Month: July 2021
How to Clean Your FR Rainwear?
We all know that rains can be unpredictable, but critical industries such as utilities, infrastructure maintenance, and transportation cannot delay their services due to rain. Electric utility linemen and oil & gas industry workers are truly essential, for that matter, as they keep the power flowing to the given area. These workers can face long hours of exposure to all types of hazardous weather, which makes it essential that they have all the protective gear they need in good shape at all times.
The scenarios utility workers typically face requiring protection in the form of high-quality flame-resistant rainwear clothing. FR safety clothing is made from materials that don’t catch fire easily when exposed to sparks or flames. Once you’ve made the investment in protecting your team with the right FR garments, the next step is to ensure that they take care of these clothing items correctly.
In this blog, we’ll see the importance of taking care of FR rainwear clothing and how you can keep them clean.
Why is it Important to Take Care of FR Rainwear in the Right Manner?
Outdoor working conditions can be harsh & extremely variable. Therefore, it is imperative that your workers have all the right gear for their safety and that they maintain it appropriately. Keeping your flame-resistant rainwear clean is important for a number of reasons, such as:
- It’ll maintain its durability & performance so that you can get the most out of it over time.
- It would help them last longer due to reduced wear & tear from dirt or grime build-up, which might otherwise get trapped in fabrics if they were dirty.
- Also, it helps to avoid possible safety hazards such as accidents caused at the worksite.
These are just a few scenarios where wearing high-quality safety clothing with the appropriate care can make all the difference in the safety & efficiency of the worker.
Furthermore, caring for your FR rainwear with the correct methods will help these valuable gears to last longer & perform better even in the harshest conditions. Not washing your FR workwear in the right manner can damage it or make it prematurely worn out. Using the right washing procedures & tools are also essential as dirty, worn out, or broken tools can be ineffective for cleaning or affect the efficiency of the garment.
How to Clean FR Rainwear?
Here are some key cleaning tips that will ensure that your FR rainwear stays clean & ready to protect you from any workplace hazard:
- Create a regular cleaning plan/schedule for your rain gear; this will ensure that your gears are clean & ready whenever you need them. Consider how often you’ll need to wash your rainwear, where & how you want to wash it, and where you’ll be keeping them.
- The primary step in the actual cleaning process is to spot clean or wipe the entire garment with a damp cloth. Make sure you keep your garments in a manner & location where they can dry completely.
- For more thorough cleaning, you can wash these garments at home in the washing machine separately in cold water on the gentle cycle of your washer.
- When you’re cleaning your rainwear, either by hand or in a washing machine, make sure to not use abrasive cleaners, solvents, bleach, or fabric softeners.
- Do not iron your FR garments at all. Simply hang them in a manner that’ll prevent any creases or wrinkles from forming.
- Do not dry clean your FR rainwear, or send it out to an industrial laundry facility for cleaning.
Keeping these tips in mind while cleaning your FR rainwear will ensure they don’t lose their quality and keeps you safe for a longer period.
6 Critical Factors to Consider While Choosing FR Safety Wear in the Oil & Gas Industry
The oil and gas industry is a risky environment, where safety and comfort should be top priorities for every employee. One of the most important pieces of gear to ensure this goal is achieved is FR Safety Wear. Flame-resistant safety apparel is an essential part of any company’s (working in the oil & gas industry) worker protection program. FR clothing provides superior protection against flash fires and heat exposure from radiant energy sources, including welding, brazing, or cutting torches. However, choosing the right Flame-resistant safety wear for your employees in the Oil & Gas Industry is not an easy task. There are various factors that need to be considered before you make a final decision. Below we have compiled a list of critical factors that you must consider while choosing FR safety wear.
The important factors that you must consider while choosing flame-resistant clothing in the oil & gas industry are:
Protection Level
It is important to understand that flame-resistant clothing does not have a fixed protection level, as it can range from just meeting NFPA 2112 requirements all the way up to providing full and complete protection against LPG fires without rupturing. So be sure you know what the level of protection you need is before purchasing FR clothing.
Number of Layers
The number of garments worn in FR clothing depends on several factors like the type of activity/work you’re involved in, the time span for which protection is needed, type of work environment (chemical sensitivities), among other things. As general guidelines, workers should consider wearing three layers when working in an area where there’s exposure to gasoline vapors; two daily use/casual daywear items plus one protective overgarment while working in an area with no gasoline exposure but there’s a chance of liquid petroleum gas (LPG) or ammonia vapors; and one daily use/casual daywear item plus two protective overgarments while working in an area where there is a potential for LPG, ammonia or chlorine exposures.
Design
Flame retardant clothing should be self-extinguishing and have a wide range of options for different levels of protection, from just meeting the NFPA 2112 requirements all the way up to providing full and complete protection against LPG fires without rupturing.
Safety Certification
Flame-resistant clothing is tested for its ability to resist the spread of flames and heat. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulates compliance with these standards in most countries. Thus, it is important that the safety wear that you are using has been certified. You must be able to identify what standards they have met, and more importantly, their certification number so that you can verify it with them if required.
Comfort Features
It is important not only that your clothing provides adequate protection against fire but also ensures it fits well, so you don’t even notice them while working in harsh conditions. Also, the materials should be breathable, i.e., it should allow air and moisture to pass through protective garments. And since these garments often cover most of your body’s surface area, comfort features such as durability when wet and elasticity to reduce chaffing are also important to consider.
Durability
Flame-resistant clothes need to last a long time because they tend to have a higher upfront cost than other types of clothing and are worn out more quickly. They should be able to stand up against constant use in the oil & gas industry, where there’s always an increased risk of danger due to machinery or equipment being close by.
Ending Note
The oil and gas industry is a high-risk sector, where there are constant threats of explosion. With FR clothing being one of the key components of keeping workers safe from harmful chemicals and fumes, it is important to choose the right one. Thus keeping all the above-mentioned critical factors in mind will help you make the right decision for your needs and safety!