Silicone sealant is a great thing. It is used instead of gaskets, and to strengthen them. They perfectly close the cracks. There are adhesive varieties of sealant. Only sometimes we forget about safety and begin to operate with a syringe, without even bothering to put on gloves. As a result, the hands are soiled. Hence the question: how to wash silicone sealant from hands if there are no special tools at hand? We list all the available options.
Handy materials and tools that can help get rid of silicone
Immediately make a reservation that it is necessary to wipe, wash and clean hands of silicone before the substance begins to harden. Otherwise, it will turn into a long and overwhelming task. What improvised tools may be suitable for these purposes:
- Polyethylene, that is, an ordinary, but quite dense plastic bag.
- Nail polish remover. If a certain amount of acetone is littered in the household, you can use it.
- Drinking alcohol (ethyl).
- Table 3% vinegar.
- Sunflower oil.
- Washing powder or laundry soap, dishwashing detergent.
- Pumice.
- Salt.
- Steaming in hot water.
Polyethylene and laundry soap (laundry detergent, dishwashing detergent)
So, the first option is how to wash silicone sealant from your hands at home in a short time. For those who like to smooth the sealant with an unprotected glove with their finger, the best way to get rid of it is to resort to using a plastic bag. The bag should be tight enough so that it does not tear when you begin to manipulate it, that is, rub the contaminated areas of your hands with polyethylene.
The properties of silicone are such that it will adhere much better to polyethylene than to living and porous skin tissues. Therefore, most of the silicone will soon pass from your hands to the package. After that you need to wash your hands thoroughly with soap. If the effect did not suit you, you can repeat the procedure again. If this does not help, you should try another option.
Liquids capable of softening and dissolving silicone
The second option of how to wash silicone off your hands at home is based on the use of acetone, nail polish remover, alcohol or 3% acetic solution. All these fluids can soften silicone sealant, as a result of which it will become better to wipe and wash. What should be done:
- We take a cotton napkin (cloth, cotton pad).
- We soak it with the liquid selected from the list above, which is currently at your disposal.
- We begin to rub places contaminated with silicone. The cloth should be abundantly flavored with liquid so that when you press it, the product you use is released from it.
After the silicone has wiped off, you should immediately wash your hands under warm water with laundry soap, detergent or other product that foams well. This is not worth the time, because after the acetone, vinegar or nail polish remover begins to dry out, the place where you rubbed the sealant will evenly begin to be covered with hardened silicone. If this option does not suit you, consider another one with sunflower oil.
Sunflower oil and dishwashing detergent
How to wash the sealant from your hands at home if the previous options do not suit you? You can turn to vegetable oil. It also has the property of thinning silicone that has begun to solidify. What are we doing:
- Lubricate the cloth with plenty of oil.
- With this cloth we lubricate the places of hands contaminated with silicone sealant.
- We wait some time for the silicone to start dissolving in oil.
- We put the dishwashing detergent on our hands, we wash, three and rinse under running water.
When dissolved, the sealant mixes with the molecules of the oil, and the dishwashing detergent rinses the silicone off the hands with the oil itself. But this tool is not one hundred percent. How to wash silicone sealant from your hands yet?
Steaming, pumice and laundry soap
When the heating is sufficiently strong, silicone that has not had time to completely harden is softened, and it becomes easy to wipe and wash from the skin by mechanical action, for example, using pumice. It is done like this:
- Water is poured into the basin in such a temperature that it almost burns hands, but meanwhile it was possible to endure, as in the case when you soar your feet during a cold.
- Immerse your hands stained with silicone in water and steam them for about five minutes.
- Then wash them under warm (almost hot) water under a tap with laundry soap, wiping off any dirt with a pumice stone.
Some consider this option the most effective. Just do not be too zealous. With long-term use of pumice stone along with silicone, you can “peel” the upper layer of skin from your hands. The place will subsequently hurt and will even become covered with scab. Therefore, with pumice need to be more careful.
Saline solution
Prepare a saline solution at the rate of 4 tablespoons of salt per liter of warm water. Soak your hands in this solution. Hold for five minutes, no less, otherwise the salt will not soften the sealant enough. After soaking, you also need to rinse your hands with powder or laundry soap, while helping with pumice.
Pollution prevention
In order not to ask later the question of how to wash silicone sealant from your hands, it is worth preoccupying the purchase of protective equipment, that is, gloves. Unhardened silicone is a powerful allergen that can cause skin irritation even in people who are not prone to allergies. Silicone fumes are also dangerous. Therefore, if the scope of work with sealant is large, it is best to carry out them in a respirator.
But people tend to neglect preventive measures, each time hoping for a chance. In this case, even if you don’t have gloves at hand, and you need to gab up the gaps in your nose, just lavish your hands with soap and plenty of soap and let them dry without wiping them. Such kind of soapy “gloves”, even if silicone gets on your skin, will prevent it from sticking to it.
If nevertheless you had to get dirty, remember that all of the cleaning methods listed above have a similar negative effect - all of them, as well as the sealant itself, dry the skin of the hands, make it less protected and painful. Therefore, after such procedures, be sure to lubricate the skin with a nourishing cream. For these purposes, a baby cream is perfect.
Conclusion
On the shelves of specialized (construction or household) stores, there is always something to do with how to wash silicone sealant from your hands. Such products are sold in the form of cans with a special solution or napkins soaked in the same solution, which dissolves the silicone perfectly, which makes it possible to remove it from the skin of the hands with almost no trace.
But in most cases, these funds are not at hand, and the store still needs to be reached. Therefore, we hope that our article on how to wash silicone off your hands will be useful to you. Good luck to you!