Suggestions for Rubber Gloves for Cold-Weather Car Washes

[Lonnie]

If you are like me, you try to 2-bucket wash your dirty vehicle outdoors at every opportunity you can as long as the temperature is above 32°F (AKA, freezing). Unfortunately, when the temps get down below 45°F, the ambient temps and cold water (municipal-sourced supply from outdoor spigot) used for washing can play havoc on bare hands. If you have never experienced frozen, hypothermic hands ,consider yourself lucky OR you live in a warm year-round climate! When they "thaw out" it is like someone takes a hammer and pounds on them. The throbbing pain can be excruciating, albeit short-lived.
I do use rubber gloves myself in cold weather. Mine are industrial Blues and a lot thicker than rubber gloves one would use, like Playtex gloves, for washing dishes or cleaning home interior places with strong detergents.

Some time ago, someone suggested using insulated rubber gloves from a sporting goods store like those used for ice fishing or trapping. My only "concern" is that, while insulated and protective, that they may impinge on the manual dexterity I prefer when washing a vehicle in cold weather.

So my question is, what rubber gloves are you using for cold weather vehicle washes??

[Fishing]

I have these and like them. They are large enough that I can wear a thin pair of cloth gloves under them. I got them years ago at Harbor Freight. If there is anything bad about them it is that they are a little bulky to wear and you will loose some of the dexterity you normally would have.

[tom p.]

I`ve gone thru many cold weather gloves and agree that most, if not all, reduce dexterity. The ice fishing gloves are pretty good in terms of keeping the hands warm, but not terribly durable. I like the style Fishing shows us in his photo. Frankly, I found some inexpensive "household cleaning" gloves on Amazon that are like heavy-duty dishwashing glove design, but have a tiny bit of fleece inside. They work well and are durable. I got a set (you have to buy two pair) for my wife and she uses them for gardening and loves them. Sold by a store (Amazon) called "Juvale".

I`ve gone thru other styles that permit your hand to get wet. Haven`t had much love for those except the ones intended for ice fishing.

My gauntlet style glove also came from HF. I think they called them sand blasting gloves, made by Hardy.

HF and Tractor Supply Co both sell myriad gloves, lots to pick from.

[Lonnie]

Fishing:
Thanks for the pics of your gloves.

Here`s a suggestion of where a fellow Autopian may be able to get some rubber gloves of this type for FREE. If you work at a place that does electrical work of any sort, gloves like those pictured are required to be worn by service techs/electricians for ARC-Flash safety purposes to meet OSHA regulations. They are suppose to be replaced on a regular basis (usually every two years). Usually there is nothing "wrong" with them, other than they need to be replaced. I imagine that these gloves are "going home" with service techs and electricians on a regular basis, but you can ask you company`s maintenance department if you could have a pair when they are replaced. Never hurts to ask.

tom p.:
I seem to end up ripping them or poking a hole in rubber gloves from catching them on some sharp edge or brake pad clips when washing vehicle (you ARE a klutz, Captain Obvious! just sayin`....). Guess it`s just the cost and goes with the territory of washing vehicles in cold weather.

One other thing that happens is chapped hands during the winter, either from household cleaning or winter/cold-weather detailing. I use O`Keeffe`s "Helping Hands" Hand Cream, Neutrogena`s "Norwegian Formula" hand cream, or Curel`s "Ultra Healing" lotion.
O`Keefffe`s seems to the standard for healing chapped hands. I used the Neutrogena cream LONG before O`Keeffe`s came on the market and it still works well for me. Curel`s is just good and inexpensive (AKA "cost effective" or more like cheap.. kinda like you, Captain Obvious!)

[Bill D]

Heh heh. Tell me about O`Keeffe`s. I just did a big project for them for work. Folks seem to like their products.

[evo77]

@Lonnie,

Are you not able to fill your buckets INDOORS with warm/hot water and then bring them outside??

I just did this the other day when temps were low 30s. The water remained warm for hours surprisingly in a non-insulated, non-heated garage.

[Setec Astronomy]

Heh heh. Tell me about O`Keeffe`s. I just did a big project for them for work. Folks seem to like their products.

Ha, when I saw you posted in this thread, I thought your "winter glove" recommendation was going to be "move to Florida!", says Setec who was washing his wheels the other day in 35° and snow flurries.

[Bill D]

You guys up north are going to need O’Keeffe’s for your hands! Do take care of them this season!

[Setec Astronomy]

Sounds like Greasy Kid Stuff to me--like the stuff they put on your tires at the dealer.

[wannafbody]

OKeeff`s has a tacky type feel to it. I use it sometimes at night.

[Lonnie]

@Lonnie,

Are you not able to fill your buckets INDOORS with warm/hot water and then bring them outside??

I just did this the other day when temps were low 30s. The water remained warm for hours surprisingly in a non-insulated, non-heated garage.

NOPE! I use the outside spigot of municipal-supplied COLD water.

