Don’t use clear plastic gloves when refueling your car

Don’t use clear plastic gloves when refueling your car

The lack of drive time for many as a result of the movement control order (MCO) means that most people won’t be visiting petrol stations to fill up their vehicles until the restrictions lift, but those needing to do so will no doubt have been wondering how safe it is in handling fuel nozzles, given the large number of people who use them.

We mentioned early on when the MCO began to take all necessary precautions to safeguard yourself when refueling your car. This included using disposable gloves while using the pump to refuel and when keying in PIN numbers for payment.

What we didn’t state was the type of glove for the job – the thing is, you shouldn’t be using those clear high-density polyethylene (HDPE) gloves that you normally see being used in food preparation and such services, because those plastic gloves are prone to static discharge, and that’s never a good thing when an open fuel source is nearby, like inches away nearby. Think sparks and a resulting fire, and you get the picture.

Don’t use clear plastic gloves when refueling your car

Right now, refueling is a safe process, given the proactive measures taken by fuel companies to ensure that all high-contact areas in their petrol stations are fully disinfected. Petronas says that the crew at the stations will always ensure high-traffic touch points such as fuel nozzles, keypads and door handles at the store and toilets are frequently disinfected daily.

Shell has said the same thing, stating that high-touch areas such as petrol pumps, fuel nozzles, pin pads, air balancers, door handles, pay windows, cashier area, tissue dispensers, switches, taps and sinks in all its stations are disinfected every hour, so you should be at ease when it comes to any engagement done at a petrol station.

Don’t use clear plastic gloves when refueling your car

If you’re still not content with that and think gloves will provide the necessary barrier to help solve the cleanliness issue, then you can go with single-use nitrile gloves (doesn’t matter if powdered or powder-free, choose your flavour), disposing them once you’re done. Nitrile is inherently anti-static and safe for use in this application, and is also used by petrol station crew. And no, you don’t need an electrostatic discharge (grounding) strap, seriously.

Alternatively, if kitting up your hands like you’re ready to conduct a medical examination isn’t your thing, then you can just use a kitchen towel to help you limit direct contact with the pump when refueling, dumping it once you’re finished. As for payment, try pay wave where possible. And always remember to sanitise when you’re done.

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Anthony Lim

Anthony Lim believes that nothing is better than a good smoke and a car with character, with good handling aspects being top of the prize heap. Having spent more than a decade and a half with an English tabloid daily never being able to grasp the meaning of brevity or being succinct, he wags his tail furiously at the idea of waffling - in greater detail - about cars and all their intrinsic peculiarities here.

 

Comments

  • Norlia on Apr 03, 2020 at 1:35 am

    Bring back those Isi minyak boys , ohmy nails.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 14 Thumb down 3
  • azrai on Apr 03, 2020 at 7:40 am

    Afraid to die because of virus,suddenly die due to explosion meh..

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 14 Thumb down 0
  • vivizurianti on Apr 03, 2020 at 11:22 am

    Just put hand sanitiser near petrol pump….
    Petrol pump bosses, just dont always think about profit, profit, profit….

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 5 Thumb down 3
    • Kipas angin on Apr 03, 2020 at 11:36 am

      Very dengerous… sanitizer made by alcohol

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 4 Thumb down 10
      • The entire petrol station is flammable including the fumes when pumping petrol hence any hand sanitiser should not be an issue if there is no spark.

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 8 Thumb down 1
      • azrai on Apr 03, 2020 at 8:09 pm

        His main book of knowledge is whatsapp and facebook, not britanica, encarta, national geographic, discovery. Typical Malaysian..

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 1
      • Logical Deduction on Apr 03, 2020 at 10:08 pm

        You worry about a flammable liquid in a highly flammable area? Logic mana pegi?

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • STOP WEARING GLOVES! on Apr 03, 2020 at 7:02 pm

    Don’t use gloves, period! Are you healthcare personnel trying to save lives? Just stand by some hand sanitizer to use after you fill your tank, or better still go wash your hands for 20 seconds.

    You touch the pump then you touch your face or your wallet or your credit card, what’s the point. Especially those who buy groceries. You touch the products that you’re going to buy, then you touch your wallet, your money your cards. Then you carry all your groceries home with your gloved hands? What’s the point?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 1
 

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