I like to try new work gloves every now and then, and picked up these Mechanix original-style gloves a while back. They’re lighter than some of the other work gloves I use, but comfortable, and easy to spot on a benchtop.
I recently got them very dirty, as in so mud-drenched that they dried and stiffened. I could still wear them, but not as comfortably.
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Did you know that you can wash work gloves? I might have come across this little detail in the past, but now it finally became relevant.
There are plenty of work gloves I wouldn’t want anywhere near an everyday clothes washer. But some outside dirt that I typically wash out of my jeans anyway, maybe with some sawdust also caked in?
Most of my work gloves only collect loose dust or debris over time, which can usually be shaken off. When they get dirty, who cares, it’s just surface dirt, grease, or grime. But in this case, the wet dirt fully penetrated the entire glove, greatly impacting its feel. Maybe hand-washing the gloves could have done the trick?
I was checking prices, in case I needed a second pair (and did buy another one in yellow), and MACHINE WASHABLE screamed out at me.
So, I gave it a try, and here we are.
I washed my work gloves, and… they feel like new.
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I can’t detect any shrinkage, there doesn’t seem to be any visible wear, and the gloves are as comfortable as they’ve ever been.
I feel that I might be the last person in the world to have thrown work gloves into the wash, but perhaps not, hence the motivation behind this post.
Do you wash your work gloves?
I like this style of medium-duty Mechanix work gloves, particularly their comfort and durability so far. If you want a pair of your own, they’re fairly affordable at under $20.
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I should mention that not all work gloves are washable. I have a pair of Milwaukee insulated cut-resistant gloves that are quite dirty and in need of cleaning, but there’s no mention of them being machine washable. Checking with Milwaukee confirmed it that washing those gloves is not recommended. I’m guessing that the grip material, lining, or construction might have to do with things. I’ll definitely get another pair of those gloves for next winter, though, as they were quite good and offered a lot for the money. Maybe I can hand-wash my gloves with reasonable results.
In other words, don’t automatically assume that all work gloves can be machine-washed.
Certain types of gloves – perhaps leather? – might also be more resilient to mud and other types of permeating dirt or grime.
Mike G
I do it all the time. Just throw them in a bucket with some dish soap and water let them soak rinse and sun dry. Like new
John
Same, a have a dozen or so pairs of MaxiFlex gloves. In a bucket with warm water and powdered detergent. Screw top water tight lid. Roll it around on the floor, soak throughout the day. Generally happy with the results.
Scotty
I have had issues with the Maxiflex gloves coating getting brittle after machine washing several times with other work clothes (air drying the gloves). I have changed from Maxiflex to the Ansell Hyflex 11-818 gloves. They fit better and last much longer. They are available from Zoro at reasonable prices especially if you buy several pairs to defer the shipping cost. Ansell has a wide range of gloves available but I like the 11-818 as not too thick, good dexterity, and touch screen compatible.
Koko The Talking Ape
Yep. If they have a lot of bicycle grease or something on them, I rub some Simple Green into the gloves. I’ve even done that with leather gloves. Sometimes they dry stiff, but they loosen up quickly. It’s probably important to let them air dry.
A W
Yes, I’ve thrown mechanics gloves, cut resistant gloves, even leather work gloves in the washing machine and they come out much nicer.
JR3 Home Performance
ditto
Johann
Same here, just air dry and it’s all good.
SteveS
Me too with the leather gloves, even the really cheap ones seem to (mostly) come out none the worse for being machine washed.
Big Richard
You mean my hands? Yes, I wash my hands. With soap.
Blocky
Hah!
Jason McDaniels
I machine wash my Milwaukee cut 1 gloves (non-insulated) and haven’t had any issues
fred
Thought provoking.
In the fabrication business we used Cintas. They brought work clothes (aka uniforms) and some gloves on a regular basis. I presume that they laundered much of this – but never thought about the gloves. I don’t think we ever tried to clean things like welding or work gloves ourselves – although we had a washer and dryer on-premises – that got used for towels – and I suspect the occasional load of personal employee laundry.
In the other businesses – we tended to buy “commodity – generic” work gloves in bulk – some cotton – and some leather palmed. Based on the rate that we bought them – I suspect that none got washed – but some may have be repurposed for home use.
Retired now – I use gloves more sparingly – but now wonder if I will try washing some of them – like my wife’s garden gloves. I also wonder how things like leather palms retain their flexibility/softness after washing – or do they need to be retreated with something like saddle soap.
Gordon
I have inadvertently washed some leather gloves. They get very stiff as they dry. It’s hardest on the pinky fingers. I tried mineral oil which seemed to help soften them up a bit, but it just wasn’t worth putting too much energy into them. At that point I was blowing through a pair per month doing a significant amount of granite edging.
JR
Yes, I wash my work gloves. With the heat and humidity down here, combined with dirt makes for a very, ah , ripe glove. I just toss them in with my work clothes. These are Mechanics brand or the HD specials available in a 3 pack at Christmas time.
