Farming tools: Gloves
<b>Selecting the right gloves for each gardening task</b><br>Gardening gloves protect hands from soil, thorns, and chemicals. Wearing a glove also protects hands against sharp or angular tools, saving wear and tear on the fingers and nails. A glove should fit well, feel comfortable, and provide ade
Selecting the right gloves for each gardening task
Gardening gloves protect hands from soil, thorns, and chemicals. Wearing a glove also protects hands against sharp or angular tools, saving wear and tear on the fingers and nails. A glove should fit well, feel comfortable, and provide adequate tactile sensation.
Choose the right glove
Gardeners should choose a glove based on their level of activity. The best general purpose glove is made of leather or synthetic suede. Both materials feature protection and durability, and they will not stretch, shrink, or crack.
A glove made of cotton or other lightweight material is appropriate for light work, like watering. Heavy-duty chores require a thick, durable glove, made of impenetrable material. Often, a rubber glove is the right choice for any labour-intensive chores, or for work involving chemicals.
Chemical resistance
Resistant glove materials vary with the form of the pesticide. No glove resists all chemicals equally well. For liquid concentrates, the glove must also resist the solvent.
For water-based pesticides, wettable powders, or granular products, you can choose from a broader range of materials including like natural rubber, neoprene, polyvinyl, chloride and polyethylene.
Glove thickness
Thicker gloves usually offer more protection because they resist tearing and puncture, but thickness can also reduce your grasping ability and manual dexterity. Some of the most chemical resistant gloves are very thin and meant to be worn for a short time. If thickness and dexterity or grasping ability is a concern, put the glove on and test it by picking up a pencil or coin.
Glove fit and lenght
Your glove size should be the same as your hand measures in inches around your palm. If too large, gloves may be more clumsy and awkward to use and could get caught in equipment. If too small, gloves must stretch, making them harder to get on and off and thinner, offering less protection. Also, they may tire your hands more quickly.
Glove length needs to change with your task. For most tasks, a glove must cover your wrist and probably should be about 12 inches long. You can get gloves that reach over your elbows if you need to reach into chemicals.
Wearing gloves
Always have several clean extra pairs of gloves. After use, put gloves back in a bag, so they do not contaminate surfaces they contact. Wear gloves over your sleeve cuffs unless you are working in a drenching spray from above. Then put gloves under your sleeves so the chemical does not run down your sleeve and arm.
Taking gloves off
Peel one glove off by grasping the cuff, then hold it wrong side out in the hand without a glove as you peel off the other glove. Both gloves will be wrong side out, with the contamination inside.
Never pull gloves off with your teeth.
Cleaning gloves
If possible, rinse gloves under running water before you take them off. Washing gloves can reduce contamination on the outside, but some may be retained in the thickness of the gloves
Wash the outside with soapy hot water if you intend to reuse them. All gloves must be replaced frequently. Disposable gloves may only be worn a few minutes, then thrown away. Watch for the warning signs that show when reusable gloves need replacement:
Staining, or colour change
Softening, swelling, or bubbling;
Stiffening or cracking;
Dissolving or getting jelly-like
Leaking.
Glove disposal
Cut the fingers off gloves when disposing so no one else will be tempted to use them. When cleaning cotton or mesh gloves, gardeners should keep them on their hands while washing with soap and water.
Afterward, they should rinse each glove well, remove them, and then lay them flat on top of a heat-producing appliance to dry.
Online source
Gardening gloves protect hands from soil, thorns, and chemicals. Wearing a glove also protects hands against sharp or angular tools, saving wear and tear on the fingers and nails. A glove should fit well, feel comfortable, and provide adequate tactile sensation.
Choose the right glove
Gardeners should choose a glove based on their level of activity. The best general purpose glove is made of leather or synthetic suede. Both materials feature protection and durability, and they will not stretch, shrink, or crack.
A glove made of cotton or other lightweight material is appropriate for light work, like watering. Heavy-duty chores require a thick, durable glove, made of impenetrable material. Often, a rubber glove is the right choice for any labour-intensive chores, or for work involving chemicals.
Chemical resistance
Resistant glove materials vary with the form of the pesticide. No glove resists all chemicals equally well. For liquid concentrates, the glove must also resist the solvent.
For water-based pesticides, wettable powders, or granular products, you can choose from a broader range of materials including like natural rubber, neoprene, polyvinyl, chloride and polyethylene.
Glove thickness
Thicker gloves usually offer more protection because they resist tearing and puncture, but thickness can also reduce your grasping ability and manual dexterity. Some of the most chemical resistant gloves are very thin and meant to be worn for a short time. If thickness and dexterity or grasping ability is a concern, put the glove on and test it by picking up a pencil or coin.
Glove fit and lenght
Your glove size should be the same as your hand measures in inches around your palm. If too large, gloves may be more clumsy and awkward to use and could get caught in equipment. If too small, gloves must stretch, making them harder to get on and off and thinner, offering less protection. Also, they may tire your hands more quickly.
Glove length needs to change with your task. For most tasks, a glove must cover your wrist and probably should be about 12 inches long. You can get gloves that reach over your elbows if you need to reach into chemicals.
Wearing gloves
Always have several clean extra pairs of gloves. After use, put gloves back in a bag, so they do not contaminate surfaces they contact. Wear gloves over your sleeve cuffs unless you are working in a drenching spray from above. Then put gloves under your sleeves so the chemical does not run down your sleeve and arm.
Taking gloves off
Peel one glove off by grasping the cuff, then hold it wrong side out in the hand without a glove as you peel off the other glove. Both gloves will be wrong side out, with the contamination inside.
Never pull gloves off with your teeth.
Cleaning gloves
If possible, rinse gloves under running water before you take them off. Washing gloves can reduce contamination on the outside, but some may be retained in the thickness of the gloves
Wash the outside with soapy hot water if you intend to reuse them. All gloves must be replaced frequently. Disposable gloves may only be worn a few minutes, then thrown away. Watch for the warning signs that show when reusable gloves need replacement:
Staining, or colour change
Softening, swelling, or bubbling;
Stiffening or cracking;
Dissolving or getting jelly-like
Leaking.
Glove disposal
Cut the fingers off gloves when disposing so no one else will be tempted to use them. When cleaning cotton or mesh gloves, gardeners should keep them on their hands while washing with soap and water.
Afterward, they should rinse each glove well, remove them, and then lay them flat on top of a heat-producing appliance to dry.
Online source