For most drain and sewer calls, the best nitrile gloves are the AMMEX Gloveworks HD Orange, an 8 mil disposable glove with a raised diamond grip. When you need a glove that survives more than one job, or you are working near drain openers, step up to the reusable SHOWA 730 (15 mil, 13 in.). For sewage and standing water, the SHOWA 737 (22 mil, 15 in.) is the heavy-duty rubber glove to keep on the truck.
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Gloves are the cheapest part of a drain call and the part people skimp on first. If you run a cable machine, see our sewer machine guide for the machine side; this page covers what goes on your hands while the cable is in the line.
Nitrile gloves compared
Five gloves cover almost every plumbing glove job. Two are disposable. Three are reusable chemical-rated gloves you rinse, dry and keep until they wear.
| Check | Gloveworks HD Orange | Gloveworks Black | SHOWA 730 | SHOWA 737 | SHOWA 772 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type | Disposable | Disposable | Reusable, flock lined | Reusable, unlined | Reusable, fully coated sleeve |
| Thickness | 8 mil | 6 mil | 15 mil | 22 mil | Not listed by maker |
| Length | Wrist (check listing) | Wrist (check listing) | 13 in. | 15 in. | Full sleeve |
| Chemical rating | No EN 374 rating listed | No EN 374 rating listed | EN ISO 374-1 Type A, JKLOPT; 374-5 | EN ISO 374-1 Type A, JKLOPT; 374-5 | EN ISO 374-1 Type B, JKL; 374-5 |
| Best job | Snaking, trap and toilet pulls | Clean service work, fixture swaps | Drain openers, descaler, cleanup | Sewage backups, ejector pits | Reaching into a toilet or pit |
| Exact purchase | Check Gloveworks Orange 8 mil on Amazon → | Check Gloveworks Black 6 mil on Amazon → | Check SHOWA 730 on Amazon → | Check SHOWA 737 on Amazon → | Check SHOWA 772 on Amazon → |
How to choose nitrile gloves for plumbing
Four numbers on the box tell you most of what you need. Read them before you buy a case.
Mil thickness
Thickness is measured in mils, or thousandths of an inch. A thin 3 to 4 mil exam glove tears on the first sharp burr. For drain work, 6 to 8 mil is the useful disposable range. AMMEX rates its Gloveworks HD orange and green gloves at 8 mil and markets them for plumbing and sanitation work. Reusable gloves start around 15 mil. OSHA’s PPE guide puts it simply: the thicker the glove material, the greater the chemical resistance, but thick gloves cost you grip and feel.
Cuff length
Measure from the tip of your middle finger to where you want the glove to stop. A disposable glove ends at the wrist. That is fine for pulling a P-trap. It is not fine for reaching into a closet bend. A 13 in. glove like the SHOWA 730 covers the forearm. The 15 in. SHOWA 737 is a gauntlet that keeps water out when your hand goes into a floor drain or a bucket.
Chemical rating
Look for EN ISO 374-1 on reusable gloves. The letters after it name the test chemicals the glove resisted. SHOWA’s chemical guide gives the key: J is n-heptane, K is 40% caustic soda, L is sulfuric acid, O is ammonium hydroxide, P is hydrogen peroxide and T is formaldehyde. Type A means at least six of those chemicals took more than 30 minutes to break through.
Type B means at least three. Drain openers are usually caustic or acid, so K and L are the two letters to look for in drain work. Check the drain opener’s own label and SDS before you trust any glove with it.
Virus marking
EN ISO 374-5 is the micro-organism standard. A glove marked for viruses passed that penetration test. All three SHOWA gloves here list it. Sewage carries bacteria and viruses, so on a backup or ejector job that marking is worth having. It does not make a torn glove safe.
Size
Measure around your palm below the knuckles. A glove that is too big folds at the fingertips and catches on cable. Too small and it splits at the web of the thumb. SHOWA sells the 730 from 6/XS to 11/XXL. The 737 starts at 9/L, so smaller hands should look at the 730.
BEST DISPOSABLE · 8 MIL, RAISED DIAMOND GRIP
AMMEX Gloveworks HD Orange: the 8 mil drain-call glove
Choose it when you want one disposable glove for snaking sinks, pulling toilets and swapping traps. AMMEX lists the HD orange at 8 mil with a raised diamond texture that it says channels liquid away for grip. The bright orange also makes a split easy to spot in a dark cabinet. AMMEX lists plumbing, sanitation and chemical work among its uses.
