Your Winter Gloves Are Dirtier Than Your Underwear

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Cold-weather accessories can be the cutest part of a winter outfit, but wow, do they harbor disgusting amounts of germs and bacteria. Let’s focus on gloves, shall we?

Gloves are basically the same as hands but dirtier because of how often we wear them, all of the things we touch when using them and how rarely we wash them. We touch the door handles in our offices, in restaurants and even in public restrooms with gloves on. We touch poles and seats while using public transportation with gloves on. We even wipe our noses when we sneeze or sniffle with gloves on. And then we don’t toss them into the hamper with the rest of our dirty clothes. Should we really be surprised that they’re filthier than our underwear?

Gloves carry E. coli, flu and cold germs on a daily basis. They can also have respiratory syncytial virus and other respiratory bacteria all over them. And believe us when we say those germs do make a difference for your health. The flu virus can live on gloves for two or three days, and diarrhea-causing viruses like rotavirus and norovirus can live on gloves for as many as four weeks. Yikes.

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So what’s our suggestion, you ask? Wash those damn gloves already!

If you wear cotton gloves…

Throw those bad boys in the washing machine with cold water and let them air dry so they don’t accidentally shrink. It doesn’t get much easier than that.

If you wear wool gloves…

Soak them in warm water with a little bit of gentle dish soap or antibacterial hand soap. Then drain the excess water, press the gloves into a towel to absorb as much remaining water as you can and then lay them flat to dy.

If you wear leather (or faux leather) gloves…

Lightly spray the inside of the gloves with rubbing alcohol to remove germs and bacteria, and then sprinkle in a little baking powder to eliminate any unpleasant smells. As for the outside, wipe them down with an oil-based soap and skip the water. Once the soap dries, wipe off any remaining residue with a microfiber towel.

If you wear waterproof ski gloves…

Spray both the outside and the inside of the gloves with rubbing alcohol to disinfect them and then sprinkle a little bit of baking powder on the inside to absorb any remaining odors.

Phew, our hands feel both warmer and cleaner now.

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