Hepdog
– Never –
Not once. Different gloves for different tasks:
– Heavy hand tools (shovel/ax/etc): leather gloves to minimize destruction of hard-earned calluses.
– Engine swap: cheap mechanix gloves. throw away when fully saturated with oil/grease/etc
– Everything else: no gloves. Be a man and grow some calluses
Corey Moore
PPE tends to be mandatory professionally these days.
Jared
Ha, never occurred to me that I shouldn’t. In fact, I have a plastic bag with a dozen or so pairs waiting to be washed right now. I try to run through my collection and then wash them all at once to make it less of a hassle. I now pre-clean them because, when i didn’t in the past, I’ve sometimes had some chemical odors in the washing machine that I had to clear out before returning to regular clothes-washing duties.
So I try not to get leather gloves too wet or soiled, but otherwise I just wash everything. I would admit that some gloves handle washing better than others – but when I wash the gloves it’s because they are so dirty I wouldn’t wear them again otherwise, so I don’t care if some don’t feel the same after. At least they’re still usable.
Bob
Machine wash and dry here. I use mechanix brand as well. No issues. I suspect it prolongs the life of the glove as you’re removing the grit that would abrade the fabric? Mechanics gloves don’t seem to last very long for me. So any way I can prolong them is helpful.
I do have a separate washer/dryer for my work clothes. I don’t want to contaminate the family laundry with potentially harmful substances like lead, heavy metals (found in motor oil) or shop chemicals. I don’t see why handwashing wouldn’t work if you don’t wan’t to get caught throwing oil and grease soaked gloves in the wife’s nice clean washing machine.
She also might not like you putting antique car hubcaps in the dishwasher. Er…so I have heard 🙂
Eric
It’s pretty rare that I wash them. I usually try to keep a pair of gloves for clean work, and a pair of dirty gloves that I don’t really care if they’re covered in dirt and grease.
Mike
I put my gloves on and I wash them like I’m washing my hands a little dawn cleans them right up, don’t trust putting them in a washing machine they might shrink a little, the same goes with flannel shirts always get them dry cleaned because those always shrink or get messed up in the wash
Ed
I’m with the “do it all the time” group. The bucket-soak-air-dry method mentioned above works great, especially for mud caked/greasy gloves as long as you have a suitable place to dump the waste water.
Lightly soiled/sweaty gloves I just wash with mild dish soap in the sink while wearing them, as if you were washing your hands. Remove, rinse, wring out excess water, then air dry. Barely takes a minute.
Even if you use the machine wash method, consider hanging them up to dry. The intense heat of a dryer cycle breaks down Lycra/elastic, causes shrinking, and damages leather much more than the washer ever will.
John
Washed a bucket full of shop gloves earlier this week. Simple green, water, sit overnight, rinse a lot and set out in sun to dry. I use different gloves for steel work from woodwork and then some general purpose gloves, but non are silly $20 gloves, I buy bulk of quality gloves that give good dexterity and use them heavily year after year and ones that wear out entirely get thrown away. Maxiflex gloves are the best all around work gloves. Thick gloves from HD or Lowes like the ones shown are almost worthless for my real world use.
Scotty
If you like the Maxiflex gloves, try the Ansell 11-818 gloves. They are similar type but last much longer, especially the rubber coating. Available from zoro.com at a decent per pair price if you buy several pairs at a time. The coating on my Maxiflex gloves seems to disintegrate after several washings.
I used to think $20 gloves were silly too, but I tried some CLC gloves that are close to that price and they are very comfortable and last a long long time. I am also trying some Ironclad Project Impact gloves for my grounds maintenance type weekend work – they are very protective and comfortable too.
The Ironclad Kong gloves are awesome also – very protective for work like masonry, paver installation, and concrete chipping. Palms could be better padded but they do such a good job protecting your fingers that you start doing dumb stuff with your hands. I hurt my bare hand a couple times after using them for a few days in a row… I guess my brain forgot that it is not good to bash things with your fist.
I have machine washed all of them, air dried – gotta stay on topic…
Conor
Yup, machine wash Mechanix gloves pretty regularly (have one pair for heavier landscaping work and one for car work that both go through). They go through the drier if I forget to separate them, but generally I line dry. Super nice to have clean gloves, and they seem to last longer without solvents sitting in them for long periods of time.
Scott K
I like the Milwaukee insulated gloves. I bought a pair for when I shovel and snow blow- they’ve held up well and are pretty water resistant. I did expect them to be warmer, though.
John Blair
My solution is to lose them every month by accident. Maybe not a good solution but easy to follow.
Toolfreak
Yeah, I’ve been washing my gloves for awhile, whether it’s mechanic’s style or the similar stuff for motocross/bicycle or other racing sports.
Machine washing might be ok for newer gloves in the more durable styles. but thinner gloves, older gloves with lots of wear, and those with stuck-on adhesive-attached features tend to get worse if they’re beat up in a machine rather than gently soaked and washed by hand. just soaking in a clothing deterget solution that loosens dirt and then swishing them around in clean water to rinse is fine.
Overall though, yeah, wash your gloves when they are dirty or smelly.
