How to properly remove polyurethane foam from the skin of your hands

When working with polyurethane foam, even the most experienced craftsmen using personal protective equipment can get dirty. For those who are working with this product for the first time, foam will probably get on their hands. But not everyone knows how to remove it from the skin.

To avoid getting foam on your hands, you must work with this material wearing protective gloves. But even when using workwear, it sometimes gets on the skin and you have to decide how to wash the foam from your hands.

Some sources suggest that before work, generously lubricate your hands with Vaseline or greasy cream, to which the foam does not stick well, and it will not be difficult to remove it. But nowhere is it described how convenient it is when all the tools slip out of your hands, and how difficult it is to clean everything that was taken and touched with greasy hands.

Methods for removing liquid construction foam

If polyurethane foam gets on your skin, try to remove it as soon as possible. Under no circumstances should you smear this product on your hand. You should try to remove the stain with a clean napkin or cloth, moving the mixture towards the center of the stain. Residues should be washed off. But this must be done before the composition hardens.

There are several ways to wash foam from your hands:

• Before starting work, it is advisable to stock up on a special aerosol solvent. Ideally, it should be from the same manufacturer as the foam can. The aerosol is applied to the contaminated area and then washed off with plenty of water.Such solvents usually work well with liquid foam, but are powerless against frozen foam.
• You can remove uncured mass with an acetone-based solvent. Use a napkin soaked in solvent to quickly but thoroughly wipe off the foam, and then wash your hands well with soap.
• This sealant can be easily washed off with kerosene. If none of the above is found, then you can try to remove this sealant from the skin using improvised means that are always available at home.
• A good way to wipe off the foam is with a napkin moistened with slightly warmed vegetable oil. This product is harmless to the body. If you are patient and hold the oil on the contaminated area for 20-30 minutes, it will be able to remove even the remnants of frozen foam.
• Regular table salt will help clean your hands well enough from traces of sealant. You need to gently rub the contaminated areas with it, and then wash your hands with soap.
• On the Internet there is a recommendation to use the drug “Dimexide”. Indeed, this preparation dissolves construction foam well, but it cannot be used to clean hands! “Dimexide” is well absorbed and enters the human body through the skin. Like any medicine, it has side effects and taking it without a doctor’s prescription and supervision is highly undesirable.

Using this product you can clean walls and furniture, or remove drops of foam from the floor.

How to get rid of frozen mass

If the polyurethane foam cannot be cleaned off immediately after it gets on your hands, it will harden. Dealing with a frozen mass is much more difficult, since solvents no longer affect it (as the instructions for use warn about).In this case, it is possible to cleanse the skin of contamination only through mechanical action. To do this you need:

1. Lubricate the stained areas generously with cream or sunflower oil. This will somewhat soften the impact on the skin during the foam removal process.
2. Lather generously with pumice or a stiff brush.
3. Trying to injure the skin next to the dirt as little as possible, carefully, slowly, clean off the frozen mixture.

To achieve a greater effect, you can pre-steam your hands in hot water for 10 minutes before cleaning.

After these procedures are completed, it is advisable to lubricate the skin of your hands with a rich cream.

Useful tips

If for one reason or another you were unable to cope with traces of construction foam on your hands, then there is no need to worry too much. After a few days, the dirt will peel off from the skin on its own, as skin cells are constantly renewed.

You cannot use substances containing alkalis or acids (acetic acid, Domestos, etc.) to combat such stains. They will not cope with traces of sealant, and burns on your hands can remain for a long time.

When cleaning hands from polyurethane foam in any way, they are exposed to chemical or physical means. Therefore, after the procedure it is worth taking care of the skin. Hands should be lubricated with nourishing cream. It is desirable that it has regenerating and antiseptic properties (for example, with aloe or ginseng juice).

Preparing to work with construction foam

In order to significantly reduce the likelihood of polyurethane foam getting on your hands, clothes, furniture and floors, you should prepare in advance for this type of work:

• Be sure to wear gloves and safety glasses.
• Clothing should be used that you won’t mind throwing away, because it’s unlikely that the frozen composition will be washed off.
• Be sure to wear a hat. Most often, foam can be removed from hair only together with the hair.
• Covering material for furniture and floors should also be disposable (cardboard, plastic films).
• Special cleaning agents that can be purchased along with polyurethane foam will also come in handy. They can easily wipe away random stains.
• It is advisable to carry out the work with an assistant who can close through holes with cardboard or planks, cover nearby objects, and place protection under an impending drop.

By following these simple rules, you can complete the work quickly and with minimal problems.