Glove "desalination"?

[ahabian]

Yesterday the goalie on my beer league team told me that the reason the palms of your gloves stiffen up, and wear through, is salt. According to him the best thing to remove the salt is to let water run through the gloves and the hanging them fingers up to dry.

My question, though, is how much? How much water can the palms take? I figure it would take a lot of rinsing to get rid of about three months of dried-in salt, and these gloves cost a pretty penny, and I wouldn't want them water-damaged.

Does anyone have anyone have any experience with this? Any other technique I could use to prolong the life of my gloves?

PS. I did do a search, but none of the threads I found discussed this in detail.

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[Jarick]

I wouldn't run water through the gloves, but I've heard good things about steaming them, either through a steam cleaner or a boiling tea kettle. Pulling the gloves out of the bag and leaving them out to dry is the best way to prolong their life. Even better would be a heating/drying device for them like the Shock Doctor glove dryer attachment.

 

[ahabian]

That's exactly what I though. What kind of material do you have, though? Mine are clarino, and according to the company that creates that fabric, they are washable at sub-30 degrees celsius.

I already dry them out after each game, and I guess it would make sense for me to just leave it at that and try to find a solution if I feel they deteriorate too quickly. I think the conversation started from him chirping at guys with 10-year old torn gloves, so I'm not sure mine are even in the discussion.

 

[Jarick]

Mine haven't been washed. I've previously washed gloves in warm soapy water and rinsed them, but have since been recommended NOT to wash hockey gear in this manner as the water can break down the foams and shorten their lifespan. They are however getting crusty, so I'm planning on trying the teapot deal. I did try some shaving cream with lanolin as recommended and it makes the palms a little less crusty, but then I have problems with the gloves feeling slippery the next game.

 

[ahabian]

I was worried about the foams as well, how they would handle the water, so I guess that's another anti-water point.

I wouldn't try any sort of oil or lanolin or anything, because it's not organic material, so I figure it wouldn't mix well and get "surface-oily", like you said.

Well, we'll see what I end up doing, I guess. Either way, thank you so much, man!

 

[GLG]

eventually when my palms were ripped i got my mom to patch them up with some material she has (she's a seamstress) and now no more holes/wear & tear from tape etc ;-)

 

[Jarick]

Well the guy who recommended not washing them in water also recommended shaving cream with lanolin for the palms. He was an NHL equipment rep, so he knows his stuff.

After they get really ratty, if they're good gloves you can have them repalmed.

 

[densetsu]

I wouldn't try any sort of oil or lanolin or anything, because it's not organic material, so I figure it wouldn't mix well and get "surface-oily", like you said.

Lanolin isn't organic, you say?

Lanolin is like a moisturizer for leather -- it'll keep your palms nice and soft. Repeatedly wetting and drying the gloves will cause it to dry out -- similar to how your skin dries out if you shower a lot. Heat will speed up this process. Heat from an occasional steaming is OK, but if you're using something like a heated boot dryer to dry your gloves after every game, that'll wreak havok on your palms in the long term.

 

[ahabian]

Lanolin isn't organic, you say?

Lanolin is like a moisturizer for leather -- it'll keep your palms nice and soft. Repeatedly wetting and drying the gloves will cause it to dry out -- similar to how your skin dries out if you shower a lot. Heat will speed up this process. Heat from an occasional steaming is OK, but if you're using something like a heated boot dryer to dry your gloves after every game, that'll wreak havok on your palms in the long term.

Yes, I know that lanolin is organic. What isn't organic, however, is clarino, the material used on my gloves.

Sorry for the dangling modifier.