It is latex free. The Amazon listing we link is the Gloveworks orange 8 mil nitrile in a box of 100, sold by size. It does not show an AMMEX item code, so check that the color and the 8 mil thickness match before you order.
A disposable glove is a splash and grime barrier. It is not a chemical-rated glove. AMMEX does not publish an EN 374 rating for it in the sheet we read, so do not use it with a caustic drain opener.
Skip it if you will have your hands in standing sewage for more than a few minutes, or if the job involves drain openers. Use the SHOWA 737 or 730 instead.
CLEAN SERVICE WORK · 6 MIL BLACK
AMMEX Gloveworks Black: 6 mil glove for fixture work
Choose it when the job is cleaner: faucet swaps, supply lines, a water heater hookup. AMMEX lists the black Gloveworks nitrile at 6 mil. The Amazon listing we link is the Gloveworks black 6 mil diamond-textured nitrile in a box of 100, sold by size. That glove keeps more feel for small fittings than an 8 mil glove. Black hides dirt, which matters when you are in a customer’s kitchen.
Skip it if the work is mostly drain cleaning. The thinner glove tears sooner on cable and cast iron edges, and black hides a split. The orange HD is the better drain glove.
BEST REUSABLE · 15 MIL, 13 IN., EN ISO 374-1 TYPE A
SHOWA 730: chemical-rated nitrile you can keep
Choose it when you handle drain openers, descaler or cleanup chemicals, or you just want a glove that lasts a week. SHOWA lists the 730 as 100% nitrile, 15 mil, 13 in. long, with a cotton flock liner and a bisque finish for wet grip. It carries EN ISO 374-1 Type A with the codes JKLOPT, EN ISO 374-5, and EN 388 abrasion and tear codes. Sizes run 6/XS to 11/XXL.
Skip it if your hand goes deeper than the forearm, or you will be working in water that can run over the cuff. The 15 in. 737 or the sleeve-length 772 fit those jobs.
BEST HEAVY-DUTY RUBBER GLOVE · 22 MIL, 15 IN.
SHOWA 737: the sewage glove
Choose it when you are pumping out an ejector pit, cleaning up a sewer backup or reaching into a flooded floor drain. SHOWA lists the 737 at 22 mil and 15 in. long, unlined, with EN ISO 374-1 Type A (JKLOPT) and EN ISO 374-5 virus protection. Unlined means it dries faster inside and you can turn it out to rinse it.
Skip it if you have small hands. SHOWA makes it only in 9/L through 11/XXL. Skip it for fine work too; 22 mil is thick enough that threading a nut by feel gets hard.
FOR REACHING IN · FULLY COATED SLEEVE
SHOWA 772: when your arm goes into the fixture
Choose it when you have to reach into a toilet trapway, a sump or a pit to pull an object out. SHOWA describes the 772 as a cut-and-sewn glove with a fully coated nitrile sleeve and a double-coated palm. It lists EN ISO 374-1 Type B (JKL), EN ISO 374-5, and EN 388 code 4111X. Sizes are 8/M, 9/L and 10/XL. The maker page we read does not list the length, so check it on the listing before you buy.
Skip it for ordinary drain calls. It is a lined, cut-and-sewn glove, so once sewage gets inside the sleeve it is done.
Rubber gloves heavy duty: latex, nitrile or something else
People say “rubber gloves” for any thick glove. The material matters more than the word.
- Natural rubber (latex). OSHA’s PPE guide says latex gloves are comfortable and protect against most water solutions of acids, alkalis, salts and ketones. It also warns that latex has caused allergic reactions in some people. If anyone on the crew, or the customer, has a latex allergy, stay with nitrile.
- Nitrile. OSHA lists nitrile for oils, greases, acids, caustics and alcohols. It is generally not recommended for strong oxidizers, aromatic solvents, ketones and acetates. OSHA’s own chart rates nitrile poor against acetone.
- What that means on a job. Read the SDS for the primer, cement, solvent or drain opener. If it lists acetone or another ketone, a nitrile glove is the wrong barrier for anything more than a brief splash. Change gloves as soon as you get solvent on them.
SHOWA’s chemical guide makes one more point worth remembering. Degradation shows: the glove swells, stiffens or changes color. Permeation does not. A glove can look fine while a chemical passes through it. Treat the breakthrough time on the rating as a limit, not a target.
