How to Maintain your Safety Glasses – 8 Easy Tips

When it comes to certain workplaces, safety glasses are a vital piece of PPE. Even while you mow the lawn or play on the sports field, safety glasses serve the same purpose – to protect your eyes!

And like any other PPE, they need to be maintained to ensure they last a long time. L&A Safety supplies a wide range of excellent PPE, including a range of safety glasses. Visit the website now - www.landasafety.co.za

Follow these 8 simple steps:

  ü  Clean them everyday – Whether you rinse them under water or wipe them off with a damp cloth, it will get rid of any debris or dust that may have accumulated.

  ü  Use lens cleaner – Water is the simplest way to clean your safety glasses, but lens cleaner gets rid of the stuff water cannot.

  ü  Clean the sides and ear pieces – You will be shocked at how dirty these parts of your glasses can get.

  ü  Don’t use abrasive cleaners – Glasses become unwearable when you use rough clothes to clean them because scratches will damage the lenses

  ü  Don’t use regular household cleaners – Glass cleaner and things like kitchen cleaner can really damage your safety glasses. Rather use the above cleaning methods.

  ü  Inspect them daily – Look out for cracks and any broken pieces, these can be dangerous if an accident happens.

  ü  Use storage – The best place to store your glasses is in a hard case or pouch. If you don’t want to buy one an old sock is another option!

  ü  Replace them when need be – Damaged or scratch safety glasses are a serious safety hazard. When your lenses are scratched they will impair your vision and if they are cracked they’ll lose the ability to protect your eyes as they should.

Always provide your workers with a well-stocked cleaning station to make sure everyone keeps their safety glasses in good working condition.

How to Remove gloves and other Protective Equipment

One of the things that is highlighted a lot is the risks of contamination from removing personal protective equipment. Meticulous removal of PPE is as important as its meticulous donning.

We asked the specialists at L&A Safety what we should keep in mind when removing PPE:

Gloves
You don’t ever want to have bare skin touching the contaminated parts of the glove. Remove the first one by grasping the material between the hand and the cuff, and then pull it off while turning it inside out. Remove the second by using a bare finger to reach underneath the other glove and then pull it off, again so that it turns inside out. Then, wash your hands to remove any breakthrough.

Lab coats
Generally, undo the coat and then pull it off one sleeve at a time, reaching for the inside to avoid contaminating your hands. If the lab coat is grossly contaminated, then you would want to turn it inside out and put it in the proper receptacle for laundering or disposal. For a grossly contaminated coat, you might also want to wear gloves while removing it. Again, wash your hands when you’re done. Ideally, individual lab coats should be hung on individual hooks, so the outside of one doesn’t contaminate the inside of another.

Eye protection
In most cases, eye protection should be the least contaminated thing that you have on and they should stay on until the moment you leave the lab. It’s usually safe just to take them off. If they are contaminated, then you probably need to worry less about how to safely remove them and more about why you’re not already under the shower.

Other things to consider
First, make sure you’re wearing the correct PPE. For gloves in particular, check a safety data sheet and a compatibility chart to make sure you’re using the correct protection for the chemical hazard. Also, watch what you touch with your gloves on. Don’t push your eye protection up on the bridge of your nose; don’t use a keyboard that you or others use bare-handed.

It is vital that cyclists wear sunglasses, here’s why

Not too long ago, it was possible to compete in cycling races without sunglasses. Is the upsurge of professional cyclists using sunglasses just an easy way to attract more sponsorship and look good on TV?

No! In addition to protecting your eyes against dirt, dust and a long list of projectiles, sunglasses are the best way to ensure that you won’t suffer from cataracts, keratitis and other eye ailments caused by UV radiation.

Studies have shown that the risk of cataracts is tripled by long term exposure to the suns UV rays. Protecting the eyes with the right sunglasses is vital to prevent cataracts.

Exposure of the unprotected eye to UV rays can also result in keratitis, a temporary loss of vision coupled with a burning sensation that results from inflammation of the cornea. The risk of eye damage from the sun is directly related to length and intensity of the exposure. No one knows what the critical amount of exposure is, but effects are cumulative.

Fortunately, cyclists know about the dangers of the sun and other things that could potentially damage their eyes while cycling, which explains why we haven’t seen the irises of any of the famous cyclists in a while!

Do your cycle professionally? Or maybe just for fun? Make sure you protect your eyes at all times - buy a pair of glasses from L&A Safety. Visit the website and browse through the wide range of safety eye wear.