Well, that is not entirely true. On occasion, I have been washing my vehicles outside when the weather is above freezing , BUT on one particular day the forecast was for sub-freezing arctic temps to follow some warm-winter days (come on; it IS Wisconsin-winter weather after all!!). I was caught by this phenomenon when an approaching extreme-cold front came through two hours earlier then forecast and the temps dropped from a balmy 40°F to a very windy 25°F in about 20 minutes time. Needless to say, I was caught off guard and the standing rinse water froze rather quickly on my vehicle. I was required to drive it into my unheated garage, where I proceeded to draw HOT water indoors from my bath tub into my rinse bucket, go back out to the garage and wash the vehicle with hot water in areas that has frozen water on them in an attempt to melt it and wipe it dry with drying microfibers, windows being the major concern. Even though the garage is unheated and un-insulated (except for the garage doors), the garage from daytime heating on the shingled roof raised the inside temps in the garage to be above freezing, so it did help melt the ice accumulations on the vehicle roof and hood, which I could dry with said microfibers. But the side panels and the windows were an icy mess! I did get get most of the ice off, but the garage floor became an ice rink and I ended up scraping that out with a push snow shovel that I sharpened the edge with a file. The driveway was also covered in ice and calcium chloride de-cer was put down to take care of that. Needless to say, my other half was NOT at all "happy" about my feeble attempt to clean a vehicle outside at home in the winter rather than take it through the car tunnel wash to save a few bucks doing it myself (and with MUCH better results was my alibi) especially knowing ultra-cold weather was coming soon AND the fact that the driveway was now icy and risky to walk on, despite using de-icer and charcoal ash to act as a slip-retardant (Yes, both de-cer and ash gets tracked into the house on the entrance hard floors, which I have to clean). It`s a live-and-learn situation and also that weather forecasts are not always the most accurate and can change rather quickly. Hey, who has not washed their vehicle outside during the summer when the weather forecast is for NO RAIN, only to have a pop-up lake-effect shower (at least in the upper Great Lakes if you live nearby them, like me) throw a damper (pun intended) on your vehicle-washing efforts.

[Dan]

I have the ice fishing gloves and while they do reduce dexterity it`s not even a factor in washing a car, I mean my hands are in a wash mit half the time, who cares. It`s not like I`m trying to type an accumulator length response on a small phone screen with them on.

[JSFM35X]

I use professional window washer gloves. Kind of feel like a wet suit. Mine are made by Unger.

[Coatings=crack]

NOPE! I use the outside spigot of municipal-supplied COLD water.

Well, that is not entirely true. On occasion, I have been washing my vehicles outside when the weather is above freezing , BUT on one particular day the forecast was for sub-freezing arctic temps to follow some warm-winter days (come on; it IS Wisconsin-winter weather after all!!). I was caught by this phenomenon when an approaching extreme-cold front came through two hours earlier then forecast and the temps dropped from a balmy 40°F to a very windy 25°F in about 20 minutes time. Needless to say, I was caught off guard and the standing rinse water froze rather quickly on my vehicle. I was required to drive it into my unheated garage, where I proceeded to draw HOT water indoors from my bath tub into my rinse bucket, go back out to the garage and wash the vehicle with hot water in areas that has frozen water on them in an attempt to melt it and wipe it dry with drying microfibers, windows being the major concern. Even though the garage is unheated and un-insulated (except for the garage doors), the garage from daytime heating on the shingled roof raised the inside temps in the garage to be above freezing, so it did help melt the ice accumulations on the vehicle roof and hood, which I could dry with said microfibers. But the side panels and the windows were an icy mess! I did get get most of the ice off, but the garage floor became an ice rink and I ended up scraping that out with a push snow shovel that I sharpened the edge with a file. The driveway was also covered in ice and calcium chloride de-cer was put down to take care of that. Needless to say, my other half was NOT at all "happy" about my feeble attempt to clean a vehicle outside at home in the winter rather than take it through the car tunnel wash to save a few bucks doing it myself (and with MUCH better results was my alibi) especially knowing ultra-cold weather was coming soon AND the fact that the driveway was now icy and risky to walk on, despite using de-icer and charcoal ash to act as a slip-retardant (Yes, both de-cer and ash gets tracked into the house on the entrance hard floors, which I have to clean). It`s a live-and-learn situation and also that weather forecasts are not always the most accurate and can change rather quickly. Hey, who has not washed their vehicle outside during the summer when the weather forecast is for NO RAIN, only to have a pop-up lake-effect shower (at least in the upper Great Lakes if you live nearby them, like me) throw a damper (pun intended) on your vehicle-washing efforts.

Damn lonnie. Was the typing store out of space bars?


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[Lonnie]

coatings=crack:
Plenty of "space bars" used; it is the "Enter" key that was needed for "proper paragraphing".
I know; it`s a long "War and Peace" tome about my use of hot water to remove ice from an outdoor winter wash of a vehicle in sub-freezing weather.
OR More Than You Really Wanted To Know.
If my deceased Mother, who was my high school junior-year English teacher would have read and graded it, she would have probably given me a B- on it for the very reason you sited: improper paragraphing and extensive prose embellishment (AKA; MTYRWTK) for a composition that was suppose to be only 150 words or less, according to her assignment. AHH, the ever-verbose and loquacious Captain Obvious!