Using Nitrile Gloves at Home

Why Would You Use Nitrile Gloves at Home?

• Chemicals - Sometimes in the home you need to use caustic cleansers or use other harsh chemicals that should not come in contact with your skin.  Nitrile gloves are resistant to chemicals.  This resistance makes them a great choice for home use.
• Gardening - While gardening you can come into contact with fertilizers, insect repellents, and other substances that you don't want on your hands.  Thorns and yard debris can be difficult to pick up with your bare hands but nitrile gloves are more puncture resistant than latex gloves so they help keep your hands safe.  
• Home Repairs - Unclogging a toilet is a great example of a home repair that is made infinitely better by using disposable gloves that conveniently come with extended cuffs.  Cleaning or repairing pipes or other dark grimy places is better when your hands are protected by disposable gloves.  Even a job that isn't gross like painting your living room is better with gloves since you won't have to scrub your hands to remove the dried paint splatters.
• Cooking - Like many people I did my share of food service.  I learned many things while serving and preparing food but the one lesson that has stayed with me is, I don't like touching food people will be eating with my hands.  Clean hands and clean gloves cut down on the risk of foodborne illness.  Another perk is, I never have to touch raw meat.  My hands don't smell like garlic or onions.  I am not disinfecting my hands multiple times to avoid contamination since I can simply remove and toss the glove so the skin of my hands isn't drying out.  I honestly think if people try wearing disposable exam gloves in the kitchen they will not go back to the dark days of having to clean chicken guts from under their fingernails again.

Getting nitrile gloves to fit well, like a glove:

To make using disposable exam gloves work the gloves need to fit properly.  If they are too tight they will be hard to put on and they will be uncomfortable to wear.  Too loose and they will fall off or bunch up around your fingers rendering them almost useless.  The only sure fire way to buy the right size for you is to try on the disposable glove and see if it fits.  This is not the most practical advice since most gloves are sold in sealed boxes or you are purchasing them from an online medical supply store.  What I would recommend is buying one box of the gloves you want to try and then purchasing them in the next size up and the next size down.  After you are 100% on size then you can take advantage of the discounts you can get from buying gloves in cases instead of individual boxes.  To narrow down which sizes you should start with you can use the "Glove Size Estimates".  Measure around the palm and use that to get a general idea of glove sizing. Keep in mind that different brands will have different standards. Express Medical Supply has a wide range of nitrile gloves in our online medical supply store that can be shipped right to your home.