Grime, Grease and Garbage: Heavy-Duty Hand Cleaning for Sanitation Crews

A sanitation shift ends with hands that look like a mechanic’s. Hydraulic fluid from the packer. Grease from the cans. Black grime from the hopper edge that will not come off with the soap in the yard bathroom. So people reach for whatever works: the degreaser from the shop, a splash of diesel, a wire brush. The grime comes off. A week later the hands are split at every knuckle.

This post is about getting heavy soil off at the end of the shift without wrecking your skin, and what to put back on afterward.

What the job does to your skin

Your skin’s outer layer is thin. It holds water in and keeps a lot of chemicals out, as long as it stays intact. Grease, fuel, cleaning chemicals and hours in wet gloves all wear that layer down.

NIOSH says contact dermatitis is the most common work-related skin disease, making up an estimated 90 to 95 percent of cases in the United States. It shows up as red, dry, itchy or cracked skin, usually on the hands. OSHA adds that most chemicals are readily absorbed through the skin, often without you noticing.

Cracked hands are not just sore hands. They sting when you wash, so you wash less. They are harder to keep clean, and they let more in.

Why solvents and shop degreasers are the wrong soap

A physician’s guide from CPWR, the construction safety research center, lists solvents as a cause of both dry skin and irritant contact dermatitis. It also lists abrasive cleaners and harsh alkaline soaps. Solvents strip oil. That includes the natural oils that keep your skin together.

Diesel, gasoline and parts-washer fluid are made to dissolve grease off metal, not off people. Leave them on the shop shelf.

What to watch for

• Tight, shiny or flaky skin across the backs of the hands.
• Cracks at the fingertips and knuckles, especially in winter.
• Red, itchy patches that clear up on vacation and come back on the job.
• Stinging when you wash. That is a sign the skin barrier is already open.
• Cracks that bleed, ooze or get swollen and warm. See a clinician for those.

The end-of-shift wash-up

• Wipe first. Take the worst grease off with a clean shop towel before you get to the sink.
• Use a hand cleaner made for grease. Wet your hands and work in a pumice hand cleaner. Get the knuckles, between the fingers, around the nails and the wrists.
• Scrub firm, not hard. Let the cleaner do the work. You are not sanding a fender.
• Rinse well. Leftover cleaner on skin dries it out.
• Dry completely. Pat, do not rub raw. Wet hands in cold wind crack fast.
• Moisturize right away. More on that below.

We make I.C. Heavy Duty Hand Cleaner for the yard sink. Pumice scrubbers and cleansers strip tar, oil, grease and carbon. It is solvent-free, with no hydrocarbon solvents, and it is silicone-free. Benzalkonium chloride is the antibacterial active, and a lemon deodorizer handles the smell the route leaves on your hands.

Pumice is there for heavy soil. Use it at the end of the shift or after a messy job. If your hands are already raw, go easy on the scrub for a few days and let the skin settle.

Some people’s skin reacts to fragrance. If that is you, the CPWR guide’s advice is to avoid products with known skin sensitizers. Talk to your supervisor about a fragrance-free option for your station.

Put something back on

Washing takes oil out of the skin. Something has to go back in. The American Academy of Dermatology says to apply hand cream or ointment right after washing, while skin is still slightly damp, and to work it into the fingertips and nails. Dermatologists also suggest fragrance-free and dye-free products for dry, chapped skin.

I.C. Advanced Repair Hand Cream is a dimethicone skin protectant (dimethicone 4%). It helps prevent and temporarily protects chafed, chapped or cracked skin. It is fragrance-free, which is what dermatologists suggest for dry, chapped hands.

Best times to use it:

• Right after the end-of-shift wash.
• Before bed, when your hands get eight hours off.
• On days off, when cracks have a real chance to close up.

Small habits that save your hands

• Wear gloves that fit, and swap them when they are soaked through. Wet gloves soften skin and make it crack.
• Do not let grease sit on your skin all shift. A quick wipe at breaks helps.
• Keep the yard sink stocked. People skip a wash when the dispenser is empty.
• Do not use the shop degreaser on your hands. Ever.
• Get a clinician to look at cracks that will not heal or a rash that keeps coming back.

On the route itself, when there is no sink, a no-rinse cleaner does the job until you get back. See our hand care page for waste management crews for the full truck and yard kit.

FAQ

Why not just use the degreaser? It works.

It works on grease. It also strips the natural oils in your skin. CPWR’s physician guide lists solvents as a cause of dry skin and irritant contact dermatitis. A hand cleaner made for skin gets the grease off without the solvent.

How often should I use a pumice hand cleaner?

Use it when your hands are greasy or heavily soiled, usually at the end of the shift. For lighter washes during the day, a gentle hand cleaner is enough. Over-scrubbing raw skin makes it worse.

Will hand cream make my gloves slip?

Put cream on after the shift and before bed, when your gloves are off for the day. That is when it does the most good anyway.

Sources

• CDC/NIOSH, Skin Exposures and Effects (contact dermatitis 90 to 95 percent of occupational skin disease): https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/skin-exposure/about/index.html
• OSHA, Dermal Exposure overview (chemicals readily absorbed through skin): https://www.osha.gov/dermal-exposure
• CPWR / eLCOSH, Physician’s Alert: Skin Conditions (solvents, abrasive cleaners, alkaline soaps, sensitizers): https://www.elcosh.org/document/62/d000281/Physician%2527s+Alert%253A+Skin+Conditions.html
• American Academy of Dermatology, Dry skin relief from handwashing: https://www.aad.org/public/everyday-care/skin-care-basics/dry/coronavirus-handwashing
• R&R Lotion product data: I.C. Heavy Duty Hand Cleaner (benzalkonium chloride 0.13%, pumice, fragrance); I.C. Advanced Repair Hand Cream Drug Facts (dimethicone 4.0%).