How to Clean Structural Firefighting Gloves

Keeping your gloves clean, contamination-free, and well-maintained is essential for ensuring safety and compliance in any environment. Dirty or contaminated gloves can pose serious health risks, leading to both acute and long-term health hazards. Contaminants can be absorbed through the skin, with some being carcinogenic or flammable, which makes wearing soiled gloves particularly dangerous.

It's crucial to follow the guidelines set forth in NFPA 1851 - Standard on Selection, Care, and Maintenance of Protective Ensembles for Structural Fire Fighting and Proximity Fire Fighting. Familiarizing yourself with the NFPA 1851 publication will provide you with valuable insights into proper structural glove maintenance.

Chapter 7 of NFPA 1851 provides charts and guidance that can help you determine the appropriate application for cleaning and sanitizing your structural firefighting gloves.

Advanced Cleaning of Structural Firefighting Gloves

Whenever a structural glove is contaminated or its soiling indicates additional cleaning, advanced cleaning is required. Advanced cleaning is also required every six months, resulting in a minimum of two advanced cleanings in a 12-month period, with one of those advanced cleanings occurring at the time of annual advanced inspection. 

Advanced cleaning of firefighting gloves should only be performed by individuals who are qualified within your department or organization, or by a verified Independent Service Provider. Maintaining detailed records of each advanced cleaning is essential. These records should include the date of cleaning, the name of the individual who performed the cleaning, and the specific type of cleaning conducted. By ensuring that advanced cleaning is handled by trained personnel and documented properly, you can uphold safety standards and extend the lifespan of your protective gloves.

Hand Wash Cleaning Instructions for Structural Gloves

Structural firefighting gloves should be hand washed only. You can follow these steps to handwash your firefighting gloves:

1. Brush off any loose debris with a soft bristle brush. Should any debris or materials adhere to the components/fabric of the gloves, remove the gloves from service until they can be professionally inspected and/or cleaned to a serviceable condition. (You could instead, use a sponge or soft cloth for cleaning soil from these surfaces).

2. Fill the utility sink or container with water, no warmer than 105˚F and a mild detergent.

3. Allow the gloves to presoak for a period of at least 10 minutes.

4. Lightly rub the gloves together, starting with the exterior and then turning the gloves and similarly rub the interior material against itself. A soft washcloth can also be used for washing the gloves.

5. Do not stretch or wring out the gloves as this will distort and damage the gloves. Excess water may be squeezed (not wrung) from the leather.

6. Thoroughly rinse the gloves following washing. If using a separate container rather than a utility sink, a separate container with clean warm water can be used for this purpose.

7. Following rinsing, shape the gloves and allow air to dry in a well-ventilated area.

Sanitization Instructions for Structural Gloves

When exposed to biological contamination, such as blood, body fluids, or other potentially infectious materials including aerosols, gloves must be sanitized to inactivate or kill the harmful bacteria, viruses and other microorganisms before cleaning. If not already part of the advanced cleaning procedures, sanitization may be accomplished in conjunction with the washing process. 

How to Select a Glove Sanitizer

Use an EPA-registered disinfectant. You can find a list of EPA registered disinfectants on the EPA website. 

Where known bacteria, viruses or fungi are of a concern, choose a disinfection method that is known to be effective against that specific microorganism. Ensure that any selected disinfectant can be used as a laundry additive and will not harm glove materials with repeated use. Beware that some disinfectants rely on bleach and bleach-like chemicals and therefore are not suitable for sanitizing gloves. Check with the supplier or obtain the complete labeling of the product for its proper use. 

Manual Sanitization Steps

1. Use a soak tank or other vessel that is large enough to hold the number of gloves to be sanitized.

2. Fill the vessel with water and the selected EPA-registered sanitizer added at the concentration specified by the supplier.

3. Place the gloves in the sanitizer/water solution with all portions of the gloves immersed.

4. Leave the gloves in the tank or vessel for a period of time indicated by the sanitizer instructions.

5. Subject the gloves to advanced cleaning by hand washing as described above.

Specialized Cleaning Instructions for Structural Gloves

When exposed to unusual contaminants, including bulk hazardous chemicals, asbestos, fentanyl or other opioids, or bed bugs, or certain forms of biological contamination, seek advice from a knowledgeable individual in your department or organization, subject matter expert or verified Independent Service Provider to determine if the gloves can be adequately decontaminated. In some cases, Advanced Cleaning and Sanitization can be applied with modified procedures such as the use of higher wash temperatures (up to 140˚F). Gloves that are exposed to unusual contaminants must be isolated and bagged until their disposition can be determined. Specialized cleaning can only be performed by an organization, cleaner or Independent Service provided that is verified to NFPA 1851. If the effectiveness of specialized cleaning cannot be determined as removing the contamination, dispose of the gloves in accordance with federal, state, and local regulations as hazardous waste.

How to Store Clean Fire Gloves

Store your gloves only when they are clean, dry, and free of contamination. Storing wet gloves will promote growth of germs, bacteria, mildew, fungus or other harmful substances with the potential to cause skin irritation, rashes, diseases and/or illnesses. Wet conditions can also lead to deterioration of glove materials. Keep gloves away from potential contaminants such as oils, greases or other chemical substances. Store your gloves in a dry, clean, ventilated area - away from direct sunlight and away from tools or other sharp objects. Do not store your gloves with your personal belongings or in a personal living area. Do not store your gloves in the pocket of your protective coat or pants as this may lead to contamination and/or damage.

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