Welcome! Here are the website rules, as well as some tips for using this forum.
Need to contact us? Visit https://heatinghelp.com/contact-us/.
Click here to Find a Contractor in your area.

Gloves or no gloves when doing service?

RayWohlfarth
RayWohlfarth Member Posts: 1,652

My son and I were on a jobsite and he always wears gloves when doing service. I on the other hand (pardon the pun) rarely wore gloves for doing service calls. I liked to be able to feel the components. Just curious if you wear gloves when doing service on equipment.

Dirty paws in Pittsburgh

Ray

Ray Wohlfarth
Boiler Lessons

Comments

  • retiredguy
    retiredguy Member Posts: 976

    Early in my career I never wore gloves when servicing anything. Later, when I got older and tired of having dirty hands all the time even after showering I would use cheap vinyl gloves when I serviced oil fired and soft coal units. Wow, what a difference, I would have relatively clean hands with little or no oil smell and little or no black coal dust in my pores. There was a time and place for gloves. That said, when doing some of the work where your hands needed the sensitivity of "touch" the gloves came off.

  • HVACNUT
    HVACNUT Member Posts: 6,326

    Always. One of the reasons I'm still married. Even so, I still spend 5 minutes with the nail brush.

    Long Beach Ed
  • Jamie Hall
    Jamie Hall Member Posts: 24,825

    It varies with what I'm doing. I have rather fragile skin (one of the joys of being in one's eighth decade) so anything rough, gloves — leather work gloves. Particularly timber work or heavy mechanical stuff or machinery. Appropriate chemical gloves for handling odd nasties. Otherwise, bare hands…

    Br. Jamie, osb
    Building superintendent/caretaker, 7200 sq. ft. historic house museum with dependencies in New England
    fixitguy
  • EdTheHeaterMan
    EdTheHeaterMan Member Posts: 9,371

    Near the end of my career, I would go thru a box of blue nitrile gloves a week. When I started in the 1970 & 80s, there were very few options for gloves. Mostly the white cloth work gloves that I might wear while using a vacuum and brush on an boiler "cleanout", but they would swiftly drop off when the wrenches and screw drivers came out.

    Who could work with those fingered rags on your hands while swapping out an oil filter?

    Edward Young Retired

    After you make that expensive repair and you still have the same problem, What will you check next?

    Long Beach Ed
  • Waher
    Waher Member Posts: 285

    Between grime, health hazards from chemicals, burns, and cuts leading to infections, gloves are a good idea if they don't get in the way of doing something necessary. Not too many opportunities to wash hands at most job sites.

    I worked with many different types of paint and chemicals as a teenager without gloves before getting into a mostly office job the past 20+ years and the exposure from my youth is increasingly evident on the affected skin as I've aged. The damage from exposure to things doesn't always show up right away, but it is there.

    Greening
  • STEAM DOCTOR
    STEAM DOCTOR Member Posts: 2,208

    I always wear gloves, except for times that I don't😂. We should do a thread, with hand pictures

    EdTheHeaterMan
  • mattmia2
    mattmia2 Member Posts: 10,904

    They are great for things that are nearly impossible to clean off like epoxy or pvc cement or silicone and good for things that would be 5 minutes of scrubbing with paint thinner or hand cleaner like alkyd caulks or roof cement or greasy parts. the one thing I don't like so much with greasy parts is it is hard to make the transition from the dirty part to the part you've cleaned off and don't want to get dirt inside the bearings and such.

  • hot_rod
    hot_rod Member Posts: 23,367

    gloves when I shovel, run the chain saw and when I am even in the same room with sheetmetal

    Bob "hot rod" Rohr
    trainer for Caleffi NA
    Living the hydronic dream
    mattmia2PC7060
  • delcrossv
    delcrossv Member Posts: 1,321

    No gloves for me.

