Disinfectant wipes are an excellent way to ensure commonly used objects such as electronics, light switches, and door handles are free of harmful microbes like the coronavirus responsible for COVID-19. But while wipes are certainly more convenient than spray bottles, they can be bulky and impractical for use outside your home.
If you want to protect yourself from contact with contaminated surfaces outside your house, anti-microbial arm sleeves or hand protectors are a better option. Here are a few reasons why you’d want to wear a pair of arm sleeves rather than lug around a box of disinfectant wipes.
1.) You Can’t “Run Out” of Them
If you live in a densely populated city, just think about how often you use public transportation handrails, ATMs, shopping carts, elevators, and other items used by scores, hundreds, or even thousands of people every day. If you wipe down every potentially contaminated surface you can expect to come across outside, you can easily go through a large pack of 300 wipes in less than a month.
An arm sleeve or a hand protector, however, can be used as often as you need it. So long as you don’t forget to leave your house without one, you can use it multiple times throughout the day.
2.) They’re Discreet
Publicly wiping down potentially contaminated surfaces can attract negative attention from a lot of misinformed yet strongly opinionated folks out there. If someone sees you using disinfectant wipes on a doorknob they just used, for instance, they might take it the wrong way.
Wearing a protective accessory on your hand may be a more discreet option you can explore to protect yourself, but only if such an accessory is less discreet than using wipes in the first place. If you’re going to use medical gloves, for example, you’re likely to attract even more attention. Thus, where to find arm sleeves—those that are lowkey and look just like a normal part of your everyday wear—is an important question you should be asking yourself.
Arm sleeves like those manufactured by Ghluv, an American company, have a discreet form factor that makes them excellent for use in public. Even at close distance, they look like normal wristbands that you might use for exercise. Even when you extend them to cover your hand, they aren’t as obvious as using wipes or disposable surgical gloves. If you use long sleeves, they can even be completely hidden when not in use. If you don’t want to attract unwanted attention but still want to keep yourself protected, a pair of hand protectors or arm sleeves is indeed the way to go.
3.) You Produce Less Waste
Even as you protect yourself from dangers such as the COVID-19 virus, you want to make sure that you are keeping your impact on the planet to a minimum. Disinfectant wipes, while excellent for destroying pathogens on a contaminated surface, are essentially single-use and need to be thrown away immediately after you’re done with them.
A hand protector, on the other hand, can be reused as many times as needed throughout the day to keep you protected from bacteria and viruses. They can even be washed over and over for as long as they remain intact and functional. This makes wearing arm sleeves a much more sustainable way of keeping yourself protected when touching potentially contaminated surfaces.
4.) Anti-Microbial Hand Protectors Are More Convenient to Carry Around
A hand protector or arm sleeve on your wrist will always be more convenient than a bulky pack of disinfectant wipes in your pocket. They attach securely to your wrist and can be easily adjusted for jackets, hoodies, and other long-sleeved tops, if needed. In contrast, you’ll need an oversized pocket or handbag to carry a pack of disinfectant wipes.
Having an arm sleeve on means you won’t have to lug around a box of wipes each time you need to use an ATM keypad or push an elevator button. So long as you put on your hand protector before you head out, it will always be on your wrist whenever you need it.
5.) You Won’t Expose Your Hands to Harsh Chemicals
While most disinfectant wipes are highly effective at destroying a wide range of microbes, they can also be pretty rough on your hands. Many popular brands of disinfectant wipes on the market can cause chemical burns if misused. Even the milder varieties may cause your skin to dry out, which, in worst cases, can cause cracks and fissures that can be infected by harmful microbes.
In contrast, the HeiQ Viroblock technology used on the aforementioned Ghluv hand protectors uses no harsh chemicals. The treatment used on Ghluv arm sleeves can inhibit or destroy bacteria and viruses on contact without the need for chemicals like bleach or ammonia compounds.
6.) They’re Hypoallergenic and Non-Irritating
Some disinfectant wipes can cause irritation and symptoms similar to allergies in some people. These symptoms can sometimes be due to additives included in the product rather than the disinfecting agent itself. It can be hard to trace the exact ingredient that’s causing these symptoms, and you don’t want to risk more irritation by trying more brands of disinfectant wipes.
This isn’t just a minor point either. Not only are allergy symptoms uncomfortable and annoying, but an ongoing allergy can also weaken your immune system over time and make you more susceptible to infections, particularly in your respiratory system.
Thankfully, most arm sleeves or hand protectors are hypoallergenic and non-irritating, making them suitable for use by sensitive individuals as well as those with compromised immune systems. The type of technology typically used in anti-microbial arm sleeves is capable of destroying pathogens without causing an allergic reaction, making them an important thing to have if you can’t use regular disinfectant wipes.
Anti-microbial hand protectors aren’t just highly effective at reducing your risk of getting infected by different pathogens. Compared to single-use disinfectant wipes, they are more convenient and discreet while being less irritating and wasteful as well. This makes arm sleeves or hand protectors the obvious choice for keeping you and your family safe during and after the pandemic.