Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Protective Gear: Household latex gloves review

My hands have developed hardened skin around the fingernails and dry skin from doing the dishes and the laundry without gloves.  A good slather of Cetaphil Moisturizing Lotion before going to sleep takes care of it, but I want to keep my hands away from detergent and hot water.


Criteria
I want latex gloves that:

  1. last a long time without developing holes or gooey fingertips.
  2. have a long enough cuff so that I can soak laundry in buckets without wetting my hands
  3. fit properly on my small hands, so that when I wear the gloves, my fingertips touch the glove's fingertips.



Today I visited Big Lots, Lucky, and OSH for latex gloves.  Big Lots did not have any, although  I bought some before.  



When I opened the packages, all the gloves had the same cuff length.  
In the above photo, from left to right, from thinnest to the thickest material:


Analysis
#1.  Mr. Clean Hand Helpers (Big Lots, 2 pairs $??)  I still had these under my kitchen sink.  I don't remember how much I paid a year ago, but I didn't use them for long before they developed a leak.  The latex is the thinnest, and the edge is rolled.  Fits my hands well.

#2.  Mr. Clean Loving Hands (OSH, 2 pairs, $2.49)  A dud.  It's thinner than #3 and more expensive.  My package had 3 right hands 1 left hand, and one glove's edge was rolled improperly.  I'm refunding this.  Edge is rolled.  Same good fit as #1.

#3.  Caring Hands (OSH, 2 pairs, $1.79)  Thick material.  I remember using these types before, and they would last a year with just dish washing before the fingertips become gooey no matter how much I wash the gloves with Dawn, and all the dishes have goo marks on them.  They never developed leaks, and they smelled funky inside after a year.  Edge is not rolled, and it is not flocked to the edge.  Although it is a small size, these were big on my hands; all the glove's fingertips were 1/4" away from mine.

#4.  Playtex Handsaver (Lucky, 1 pair!!!, $2.59).  Most expensive with only 1 pair, but also the thickest.  The ends are not rolled and it is flocked all the way to the scalloped edge.  This was a Medium size, which fit my hand in the same manner as #3.  I think the small size would fit my hands properly.


Conclusion
#1.  Use and toss.  Do not buy again.
#2.  Return and refund.  Do not buy again.
#3.  Big for my hands, so my husband will use them.  Will buy for him again if they last.
#4.  I think I'll return to Lucky and buy in small.  Will buy again if they last.  Will they last twice as long as #3, since only one pair came in the package instead of two?  I hope so.


Remaining gripes
The plastic packages are not labeled for recycling.  I need to find a way to prevent the gloves from turning gooey and smelling funky.



1 comment:

  1. I love these disposable latex mittens! Comfortable to wear and extremely durable. A must-have in every household!
    gloves disposable latex

    ReplyDelete