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What is the Best Material for Chemical Resistant Gloves?

7 July 2016  |  Alex

If you're working with chemicals, you'll definitely be aware of the importance of having the right safety gloves for the task. Not using the correct chemical resistant gloves can cause a whole host of problems ranging from rawness and irritation to serious and irrevocable damage. It's only natural that you might want to find the best gloves for chemicals and here at Safety Gloves, we're here to help you do it!

Horses for Courses

Unfortunately, there is no easy answer as to which gloves you should use if you are dealing with chemicals – all chemicals are different and the type of glove that you need might be different too. Luckily for you, we've taken the trouble to check whether some of our most popular gloves are suitable for use with common chemicals. Our choice of gloves includes three of the most commonly used materials (especially for disposable/lab gloves): nitrile gloves, latex gloves and vinyl gloves.

To check which gloves are best for your needs, please find the chemicals that you wish to protect against and see the suitability in our chart!

Chemical Nitrile Gloves Latex Gloves Vinyl Gloves
Acetaldehyde Poor Fair Poor
Acetic Acid Good Good Good
Acetone Poor Poor Poor
AcetoNitrile Poor Poor Poor
Acrylic Acid Good Good Fair
Acrylamide Excellent Excellent  
Ammonia Fair Poor  
Ammonia Fluoride Excellent Excellent  
Ammonia Hydroxide Excellent Good Good
Aniline Poor Poor Fair
Benzaldehyde Poor Poor Poor
Benzalkonium Chloride Good Good  
Benzene Poor Poor Poor
Boric Acid Excellent    
Carbon Disulfide Poor Poor Poor
Carbon Tetrachloride Fair Poor  
Chlorhexidine Excellent Excellent Excellent
Chloroform Poor Poor Poor
Chromic Acid Excellent Poor  
Citric Acid Excellent Excellent Excellent
Cyclohexane Excellent Poor  
Cyclohexanol Excellent Good Good
Cyclohexanone Poor Poor Poor
Diacetone Alcohol Good Poor Poor
Dichloromethane Poor Poor Poor
Diethyl Ether Poor    
Dioctyl Phthalate   Poor Poor
Diesel Fuel Good Poor Fair
Diethylamine Poor Poor Poor
Dimethyl Sulfoxide (DMSO) Poor Poor Poor
Dimethylformamide (DMF) Poor Poor Poor
Ethanol Poor Poor Poor
Ethanolamine Excellent Good  
Ethidium Bromide Excellent Excellent Excellent
Ethyl Acetate Poor Poor  
Ethyl Ether Poor Poor Poor
Ethylene Glycol Excellent Excellent Excellent
Formaldehyde 37% Excellent Poor Poor
Formic Acid 90% Good Good  
Furfural Poor Poor  
Gasoline/Petrol Fair Poor Poor
Glacial Acetic Acid Poor Poor Poor
Glutaraldehyde 5% Excellent Excellent Good
Glycerol Excellent Excellent Excellent
Heptane Excellent Poor  
Hexane Good Poor Poor
Hydrazine Excellent Good Excellent
Hydrochloric Acid 30 - 70% Good Fair  
Hydrochloric Acid <30% Excellent Excellent  
Hydrofluoric Acid 48% Good Fair  
Hydrogen Peroxide 30% Excellent Excellent Excellent
Isopropyl Alcohol Good Fair Fair
Kerosene Excellent Poor Good
Jeffamine Excellent    
Lactic Acid Excellent Excellent  
Lauric Acid 30% Excellent Poor Poor
Linseed Oil Poor Poor Poor
Maleic Acid Excellent    
Methanol Poor Poor Poor
Methyl Ethyl Ketone Poor Poor Poor
Methyl Isobutyl Ketone Poor Poor Poor
Methyl Methacrylate Poor Poor  
Methylamine Excellent Fair  
Mineral Spirits Excellent Poor  
Nitric Acid 10% Excellent Excellent Excellent
Octanol Excellent    
Octyl Alcohol Excellent Good  
Oleic Acid Excellent Fair  
Palmitic Acid Good Poor  
Pentane Poor Poor Poor
Phenol Poor Poor Poor
Phosphoric Acid 30% Excellent Excellent Excellent
Picric Acid Poor    
Potassium Hydroxide 30% Excellent Excellent Excellent
Propanol Poor Poor  
Sodium Carbonate Excellent    
Sodium Chloride Excellent Excellent  
Sodium Hydroxide 30% Excellent Excellent Excellent
Sodium Hypochlorite Excellent Excellent  
Sulphuric Acid 30% Excellent Excellent Excellent
Sulphuric Acid 95% Poor Poor Poor
Tannic Acid 65% Excellent Excellent  
Tetrachloroethylene Fair Poor Poor
Tetrahydrofuran Poor Poor Poor
Toluene Poor Poor Poor
Trichloroethane Poor Poor Poor
Turpentine Excellent Poor Poor
Xylene Poor Poor Poor

Choosing Your Gloves

As you can see from the table above, for some chemicals, disposable gloves simply don't offer the right level of protection for your needs. In these cases, why not call us on 020 7501 1104 with your specific requirements and we should be able to recommend a suitable pair of work gloves for you.