How do Latex Gloves were produced?
Latex is the most popular and oldest material used in making disposable gloves. But in recent times, latex is replaced by nitrile and vinyl. But still, now latex is used by Latex gloves manufacturers in medical applications for its efficiency.
History of latex
The basic raw material for latex
gloves manufacture has brasiliensis, also known as the Para rubber tree. It is native to Brazil and
Guianas. The cultivation of rubber is very common throughout pre-Columbian
Central and South America. Aztecs and Mayans used it for making shoes and balls
for playing games.
Joseph Priestley coined the term rubber in the 1770s as it could be used
to rub the pencil marking. Rubber is very slow to catch globally as it was
temperamental to work with. During hot climatic conditions, it becomes sticky,
and in cold weather, it becomes brittle. Today most of the natural rubber comes
from India, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam.
Tapping a rubber tree
Rubber trees are usually ready to tap after seven years. A device known
as a steel taping knife is used to peel the thin strip of the bark of a tree.
It was mainly cut downward. As soon as a cut is done, a milky white sap starts
coming out from the tree. This sap is collected into a cup attached to the
tree. This process is done in the early morning; as the temperature rises, the
flow becomes slow.
After about six hours, the fluids stop. In that period, the tree usually
fills gallons of buckets. The latex is then preserved with ammonium. It has a
high concentration of water and nonrubber content. Furthermore, it contains 70%
of water, resins, ash, glycosides, and sugar. The latex is then mixed with
different chemicals, and after 36 hours, it matures to become compound and
ready for dipping.

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