CARE OF LIMITED CHEMICAL SPLASH PROTECTION Limited chemical splash garments are treated with a fluorocarbon (FC) finish which prevents penetration by water, oil and certain mild chemicals. But it is not permanent. In order to maintain the protection levels, the following guidelines should be observed during laundering: • Wash separately to garments with a standard type of finish. • To reactivate the finish dry in a tunnel dryer, ensuring the temperature does not exceed 160 o C (recommended temperature is 130 o C to 160 o C) • If the garments are dried in a tumble dryer, the inlet air temperature of the tumbler should attain at least 120 o C. This ensures the ‘reactivation’ of the finish and increases the repellent performance.
LIQUID CHEMICAL SPLASH PROTECTION Certain common forms of chemicals, such as reduced concentrations of acids and alkalis, are encountered by operators working in a wide range of industry sectors. The risks can be diverse, depending on the substances being handled, so it is essential that a risk assessment is carried out to determine the most appropriate type of protection required. This risk assessment will give important indications about the most suitable type of material, clothing design and composition of the most effective solution, e.g. combination with other types of PPE or other items of chemical protective clothing.
• Tumble drying at low temperatures and line drying should be avoided.
• The lifetime of the finish can be increased further by rinsing the garments with a fluorocarbon- based rinsing agent in the final rinse of the wash cycle. • The re-treatment of limited chemical splash garments can be carried out after every wash cycle for maximum performance. However, a treatment every 5 wash cycles should suffice, if accompanied by adequate drying conditions to reactivate the FC finish properly.
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