How Are Latex Gloves Manufactured?

Latex gloves are an extremely important part of the medical profession as they keep doctors and patients safe from harmful contaminants. But how are these seemingly simple medical tools manufactured? The process involves several steps, from harvesting rubber from rubber trees, to wet production in several baths, to drying and testing. Here is how a latex glove plant makes their products.

Instructions

• 1

  Clean the glove formers by first immersing them in an acid bath, rinsing with water, immersing in an alkaline bath and rinsing again with water. Glove formers are ceramic molds in the shape of a standard-sized human hand. Cleaning is necessary to prevent defects and holes in the finished latex glove.

• 2

  Dip the cleaned glove formers in a tub of special coagulant. The coagulant will help the latex of the glove to properly stick to the glove mold and will also determine how thick the glove will be. Leave the glove formers in the coagulant bath longer to make a thicker glove.

• 3

  Dip the glove formers into a mixture of latex made from liquid sap harvested from a rubber tree and mixed with other chemicals. Different brands of gloves require slightly varying chemical mixtures which make for different levels of elasticity in the finished glove.

• 4

  Run the latex-covered glove formers through a hot, clean bath of water. Make the tub of water long so the glove formers will have to travel a far distance through the water. The longer the gloves spend in this bath, the more assured you will be that any stray chemicals have been properly washed off of the gloves.

• 5

  Run the gloves through a wet slurry of cornstarch to ensure proper protection of the finished gloves. This process will also make putting the gloves on a little easier.

• 6

  Remove the gloves from the glove formers manually and set them aside for the next stage.

• 7

  Place the gloves in commercial drying machines to distribute the slurry cornstarch evenly over the gloves and increase the elasticity.

• 8

  Inflate each glove with air to test for pinholes and overall glove quality. Pay attention to the way the latex of the glove expands to accommodate the air, and examine each individual finger for shape defects.