Any suggestions?

[britishbandit]

Ok, I'm going insane!!!

I work in a factory, and 95% of the time I drive a fork truck, rarely, I have to run a machine. Anyhoo, driving means I have to set up and touch dirty disgusting bins all day...YUM YUM. On top of that, I have to peel of hundreds (maybe even thousands) of lables off of these bins. This is where my problem lies.

I try and wear gloves most of the time, but I cannot remove all these labels with them on. They get stuck to them, and it's just ridiculous. I've tried numerous types of gloves, and forget it, it's just too fast paced in there to fumble around with them.

So, I've been out and bought 4 different kinds of industrial hand cleaner, none of which work worth a .........

I asked around at work today and the only suggestion I got other than what I've tried was to use paint thinner! Now if this only happened once in a blue moon, I'd be more likely to try this out, but I don't particlarly think it's a good thing or something I would want to soak my hands in daily (if it did actually work).

Any suggestions on other things I can try? I absolutely HATE my hands being dirt stained. Even "clean" they look dirty, the oil and grease just seems to inbed itself into the grooves of my hands and fingers, and no amount of scrubbing seems to help unless I start taking off layers of skin....OUCH.....which I have done out of frustration on occasion. I even feel embarrased about them when I am paying for something at a store, constantly trying to hide my hands in my sleeves and such. I also am standing in my friends wedding in July, and definately don't want to be standing in a bridesmaid dress, with hands that look like I just did an oil change on a car!

[fancychicken]

I know this may sound strange...but try hand lotion..there is something in it..the lanolin maybe that breaks down goo and dirt. Worth a shot anyway...

[Punkygirl0101]

Baking soda paste. My friend's father works on car engines, and his hands get very, very greasy. He makes a paste with baking soda, scrubs his hands with it. Lets it sit there and dry (I know it will feel annoying, like when you put a mud mask on your face.) and then rinses..and his hands smell nice, and are clean. After you do that, put hand lotion on. And you are good to go!

[calgal]

Murphy's oil will do the trick, and not dry your hands. In the meantime use plenty of good hand cream and wear surgical gloves. Try and keep them on all the time your working. Your hands will be in great shape for the wedding.

[britishbandit]

Thanks you guys.

Fancychicken, I've tried hand lotion, in fact on occasion (because my hands also get really dried out at work), I go to bed wearing latex gloves over a generous amount of hand lotion. LOL It helps with the dryness, but not with the removal of dirt. There really must be something special in Windsor dirt...HAHA.

Punkygirl - That sounds great, but baking soda will dry my hands out even more than they already are. I use hand lotion numerous times a day, and still have dry hands.

Calgal - I think I have some Murphys oil somewhere. I'll give that a try, I like that it won't dry out my hands, I actually think it'll help mosturize them! And I've tried surgical gloves. Those thin enough that I can actually grab a hold of these labels, rip the second I try and get the labels unstuck...LOL. Also sometimes the labels are stuck on really "good", and I have to pick at them with my nails to "start" peeling them up. Then my finger just pierces straight through the glove. It just seems impossible unless I can find something that will clean my hands good. As I said it is a very fast paced environment, and if I had the time to keep replacing gloves everytime I had to peel labels off, I would do so. But, it's not possible. Somedays I don't even have time for a break, which doesn't bother me cause I'm sitting for the most part anyway, but gloves would also start getting REALLY expensive if I had to break open a new pair each time. In an 8 hour shift, I'd likely need to go through at least 50 pairs. And that's putting it lightly.

Ok, I'm off to hunt down that Murphy's oil!

[rmci]

Lava soap works well but is abrasive. My hubby uses an Orange soap (can't remember the name) that's less abrasive and it works fairly well.

[ewarp]

When I was driving tractors daily (and doing the included maintenance) I used a soap sold by John Deere- it's orange scented and exfoliating. At worst, go get a manicure before the wedding.

Would it be possible to use something like a putty spreader or a paint scraper to take the labels off? That way you wouldn't need to get your hands dirty.

[calgal]

Your going to HAVE to wear those tight surgical gloves and STOP digging with your nails!!! Mom here. Anyway, please wear the gloves. You can get a box of 400 very cheap at either the hospital or drug store. Put small bandaids over your nails if you have to, anything to save them so you don't pick at things. Carry something else that you can scrape with. Anyway it's the only way your going to have nice looking hands and nails. As the saying goes.........you have to suffer to be beautiful.

[melaniec]

maybe try useing two pairs of the powder free synthetic exam gloves double them up 2 pairs on each hand and see if that works there pretty strudy as we wear them for nurseing when takeing care of someone and they would be thin enough to grab the labels

[Dogsareme]

Try "Fast Orange".
My dad uses it and you can't tell he has been working on greasy heavy duty trucks all day. And its not harsh on your hands either. Also Turpentine. It works great, though it smells incredibly horrible, it leaves the hands sparkling. But make sure if you use Turpentine to have something else to put on your hands because they stink for hours.

Heres a link for fast orange products. Believe me it works great.
http://www.permatex.com/brand_fast_orange.htm

[britishbandit]

Thanks a bunch you guys. I'm sure I'll find something that works out of the list! I have tried that orange cleaner, that was one of the industrial ones I bought. Smells awesome and has a gritty feel to it! I'll continue to use that just cause of the smell, but it doesn't do too good on the dirt problem.

[fancychicken]

New Job?? lol..just a thought..yucky ..manual labor. !!!

[britishbandit]

I agree, but right now, unless I go to college or university, I wouldn't find a job that pays what I get here. And unfortunately, I'm stuck. If I quit, I lose my house, and I don't want that. I fully plan on starting some schooling within the next 6 months, but I'm still a ways off from being able to leave the yucky manual labour. But who knows, maybe I'll win the lottery before long! hahaha But I'd still do schooling regardless though, would just have the tuition faster.

[DogLover8]

Wish you good luck finding a better job.