    Trying to squeeze the best out of a Weil-McLain JB-5 running a 1912 1 pipe system.
  • mattmia2
    mattmia2 Member Posts: 10,904

    I think i would have done better in biology if gloves were a thing back then

    HVACNUTGreening
  • mattmia2
    mattmia2 Member Posts: 10,904

    The gloves with sheetmetal is a really tough one because you need the gloves to protect your hands from severe cuts but you also need your fingers to hold things you can't hold with gloves.

    delcrossv
  • Jamie Hall
    Jamie Hall Member Posts: 24,825

    Chain saw? Oh my. I do hope you use more than just gloves! I won't even fire ours up without full personal protective gear, never mind attack a tree — but some of ours are pretty good size (my son in law is a professional logger).

    Br. Jamie, osb
    Building superintendent/caretaker, 7200 sq. ft. historic house museum with dependencies in New England
    HVACNUT
  • ChrisJ
    ChrisJ Member Posts: 16,303

    Depends.

    I won't work on a carburetor anymore without gloves. I hate my hands stinking for day. I won't touch anything that's gasoline, diesel / heating oil without disposable rubber gloves.

    At the shop, some things we use gloves for but often gloves are viewed as a serious safety hazard, even deadly. So, depends on what you're doing and what you're working with.

    @mattmia2 We often use Hyflex 11-818 gloves for sheetmetal work. You can hold the metal better with the gloves than without.

    Single pipe 392sqft system with an EG-40 rated for 325sqft and it's silent and balanced at all times.

    hot_roddelcrossvLong Beach Ed
  • mattmia2
    mattmia2 Member Posts: 10,904

    Will a sawstop work properly if you're wearing gloves?

    I ask the same question about safety glasses. Some things obviously there is stuff flying around and you need to keep it out of your eyes but a lot of other things is making it more dangerous because I can't see what I'm doing very well worth the tradeoff? Maybe i need to get prescription safety glasses with progressive lenses. Maybe they won't make me nauseous in that application.

    Withe the gloves it isn't as much handling the metal as picking up things like nuts and screws and pop rivets and tools like drill bits and scribes and pencils and markers.

    Obviously you have to use something like nitryl for gasoline or they will be gone in about a minute.

  • SuperTech
    SuperTech Member Posts: 2,423

    Nitrile gloves whenever I do oil burner work or when I have to use PVC glue and primer. Milwaukee gloves for when I have to do sheet metal work or crawl around a dirty crawl space.

    For what it's worth, I had an ex who loved how rough and calloused my hands are. She said the soft hands were a major turn off.

    CLamb
  • ChrisJ
    ChrisJ Member Posts: 16,303

    Single pipe 392sqft system with an EG-40 rated for 325sqft and it's silent and balanced at all times.

  • mattmia2
    mattmia2 Member Posts: 10,904

    A sawstop is a a table saw with a very fast brake on the blade that stops the blade if it contacts flesh through some sort of electrical detection.

  • ChrisJ
    ChrisJ Member Posts: 16,303

    Oh.

    No, our machines don't stop if they snag your glove.

    That's the problem.

    Single pipe 392sqft system with an EG-40 rated for 325sqft and it's silent and balanced at all times.

  • DJD775
    DJD775 Member Posts: 255
    edited October 14

    I don't think gloves and a table saw are a good idea, Sawstop or not. if your finger gets too close to the blade, which it shouldn't, there is a chance the blade will grab the glove and pull your hand in.

    BTW. https://www.sawstop.com/

    mattmia2SuperTech
  • Mad Dog_2
    Mad Dog_2 Member Posts: 7,518

    Hate gloves...only when handling sewer cable or if extreme heat. I don't even wear them hunting in the winter. Mad Dog

  • Jamie Hall
    Jamie Hall Member Posts: 24,825

    Table saw, router, planer, jointer… that's what pushers and hold downs are for. I agree, gloves are not a good idea on those.

    Chain saw? As I said — full PPE. Steel toe boots. Chaps or sawyer's pants Vest or jacket. Helmet. Mesh face guard. Safety glasses (if you can't see out of them, throw them away and get a new pair from the truck). Hearing protector. Gloves (heavy leather).