Glove habits on drain and sewage jobs
- Inspect before each use. OSHA’s guide says to check gloves for tears and punctures before you put them on. For reusable gloves, trap air in the glove, twist the cuff and squeeze to find pinholes.
- Double up on dirty calls. Many plumbers wear a disposable nitrile under a reusable glove. If the outer glove splits, the inner one buys you time to stop.
- Take them off inside out. Peel the first glove off by the cuff, ball it in the gloved hand, then slide a bare finger under the second cuff. Wash your hands after, gloves or not.
- Rinse and dry reusables. Rinse the outside with clean water while you still have them on, then hang them cuff down. Retire any glove that has gone soft, sticky or cracked.
- Know when to stop. A sewage backup that has soaked drywall, carpet or a whole basement is a cleanup and restoration job. A main line that keeps backing up needs a licensed plumber to find the cause. A pump that will not keep up may be the wrong pump; see sewage ejector vs sump pump.
If you use a jetter or a drum machine, gloves are only part of the setup. A loose glove near a turning cable can be caught, so follow the machine manual on what to wear. Our guide to cable machines vs jetters covers the machines themselves.
Nitrile gloves FAQ
What mil nitrile gloves should a plumber use?
For disposable gloves on drain calls, 6 to 8 mil is the practical range. AMMEX rates its Gloveworks HD orange glove at 8 mil. For chemical work or sewage, use a reusable nitrile glove of 15 mil or more, such as the SHOWA 730 at 15 mil or the SHOWA 737 at 22 mil.
Are nitrile gloves good for sewage?
A thick reusable nitrile glove is a good choice for sewage. Look for EN ISO 374-5, the micro-organism standard, and a cuff long enough that water cannot run in. The SHOWA 737 is 22 mil, 15 inches long and lists EN ISO 374-5. Thin disposable gloves are only a short-term barrier.
Can I use nitrile gloves with drain cleaner?
Use a chemical-rated glove, not a disposable one. Drain openers are usually caustic or acid. The SHOWA 730 and 737 list EN ISO 374-1 codes K (40 percent caustic soda) and L (sulfuric acid). Read the drain opener label and SDS first, and add goggles.
Are nitrile gloves better than latex for plumbers?
For most plumbing work, yes. OSHA notes that latex gloves have caused allergic reactions in some people, and nitrile resists oils, greases, acids and caustics. Latex holds up better against ketones such as acetone, so check the SDS when you work with solvents.
How long should a reusable nitrile glove last?
There is no fixed number of uses. Inspect it before each job and retire it when it has a pinhole, has gone soft or sticky, or has cracked. A glove can let a chemical through without looking damaged, so replace it after heavy chemical contact.
How we chose
This is a document-based comparison from a licensed plumber’s point of view. We read maker product pages and spec sheets for each glove, the SHOWA chemical guide for the EN ISO 374 letter codes, and OSHA’s hand protection rule and PPE guide for material advice. We picked gloves with published thickness and ratings and left out gloves whose makers do not publish them. Sources and linked listings were read October 14, 2026; sellers and availability change. We do not publish prices or claim hands-on testing. More about our selection method and Plumbing Picks.
Primary sources
- AMMEX Gloveworks industrial nitrile sheet (ammex.com): GWON and GWGN 8 mil raised diamond, GWBN 6 mil black, test methods
- AMMEX: Gloveworks HD Nitrile (blog.ammex.com): 8 mil HD orange and green, raised diamond texture, plumbing and sanitation uses, latex free
- SHOWA 730 product data sheet (showagroup.com): 15 mil, 13 in., flock liner, EN ISO 374-1 Type A JKLOPT, EN ISO 374-5, sizes
- SHOWA 737 product page (showagroup.com): 22 mil, 15 in., unlined, EN ISO 374-1 Type A JKLOPT, EN ISO 374-5, sizes 9 to 11
- SHOWA 772 product page (showagroup.com): fully coated sleeve, EN ISO 374-1 Type B JKL, EN ISO 374-5, EN 388 4111X, sizes
- SHOWA chemical protection guide (PDF) (showagroup.com): EN ISO 374-1 letter codes, Type A/B/C definitions, EN ISO 374-5, permeation vs degradation
- OSHA 29 CFR 1910.138 Hand protection (osha.gov): employer must select hand protection based on the task and hazards
- OSHA 3151 Personal Protective Equipment (PDF) (osha.gov): nitrile and latex guidance, latex allergy, thickness vs resistance, glove inspection