Jason Fitzpatrick
Wearing gloves to protect yourself from germs, chemicals, or other environmental contaminants is worthless if you remove them incorrectly. Follow this CDC chart to do it correctly.
The easiest way to effectively remove gloves without contaminating your skin with whatever is on the gloves is to think about the exterior surface of the glove as if it is totally covered in wet paint. Any movement that would put that paint on your skin will put the real-world contaminants on your skin, too, so plan every step of your glove removal accordingly.
The 7-step chart from the CDC below, available in PDF format here, demonstrates how to remove your gloves safely.
Or, if you’ve prefer to see it in video format, you can watch this CDC tutorial video. (The actual glove removal process starts at 38 seconds into the video if you want to scrub ahead to the action.)
Finally, if you’re wearing gloves out and about while running errands, please be sure to have a disposal routine in place for your vehicle so you’re not stuck without a place to properly dispose of dirty gloves after grocery shopping. A small bathroom size trashcan, lined with a bag, and placed in your trunk or footwell of your car is a good place to dispose of gloves while you are away from home.