    Br. Jamie, osb
    Building superintendent/caretaker, 7200 sq. ft. historic house museum with dependencies in New England
  • Mad Dog_2
    Mad Dog_2 Member Posts: 7,518

    All I really care about is my eyes with grinders and saws...goggles or face shield..mad dog

  • SlamDunk
    SlamDunk Member Posts: 1,669

    Mostly,I wear gloves. When I started in my career as an aircraft mechanic, like all mechanics of the era, I swam in jet engine oil. Nightly. Latex gloves were unheard of. One night I was curious about the oil (because the stains will not wash out of uniforms and we washed our own uniforms at home) and sent an empty can to my scientist brother and asked him if this oil was dangerous. He called me and said this stuff will enter your body through your skin and will attack your organs. It will also cause infertility.


    Guess who doesn't have kids? So, yeah, I wear gloves and other PPE.

  • RayWohlfarth
    RayWohlfarth Member Posts: 1,652

    Thanks everyone You answered a question that's been on my mind

    Ray Wohlfarth
    Boiler Lessons
  • rick in Alaska
    rick in Alaska Member Posts: 1,466

    I didn't wear gloves for years, and a majority of the work that I did involved me somehow with petroleum products on me. Then I was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma and found out it is mostly caused by petroleum products and pesticides. Well since we used to run in the fog behind the mosquito spraying trucks, think ddt, and my jobs, well it's no wonder I got it. All that stuff gets absorbed through the skin.

    Since then, I only wore nytrile gloves when doing any oil work. Some jobs I would go through 5 pairs on one job because they were easily torn, and then I found some really good non nytrile gloves that were really tough, and had a longer sleeve to them. Unfortunately during covid, they went away and I couldn't get them any more.

    Rick

  • ChrisJ
    ChrisJ Member Posts: 16,303
    edited December 5
  • mikedo
    mikedo Member Posts: 230

    only when i work on oil burners hate the smell of it or if protecting them from chemicals. if you cant get your hands dirty dont get into a trade. i worked with a guy that wore them all the time wouldnt pick up a screw driver without them. so i would tell were going to work dont forget your **** protectors. he didnt find that funny

  • mikedo
    mikedo Member Posts: 230

    guess i should have said wussy protectors it got flagged

    Intplm.
  • Intplm.
    Intplm. Member Posts: 2,193
    edited December 5

    Years ago there were no gloves…now almost all of the time. As long as they fit well and don't make me break out from an allergic reaction.

    ~~~~~~Does anyone use a glove that doesn't cause an allergic reaction to the skin?~~~~~~

    Besides the allergy, the only thing about disposable gloves that I don't like is when you have to change them. You have to weight until your sweaty hands are completlely dry before you can put on a new pair.

  • PC7060
    PC7060 Member Posts: 1,442

    ”Well since we used to run in the fog behind the mosquito spraying trucks, think ddt”


    Running though insect spray fog was a right of passage as a kid growing up in the 1960’s. 😎It was a great battlefield simulation.

    rick in Alaska
  • EBEBRATT-Ed
    EBEBRATT-Ed Member Posts: 16,462

    Seldom wore glove in the beginning of my career. My hands don't seem big to me, but I have a really hard time finding gloves big enough to fit.

    And by fit I have to have something that I can put on and take off quickly because you can't do everything with gloves on.

    As time went on I got sick of running out of Band Aids so I started with gloves……well sometimes.

    I usually by the cheap coated ones from Harbor freight (at least I did) they used to be about $1.00 each pair and hold up pretty well and if you destroy a pair so what.

  • Powe
    Powe Member Posts: 32

    Gloves and loose clothing of any kind around any kind of rotating tools are an absolute no NO NOOO. Rings are another absolute No-No for any kind of work.

    Just google "de-gloving" and look at images and you will see why! (Make sure your stomach is empty!)

    Single pipe steam
    Weil-McLain EG/PEG -50
    175K/145K in/out (454 sf)
    delcrossv
  • offdutytech
    offdutytech Member Posts: 159

    Usually have gloves on for most things. Don't wear them when doing control wires on equipment and zone panels. Oil service nitrile gloves all the way.