Uses of Rubber Gloves

Rubber gloves are used around the house for more than just cleaning.Grove Pashley/Brand X Pictures/Getty Images

Rubber gloves are common household items that offer many uses. They are inexpensive to purchase and are used for personal care, cleaning, pets, first aid and more. Rubber gloves are a way of protecting a person's hands against germs, sticky items, stainable items and dirty objects. Rubber gloves come in disposable kinds or reusable kinds. Disposable rubber gloves can be a better choice for avoiding cross contamination, depending on how you plan to use them.

Cleaning

Cleaning is one of the most common uses for rubber gloves. People wear rubber gloves when cleaning toilets to avoid touching dirty messes. People also use rubber gloves when washing dishes or mopping floors to protect their hands against the hot water. Wearing rubber gloves to clean an oven or a refrigerator is also a common use.

Rubber gloves are great for personal-care activities such as dyeing hair. Gloves protect the hands from dye that is not easily removable. Rubber gloves also are great for first-aid purposes. If someone is injured by a cut or scrape, the gloves protect against harmful bodily fluids. Gloves also keep needles from getting infected for people requiring shots, such as diabetics. If a thick layer of lotion is applied to hands before bed, and rubber gloves are placed over the lotion, the hands will be soft and smooth the next morning. The gloves lock in the moisture and do not let it escape. These gloves can also be used as ice packs or heating packs. Water is placed in a rubber glove. The glove is tied shut and frozen. When needed, an ice pack is ready for use for bruises and other injuries. A rubber glove can also be filled with hot water to serve as a heating pack.

Rubber gloves are also handy for pet messes. They work well to pick up animal stool or to clean a litter box. They can also be used to open stubborn jar lids. Gloves can also be used when handling meat, or chopping hot peppers such as jalapenos, where the spicy oils can easily go from hand to face or even eyes.