How to Properly Wear Disposable Gloves

Disposable gloves are required in many industries in order to reduce cross contamination, minimize risks of infection, and maintain hygiene and safety in the workplace. Wearing disposable gloves may sound simple enough, but it’s important that they are worn correctly to reduce the risk of tearing. Disposable gloves offer protection and safety but only if they are put on and taken off properly.

We will break down the process of correctly putting on disposable gloves to ensure workers can do their tasks safely and with minimal risk. This step-by-step process should reduce the chances of workplace incidents. 

1. Check the glove size and ensure proper fit

It’s important that the gloves you use are the right size. Using the correct size means the gloves won’t be too tight or too loose. Too tight and they might block circulation, or they might rip and tear. Too loose and they slide off your hands, or reduce your dexterity in handling things.

2. Remove all jewelry from hands and wrist

Rings and bracelets can snag on disposable gloves, causing the gloves to tear and break. Remove jewelry before pulling the gloves on to ensure safety.

3. Clean your hands first

The disposable gloves may serve as the main protection, but it’s important your hands are clean before wearing the gloves as an extra safety buffer. If the gloves are ripped or torn, your skin underneath is still clean to minimize the spread of infection. Properly wash your hands with soap and water and dry them before wearing gloves. If you don’t have access to soap and water, an antibacterial hand gel will do. Always ensure your hands are thoroughly dry before putting on the gloves.

4. Check the gloves before wearing

Check the gloves carefully for signs of tears or any other kind of damage to ensure they are in good condition before putting them on.

5. Start with your dominant hand

It’s a good idea to wear the first glove on your dominant hand first. Use your non-dominant hand to pick up the glove by the inside of the cuff. Then simply slide your dominant hand into the glove. It’s important that you only touch the insides of the glove to reduce the chances of contamination. Again, holding the glove by the cuff, push your non-dominant hand and gently slide it inside. Make sure you don’t flex your fingers too much until they are in their designated holes. Only adjust the first glove once the second one is on.

6. Adjust the gloves

Carefully adjust the gloves to better fit around fingers. Make sure you don’t pull too much to prevent tearing the gloves, and avoid touching the skin on your wrist when adjusting the cuff of the glove. Check that the gloves are not too tight or loose. Pinching the skin, excessive sweating of the hands, or overstretching the glove means that they are too small for your hands so they are more prone to tearing. If the gloves are too loose, it may result in limited dexterity as the gloves move around when you are handling things, and foreign material can enter the gloves if the cuff is loose on your wrist.

7. Remove the glove

It is important to carefully remove the gloves to avoid contaminants touching your bare skin. Start by pinching the outside of one of your glove wrists with your fingers and peeling it down your hand, allowing the glove to flip inside out as you do so until it is completely removed. Once your hand is free, ball up the removed glove and hold it in your remaining gloved hand. Then slide your fingers inside the wrist of your remaining glove, pinch the insides if the glove and peel it off your second hand. Keep the first glove inside the second as you take it off so you wind up with one inside-out glove that you can throw away.

In the unlikely event that the gloves do rip or tear, take off the gloves and wash your hands immediately. Never wash disposable gloves to use them again later. Disposable gloves should be discarded after use. Always use a new pair of gloves for each different task to minimize the risk of cross contamination.