Bon
Yep, I wash most of my work gloves. Not the leather ones, but my favorite Milwaukee gloves go in the wash regularly after doing some landscaping.
david brock
a little grit soap and some hot water in the sink at work and then lay them on a mill to dry them out, they then shrink to fit my hands nice and tight.
charlesinrichmond
No.
I’ve tried washing work gloves, but never had any luck with it. They always come out like cardboard.
So I just wear them till it’s time to throw them out now
Roger
I periodically wash with basic liquid soap while i have it on. Just like washing my hands. Some of the material either changes color due to sun burnout when drying, or the leather starts breaking down; thinning and tearing. Some shrinkage is also noted.
However, with that said if I don’t wash them the smell is going to be from bacteria and other germs feasting on the oils and dead skin left behind when I take them off. And then put them back on.
If they stat smelling; wash’em -or- toss’em.
Greg
I do. I have a free set of Maytag washers and dryers in the garage for all the nasty coveralls, rags, shirts, etc. They needed about $30 in parts each to work. Then it was a matter of getting the plumbing and electrical to their location. I used to wash in a 5 gallon Homer bucket by hand with dawn soap, simple green, oxi clean liquid, and any brand of washing soap on hand. I never wanted to put any of it in the everyday washer / dryer nor bring it to a laundromat. The significant other would kill me on the first item and I’m not that kind of guy to ruin the next person’s clothes at the laundromat.
A lot of the speciality gloves aren’t washable but you’d be surprised how many are. It does save money over time not having to purchase so many clothes especially mechanics or gardening ones.
phil
YES! i have a dozen pairs of MAXIFLEXs and the ones I use go into the washing machine after every day of use together with the work clothes. come out like new unless they were damaged during the day.
Just a Medic
Thanks for the tip. I’d never thought to wash my chore gloves. Several pairs are caked with clay, effectively unusable. I’ll try washing them this weekend.
Al
I wash my maxiflex every week in traditional top loader. Along with safety vest, work shirt, socks and pants.
I dont wash my leather stick welding gloves.
I work underground. Clay comes off in basic wash conditions.
After getting metal shavings embedded into a cut, I will always wear work gloves. They are mandatory on the jobsite. I can handle lumber, I can grip better, it makes a big difference.
Search for nitrile foam gloves. Theres ATP maxi gloves, hyflex, Amazon work gloves, n dark tech.
Else white ox gloves.
Robert
Hmmm… I guess my gloves have never survived long enough to consider washing them. Or I expect them to be dirty. I mean, I only wear gloves when I’m working with barbed-wire, or on hot parts, or with rough materials like stones. If they get muddy I’ll hose them off, but otherwise, they get thrown back in the tote.
Steven
My work gloves are very expendable. They are light and breathable but offer protection.
By the time week two comes around, finger holes begin and gloves have done there job.
Ive tried not working with gloves, but in my profession I would a: have cut up bleeding hands or b: dirty final end product.
By the time my gloves have done there job, get a new pair. Smelly gloves will always smell even after trying nitrile heavy duty gloves and washing weekly. Once the antibacterial treatments gone Apprentices will start complaining.
Light enough to protect, cheap enough to dispose of.
Nathan
Like someone else said – in a bucket with warm water and detergent I even use the tide liquid laundry soap. but I don’t put them in the clothes washer due to what might be on them.
Now I’ll stop here and say I do the same with my work clothes that I work on the car with. Not the lawn clothes – they go in the machine no worse than what’s on the kids stuff.
Car stuff – brake dust, grime, various synthetic grease componets, so on. Not in the washer. SO car gloves don’t go either. But in a bucket with soap and a hand scrub – sure. One day when I have the space – money – time I would like to have a cheapo small washer to put next to a utility sink in my mecca garage. that I’ll never build.
Oleg K
Depends on the gloves! If they’re worth washing then yes but if they’re severely damaged by chemicals or physically, cheap (worth less than $5) then why bother?
Kentdude
I wash leather work Gloves and my massive motorcycle glove stash with lexol leather soap, dry and apply lexal conditioner to soften up. Than air dry. Buy conditioner in half gallon size. Do leather riding suits and jackets same. Leather recliners and furniture .Wife has a sensitive nose so have to air everything outside, says it stinks.. whatever. Doesn’t bother me. The lexal soap liquid is concentrated so be careful. Little bit needed. Conditioner I slop that stuff on In massive Doses! Been using Lexal since 72 when had a Leather shop and tried many different leather products and it’s the best sauce for da leather
Odan Urr
Of course I do, I forget about them after I put them in my back pocket after work.
Brian M
I do all the time, I just clean them when they start to smell…and in Florida, that doesn’t take that long.
Gription
Yep – all the time. I’ll just throw them in the washer with a load of my dirty jeans. When the load is finished, the jeans go in the dryer and I let the gloves air dry. Works great for cloth work gloves like the Mechanix or the cheapie “firm-Grip” gloves that HD sells for $10 a pack of 4.
Never tried this on leather gloves though…