Upsetting glove situation... how do I get them off my dishes?

August 3, 2013 11:40 AM

Ok, I have never heard of this in my life. I have yellow rubber gloves (not a bad brand) and they feel perfectly solid to the touch, but when I start washing dishes, every place that I touch comes off with a "smack," and there is yellow residue left there, so I guess this means the gloves are MELTING on my dishes (?). Every single dish that I own has that now, and I'm trying to get it off... but this means I need to throw away the sponges, right? How do I get this off, if this has ever happened to you? What is this? Why is this happening?
posted by kettleoffish to Home & Garden (11 answers total)

Response by poster: Also mainly how do I get it off?
posted by kettleoffish at 11:54 AM on August 3, 2013

I've had this happen when I used my gloves working with nail polish remover / paint thinner. It destroys some types of synthetic rubber.
I would toss the gloves, and remove sticky stains with goo gone if you have it, or (duh) nail polish remover.
posted by The Toad at 12:03 PM on August 3, 2013

Have they been left in a hot or sunny area, or just old? I have seen rubber bands turn melty when left in the car. I am guessing that something has damaged the glove, and the action of scrubbing then smeared it around. Lighter fluid is also pretty good at removing sticky messes, though clearly you'll want to clean the dishes thoroughly afterwards.
posted by florencetnoa at 12:07 PM on August 3, 2013

If the glove manufacturer has a customer service phone number, call them and ask/report. They may know what's up with the gloves and give you replacements.
posted by a humble nudibranch at 12:10 PM on August 3, 2013 [2 favorites]

Call the manufacturer, or send an email with pictures of your dishes. They'll want to make it right and they may have suggestions for how to get the marks off your dishes.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 12:31 PM on August 3, 2013

What dish soap are you using? How hot is the water?
posted by Thorzdad at 12:52 PM on August 3, 2013

I'd use goo gone or lighter fluid.

(Or personally, I'd use some of my can of Gamsol paint thinner at an art supply store since the fumes would be much more tolerable.)

Note that the paint thinner or such may make non-cellulose sponges and plastic scrubbers melt.

Afterward I'd run the dishes through the dishwasher.
posted by sebastienbailard at 1:57 PM on August 3, 2013

I would try the Goo Gone and/or a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser for this problem. You should be able to find them at most grocery or Target/WalMart type stores. They have a very, very fine, almost imperceptible, abrasive effect that is really effective.
posted by Talullah at 5:08 PM on August 3, 2013

If those gloves sat for any length of time with oil or grease on them, they might get melty. I've seen rubberbands do that from just a little frying-pan spatter, but it takes a while.
posted by Mister Moofoo at 9:40 PM on August 3, 2013

Oh, please. Toss the gloves that are leaving the problematic residue and get some silicone dishwashing gloves. Silicone melts at a much higher temperature of 2,577°F (1,414°C).
posted by oceanjesse at 10:37 PM on August 3, 2013

Dispose of them, if you haven't already.

The reason why your gloves still feel okay inside is because they're lined. The lining is not latex and the gloves will probably continue feeling okay on the inside while the entire outer surface looks like it's developed a serious case of melty rubber eczema.

They're disposable, they're not impermeable, they're only meant to last for a couple years of repeated exposure to hot/cold/wet/dry/oily/etc cycles. You've probably worn them out.
posted by ardgedee at 10:21 AM on August 4, 2013