Washing latex garments

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Rubrglvlvr
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Washing latex garments

Post by Rubrglvlvr »

I've seen some different info on this forum and elsewhere on how to clean latex garments, gloves clothes, etc. I recently picked up a product specially made for washing latex. It is made by BeGloss and It is called Special Wash Ultra Clean. I washed a few pieces of chlorinated latex tonight with it, my latex long sleeve shirt, latex crotchless leggings and a pair of my rubber boot stockings. I filled the bathtub with about 3 inches or so of luke-warm water per the instructions and added about 30 milliliters of the cleaner as it was filling. It doesn't make too many bubbles and there is no fragrance in it. I put the latex pieces in the tub and swished them around, turning them inside out after a few minutes and swished again. I then let them soak about 15 minutes or so, occasionally swirling them in the water. After that I drained the tub and then rinsed them under the spigot, turning them outside in as I did so and then laid them on a towel spread out on the floor. I dried them with another towel, in and out, and then laid them on my bed to air dry. They did not stick together at all as they are chlorinated, however if you have non chlorinated latex, you must dust with powder or use BeGloss Perfect Shine as recommended by BeGloss. They came out quite nice and I think I'll be using this product and maybe some of the others they make a lot more.

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In the Tub
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Squeaky Clean
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Re: Washing latex garments

Post by Rommeltje »

What's in it (or not in it) to make it specifically suitable for cleaning latex?

Have you tried washing household gloves that've been used for doing dishes with it? That's what I need to clean. :)
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Re: Washing latex garments

Post by Rubrglvlvr »

https://www.begloss.com/en/en-begloss-s ... /a-112613/

It's just a gentle cleanser meant for washing latex and rubber. I havent washed any gloves that were used for dish washing, but I'd bet it would work well for that.
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Re: Washing latex garments

Post by glovedworker »

Romm, I've used standard laundry detergent (Tide or Ariel) in my standard washing machine to clean my household gloves. That did the trick, but I used a gentle cycle and had to rinse the insides after under running water to remove any soap residue. I also machine dried them on a delicate cycle which turned out fine too.
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Re: Washing latex garments

Post by Rommeltje »

Yeah, Katertjekat does the same thing apparently. Perhaps I should try that. I'm a little scared to do so, though, because I've ruined a pair of gloves before by putting them in the dishwasher. I (now) know that that's different, and that that is actually discouraged. But since I don't know what's the difference that makes the washing machine a good idea, and the dishwaser a bad idea, I'm hesitant to try it. What if my detergent has some ingredient that yours doesn't, for example?
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Re: Washing latex garments

Post by glovedworker »

Dishwashers are designed to use the hottest water possible (65°C) where as I used warm or cold water in my washing machine (max of 25°C). Most dishwashers (at least in NA) have heating elements to heat the water and help dry the dishes which won't be good for gloves. As well, your dishwasher detergent is an abrasive detergent which is designed to break down dried food solids on hard dishes (which are resistant to most chemicals) instead of laundry detergent which breaks down stains on fabric (so a much gentler formula). Laundry detergent is also designed for bodily stains and some light food stains, not residual food so the composition is much milder.

Laundry machines can use a gentle agitation and spin, you can use a mild detergent which should all be very similar (such as Persil or Ariel) and cold to warm water which isn't rough. These are the main factors which will limit damage. I believe some manufactures suggest machine washing such as Ansell (https://www.ansellpro.com/main/technica ... asp?fid=26). They reference the Ansell Scorpio, Neox and Snorkel which are the usual latex / nitrile / neoprene gloves lined with a cotton liner which are okay to be machine washed. From this, I used the same logic to wash my household gloves.

Can I ask what happened to your gloves in the dishwasher?
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Re: Washing latex garments

Post by Rommeltje »

Wow, that's a thorough explanation! And it makes total sense. Thanks! I'm convinced. :-)

The gloves I put in the dishwasher got supersticky, to the point where I couldn't use them for doing the dishes anymore (let alone 'other' stuff).
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Re: Washing latex garments

Post by glovedworker »

Glad that made some sense.

I've had gloves go tacky on me before, not sure if it's from not being chlorinated or something I did. I feel like those gloves might need chlorination, but I'm not too sure.
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