FRC Safety During COVID-19: Why Sharing FRC and PPE is Risky

Don’t share your arc rated and flame resistant clothing (AR / FR Clothing) - sounds like a given, right? However, as the current health crisis continues to unfold, we want to be sure we are reminding wearers why not sharing clothing is more important than ever.

We’ve explained that COVID-19 can remain viable on our clothing for hours. COVID-19 is spread by respiratory droplets; when an infected person coughs or sneezes, the droplets are transmitted to hard surfaces and fabrics, where they potentially can “live” (remain viable) for days. And, similar to coughing on a person or touching the same hard surfaces as an infected person, sharing clothing, towels, gloves, hats, and other fabrics can also lead to the spread of COVID-19 (and other infectious diseases).

There are 3 main ways that germs can be spread by clothing and fabrics:

1. When clothing and fabric is used by more than 1 person
2. When someone handles dirty laundry of an infected person, they can spread germs onto their hands, infecting themselves and other items they touch
3. When a contagious person handles someone else’s clothing after it is cleaned (standard laundering with detergent and water disinfects COVID-19) but before they wear it.

If you are sharing PPE with someone who is contagious, you can be exposed to their illness by the shared PPE, including clothing.

Therefore, the safest approach is to be careful of all surfaces, wash your hands often, and keep your clothing to yourself, because the truth is, it’s impossible to know everywhere the virus is active - taking extra precautions at home and at work will help to overcome the outbreak.

Tyndale’s website and online retail store are running as normal to ensure that the essential workers we outfit have access to the proper clothing they need. To shop our retail store for your AR / FR clothing needs click here! To login and place an order through your company's managed site click here!