The work environment of industries, such as construction sites, oil & gas fields, motorway maintenance, and others are highly liable to accidents and injuries. Unlike office spaces where workers work behind a desk, the workers at these sites work physical labors and have to operate heavy machinery, work with moving vehicles, harmful chemicals, etc. This is why their safety should always be the top priority. In addition to providing them with the necessary training, they also need special high visibility clothing that protects them from potential hazards lurking around in these treacherous workplaces.
High visibility wear is essential for these workers as per the rules of ANSI/ISEA 107, the high visibility industry standard. This special clothing is made of retro-reflective materials and printed with fluorescent dyes to increase their visibility. The enables the person wearing it to be visible from a long distance and helps in avoiding unfortunate accidents.
It is known for a fact that the wearers of high visibility clothing, work in extreme environments. These conditions make them prone to dust, dirt, smut, and whatnot. This workwear is tough and is designed to withstand harsh working environments, but cleaning them is a challenge. Substances like tar or grease are pretty hard to clean off without damaging the durability or the color of the high visibility workwear article. To avoid the damage and frequent replacement of the clothing, follow the tips mentioned below.
Removing the Dirt
Remove the dirt with the help of a clean cloth before putting it in the wash. You can also soak it in cold water for a few hours with a mild detergent before washing. This way all the dirt will wash away without the need of scrubbing and no harm will be done to the reflective dyes.
Remove the Stains
If there are stains, use a mild stain remover as anything strong can adversely affect the reflective material on your high visibility clothes. Try to use stain removers marked safe for bright colors and the ones that don’t contain bleach. Do not scrub the reflective color as it can reduce the reflectivity hence making the clothing useless.
Don’t Use Warm Water
Washing clothes with warm water is an effective way to clean clothing but not in the case of high visibility workwear. Using warm water to clean high hi-vis apparel can damage the fabric and the reflectors. Therefore, all high visibility clothing should be washed in cold water to avoid any mishap.
Turn Clothes Inside Out Before Washing them
Before washing your high visibility clothes in the washing machine, be sure to turn all the clothing inside out to avoid any damage or fading of colors. Run your washing machine on a gentle cycle. This simple trick will elongate the life of your reflective tapes and buttons.
Don’t Use Strong Chemicals
The use of chemicals to clean your high visibility clothing can compromise the color and weaken the fabric. Even just one cycle using fabric softener or bleach can ruin the reflective material. Resist the urge to add these to the wash and stick with mild detergent instead. If you wash them with non-workwear, make sure there are no rough textures that could damage your work gear. Rough textures such as hooks, sharp buttons, sharp zippers, etc. Dull or damaged clothing is no good for the safety of a worker and there is no point in wearing them.
Drying the Hi-Vis Wear Properly
It is better to line-dry the hi-vis clothing rather than putting it inside a dryer. Make sure the place you are line-drying the reflective clothing is away from direct sunlight as rays will affect the reflectivity and would make the color fade. If you do not have the option to line-dry, air-dry the clothing in the dryer. Keep the temperature on cold or the lowest heat setting and run on a gentle cycle. After air-drying, immediately hang up the garment to avoid wrinkles. You should also refrain from ironing these garments, as the heat will again damage the reflectiveness of your gear.
How Often Should the High Visibility Workwear be Washed?
The high visibility clothing should comply with EN ISO 20471 to be effective and remain in use by the wearer. Its reflectivity is the only factor that makes it useful and serves its purpose. If the clothing has dirt and stains, it will affect its reflectiveness. Washing the garment is necessary but with every wash, the reflective strips on the apparel lose their quality.
Your high visibility clothing can be washed a maximum of 25 times. After that its visibility will be highly affected and it will lose its purpose. You will need to then replace the apparel.
Bottom Line
Remember, high visibility workwear should be laundered at home, rather than at the dry cleaners. Ultimately, the washing will fade off the reflective dyes but washing in a machine will prolong the garment’s life.
We hope the aforementioned tips prove to be helpful to you in keeping your safety clothing in good condition. Also, to gain maximum benefit from the clothing, read the data specification sheet or the cleaning instructions tag provided by the manufacturer advising on various issues regarding the handling and washing of the garment that the wearer should be aware of.
