Shelby Care and Maintenance
The wearer shall follow NFPA 1851 for care, maintenance, decontamination and retirement of gloves. Wearer shall perform routine inspection and cleaning daily. Gloves should be inspected for the following: soiling, contamination, physical damage, rips, tears, cuts, thermal damage – charring, burn holes, melting or discoloration of any layer, shrinkage, loss of flexibility – stiffening of the glove and loss of elasticity of wristlet. Gloves shall not be machine dried and DO NOT use CHLORINE bleach on gloves.
CLEANING INSTRUCTIONS
Various glove materials require different cleaning procedures. Avoid acidic or alkaline cleaners, solvents and abrasives.
Elk Leather – Remove dirt with damp cloth. Air dry gloves. Do not machine wash, dry clean or use silicone treatments on gloves.
Pigskin Leather – Brush off excess dirt with a stiff bristle brush. Heavily soiled suede leather can be cleaned with a mild soap & water or suede cleaner in a sink or wash basin. Carefully brushing with a bristle brush will help clean and revive nap of leather. Do not machine wash, dry clean or use silicone treatments on gloves.
Cowhide Leather – Brush off excess dirt with a stiff bristle brush. Heavily soiled leather may be spot washed, or machine washed on gentile cycle (warm wash) using a mild soap. While damp or wet, gloves may be brushed with stiff bristle brush to clean and revive nap of leather. Do not dry clean or use silicone treatments on gloves.
Cloth Materials – The wearer shall follow the procedures for leather that is on gloves.
Drying – Allow gloves to dry after each use or cleaning. Air drying at room temperature is recommended. Specialized glove drying equipment may be used and speeds up the drying process. Ensure gloves are dry prior to use.
Store gloves in a cool dry area. Always allow leather to breathe. Do not store in plastic bags.
Storage and Use
It is the responsibility of the user to store gloves in non-extreme (hot or cold) temperatures and reasonable humidity levels. Do not store gloves in plastic bags or in constant sun light or artificial light. A high degree of UV will affect all high-performance fibers used in gloves, including wristlets. Control these storage factors and it will increase the shelf life of your PPE. We cannot give a finite shelf life since we cannot control the afore mentioned factors.
NFPA standards state a retirement date for firefighting PPE is 10 years (combination of shelf and use time) from date of manufacture. When it comes to firefighting gloves, they should be handled differently since they are not repairable and do not have replaceable liners or parts like with coats and helmets. The useable service life is dependent on proper storage, exposures, the work environment, frequency of use, and maintenance program. It is the responsibility of the user to determine when the gloves should be taken out of service.
Phone: 800-888-3598
