Gloves

Apologies for the late post, not sure if I imagined writing a post up, or if I forgot to save it or what, but this is a bit last minute.

Today I'm going to talk about gloves of various types that one has use for around the house. I took inventory of the gloves that I have and use and was actually a little stunned by the number. Gloves are one of those items that every household needs, how many depends on what all you do. That said, there are actually a number of things where gloves that are great for one thing will actually not be good for something else. I'll be interested to see if there are other kinds of gloves that people use regularly that don't come up in this post. If so chime in in the comments.

Nitrile Gloves
These gloves are the standard choice in hospitals and labs for protecting your hands from all sorts of nasty chemicals and sicknesses and to keep your filthy hands from contaminating delicate things. There are a plethora of uses around the house for these, and I honestly think no house should be without them. I actually had some around to use for putting in insulation where they worked very well.

Price: ~$5 per box of 50. Size does matter.

Reasons to have them on hand:
* Medical emergencies
* Working with chemicals
* Working with harmful but not sharp substances

What they can't do:
* Deal with anything hot
* Protect above your wrist line, they flood fast
* Protect you from sharps of any kind
* Cushion your hand from roughness or hard work

Gardening Gloves
There are a number of varieties of these. Around our house we have the ones with a grippy plasticy palm and fingers that provide some protection and are easier to hold things with than cloth. These are obviously prime for gardening because unlike many other kinds of gloves they can be washed.

Price: ~$10 - $25. I can't speak to price vs quality on these, but shop around and find what fits you best.

Reasons to have them on hand:
* Basic garden work
* Anything where you're digging in the dirt
* Light digging
* Weed pulling

Things they can't do:
* Deal with anything hot
* Protect you from chemicals
* Keep your hands dry
* Protect you from sharps worse than a short thorn
* Stand up to long hard work

Leather Work Gloves
These are a staple of house and land work as far as I'm concerned. They protect well, they keep you from rubbing as much off your hands when you do long hard work, and they are relatively inexpensive.

Price: ~ $7 per pair. There are more expensive versions that are specialized that I will discuss in a moment.

Reasons to have them on hand:
* Heavy garden work like rock moving
* Thorn bush removal
* Tree removal
* Wood chopping/moving
* Basic carpentry work

Things they can't do:
* Protect from chemicals
* Keep your hands dry
* Protect you from power tools (Note, nothing but proper use can.)
* Keep you from getting blisters over long work when your hands are soft
* Be washed

Specialist Work Gloves
These cover a number of categories, and there are any number of designs that cover specific work environments. What they tend to have is cloth basis with heavy, often foam reinforced protection over the joints, reinforced palm, and finger tips with a gripping surface.

Price: ~ $15+ per pair.

Reasons to have them on hand:
* Carpentry or Mehcanics work
* Thorn bush removal
* Tree removal
* Wood chopping/moving
* Just about any construction type housework
* They are washable

Things they can't do:
* Protect from chemicals
* Keep your hands dry
* Protect you from substantial heat

Elbow Length Leather Fireplace Gloves
If you are using a wood stove or anything that involves burning, these are a must. I don't know of anything that protects from both heat and contact with fire as well as these. I know nothing about blacksmithing but I suspect these would work for that.

Price: From ~$13 - $40 per pair.

Reasons to have them on hand:
* Tending a fire
* Handling anything hot

Things they can't do:
* Any sort of delicate work
* Protect you from chemicals
* Keep your hands dry
* Be useful for anything else for the most part

Kitchen Gloves
These range from disposable rubber gloves to very nice rubber gloves. The point is, they're rubber. They come up to a little below your elbow, and they keep your hands dry and free from what ever is on your dishes, or what ever you are using to clean with. I recommend these for if you are cleaning with bleach. Just be aware they don't often last long.

Price: ~$3 - $35 per pair.

Reasons to have them on hand:
* Washing dishes
* General house cleaning
* Keeping your hands dry
* Protecting your hands from noxious cleaning agents

Things they can't do:
* Handle heat beyond hot water
* Reliably not have holes
* Do any rough work at all

Hot Hands
What ever you call pot holding gloves. These things are vital for any sort of cooking. I hear they are especially needed for if you are going to be doing canning, not that I've done that yet.

Price: ~$4 - $12

Reasons to have them on hand:
* Getting things off the stove or out of the oven

Things they can't do:
* Anything else

Anything Else?
That is the list of gloves we have and use in our house, and their basic ups and downs. I'll be curious to see what if any I missed.