Safety Equipment Women Would Actually WANT to Wear
#HVACGirlProblems
By Karen DeSousa, Co-Owner, Advance Air and Heat, Confessions of an HVAC Chick blog
I think we can all agree that HVAC work can be hazardous to your health if you're not careful and smart. But it's not enough to just have safety equipment. That equipment has to be PRACTICAL and COMFORTABLE enough to ACTUALLY USE in the field. If you can't get the work done with the safety equipment on, it's not going to help anyone. Women have it especially hard, because safety equipment is generally not made to fit us. Fortunately, there ARE options out there made specifically for women, if you know where to look. I found a couple of websites that had equipment that would not only work, but that I would actually WANT to wear.
Assisted by my salesperson from Grainger, I went on a hunt to find safety equipment made for women that met two important criteria:
Assisted by my salesperson from Grainger, I went on a hunt to find safety equipment made for women that met two important criteria:
- It has to be something I'd actually enjoy wearing.
- NOT PINK. (This was my own stipulation stemming from my own personal bias which made the search even harder. Pink is a popular color for women's safety equipment. But don't be fooled, many manufacturers mistakenly think that if you take men's safety equipment and paint it pink, it automatically makes it "women's safety equipment." Not so, folks.)
It also had to be fully functional safety stuff. Since that was like a "duh, obviously" criterion, I didn't actually include it in my list. So here's a short list of what we came up with (they're all clickable links, so if you see something you like, click away!)
Thesse are steel toed and yet still awesomely stylish and comfortable. YAY!
Safety glasses that you could wear in the car, on the beach, in a boiler room or on a rooftop.
Look at this sexy welding jacket! I'd wear that thing out.
Aaand my absolute favorite. Yup. Cowboy hard hat. It not only looks dashing, it also does an even better job keeping the sun off you...and your horse.
There's lots more out there, but these were some of my personal favorites. It was a fun search and productive because I actually found some really cool sites that had some great offerings for women. I was pleased to find that Grainger's website was quite female-friendly. Two other excellent sites specifically for women included www.SafetyGirl.com and www.CharmAndHammer.com.
Don't be afraid to ask your employer for the safety equipment you need. It's in your employer's best interest to make sure you stay safe in the field, but they may simply buy in bulk without realizing that what works for the masses may not work for you. It's up to you to find out what works for you and ask for it. Stay safe out there!
Don't be afraid to ask your employer for the safety equipment you need. It's in your employer's best interest to make sure you stay safe in the field, but they may simply buy in bulk without realizing that what works for the masses may not work for you. It's up to you to find out what works for you and ask for it. Stay safe out there!