Janitorial Work at SUNLINE Supply

Don’t leave your workers’ hands exposed to irritation and chemicals — get high-quality, protective disposable gloves from SUNLINE Supply. We carry a wide range of gloves to suit the needs of multiple industries, so you can always find the best glove for your business’s needs. With our premium, protective gloves, your team of janitors will have the means to work safely and efficiently.

For the best janitorial gloves, shop our wholesale disposable industrial glove selection. Have questions about purchasing or want to know more about our gloves? Contact us today!