Exam Gloves vs. Cleanroom Gloves: Key Differences You Need to Know

When it comes to gloves, choosing the right type for your environment is crucial. While exam gloves and cleanroom gloves may look similar, they’re engineered for very different purposes.
Testing: Who Takes the Gold?
Exam gloves are designed for medical settings, providing barrier protection against pathogens and contaminants. They’re commonly used by healthcare workers for patient care and handling hazardous substances.
Cleanroom gloves endure rigorous testing for particles, ionic residue, non-volatile residue (NVR), strength, and pinholes (using a water-leak test). Cleanroom gloves are specifically manufactured for environments where maintaining extreme cleanliness is critical, like biotech labs, semiconductor manufacturing, and pharmaceuticals.
Exam gloves, while also tested for strength and pinholes, are designed to meet FDA 510K requirements for medical use.
Manufacturing Standards

Exam gloves follow strict standards for biocompatibility to protect against biological hazards. They must meet criteria set by organizations like the FDA and ASTM for medical safety. Cleanroom gloves, however, go through rigorous testing to ensure minimal particle shedding, low extractable levels, and compliance with ISO classifications. This ensures they won’t introduce contaminants into sensitive environments.
Cleanroom gloves are washed, chlorinated, and rinsed in ultra-filtered deionized water, leaving no trace of contaminants. Exam gloves get a simpler chlorination treatment.
Clean Processing: The Royal Treatment
When comparing these two glove types, the major difference lies in the details such as processing and packaging. Cleanroom gloves are meticulously washed in deionized water, often chlorinated, and double packaged in cleanroom-safe bags. They’re designed to meet stringent cleanliness levels, measured by particles and non-volatile residue (NVR). Exam gloves don’t require the same level of decontamination, making them unsuitable for cleanroom use.
Cleanroom gloves are packaged in a controlled cleanroom environment and sealed in specially manufactured plastic bags, ensuring a pristine state. Exam gloves are typically packaged in cardboard.
What About Material Composition?
Both types may be made from nitrile, latex, or vinyl. However, cleanroom gloves often have special coatings or processes to reduce particulates and ionic contaminants. They prioritize cleanliness and protection. Exam gloves focus on elasticity, protection/puncture resistance, and comfort for medical applications.
Consequences of Using the Wrong Gloves & Critical Reasons to Invest in High-Quality Cleanroom Gloves
Using sub-cleanroom grade gloves or low-quality cleanroom gloves can introduce particles that jeopardize your products, testing accuracy, and employee safety. No matter your industry—whether it’s biotech, pharmaceuticals, microelectronics, automotive, aerospace, or academia—choosing the right cleanroom gloves is critical. Here’s why:
- Reduced Contamination Risk: High-quality gloves minimize the chance of contamination, reducing product recalls, rework, and associated costs.
- Longer Glove Lifespan: Durable gloves are less prone to tearing or damage, lowering the frequency of replacements.
- Increased Productivity: Reliable gloves ensure workers can focus on tasks without disruptions, boosting efficiency.
- Regulatory Compliance: Using gloves that meet stringent standards helps avoid costly fines and production delays.
- Employee Safety: Better protection reduces the risk of workplace injuries, saving on healthcare and insurance costs.
Bottom Line
Selecting the right glove isn’t just about protection—it’s about ensuring the integrity of your work environment. If you’re managing a cleanroom, opt for gloves specifically tested for particle control. In healthcare, prioritize gloves that shield against biological hazards. The right choice can mean the difference between success and costly contamination.
Courtesy of Hi-Tech Conversions
Explore more
- 9 Mil Gloves
- Absorbent Mats
- Absorbent Pads
- Absorbent Pillows
- ACL Staticide
- Adhesives
- Aerospace Application
- Akro-Mils
- Anaerobic Adhesives
- Ansell
- Anti-Fatigue Mats
- Anti-Static
- Anti-Static Bags
- Aprons
- Arm Guards
- Audio
- Aven
- Aven Microscopes
- Aven Mighty Vue
- Aven ProVue Deluxe Magnifying Lamp
- Aven ProVue Magnifying Lamps
- Aven ProVue MAX and ProVue MAX UV
- Aven ProVue SuperSlim Magnifying Lamp
- Aven Stereo Zoom
- Aven Tools
- Aven Wide View Magnifier
- Beard Covers
- Benchtop Ionizers
- Bent Nose Pliers
- Berkshire
- Berkshire Mats
- Berkshire Swabs
- Best Practices for Cleanrooms
- BFN802
- Bins
- Blu-Tek Tweezers
- Botron
- Boufannts
- Bouffant Caps
- Brady
- brady labe
- Brady Label
- Brady Label Printers
- Brady Labels
- Brady Printers
- Brady SPC
- Bubble Tray Liners
- Carbofib Tweezers
- Charge Plate Monitors
- Chef Hats
- Chemical Repackaging
- Chemicals and Cleaners
- Chemtronics
- Chip Quik
- Circuit Board Repair
- CircuitWorks
- Circus
- Class 5
- Cleaning Products
- Cleaning Solder
- Cleaning Wipes
- Cleanroom
- Cleanroom Apparel
- Cleanroom Beard Covers
- Cleanroom Classifications
- Cleanroom Coveralls
- Cleanroom Documentation
- Cleanroom Dry Wipes
- Cleanroom Essentials
- Cleanroom Face Masks
- Cleanroom Frocks
- Cleanroom Gloves
- Cleanroom Gowns
- Cleanroom Labeling
- Cleanroom Mops
- Cleanroom Notebooks
- Cleanroom Paper
- Cleanroom Pens
- Cleanroom PPE
- Cleanroom Presaturated Wipes
- Cleanroom Products
- Cleanroom Protocol
- Cleanroom Safety
- Cleanroom Sticky Mats
- Cleanroom Supplies
- Cleanroom Swabs
- Cleanroom Trash Bags & Liners
- Cleanroom Waste Management
- Cleanroom Wipes
- cleanrooms swabs
- Cloud Based VMI
- Co-Packing
- Coil Cords
- colors
- Columbia Cleanroom
- Conductive
- Conductive Coatings
- Conformal Coating
- Conformal Coating Dots
- Conformal Coating Remover
- Conformal Coating Tapes
- Conformal Coating Thinners
- Contec
- Contec Polynit
- Corstat
- Cotton Swabs
- Coveralls
- Coveralls with Hoods
- Custom Coil Cords
- Custom Thermoforming
- Cutters
- Cyanoacrylate Adhesives
- Degreasers
- Desco Industries
- Desoldering Braids
- Disinfectants
- Dispensing
- Dispensing Nozzles
- Dou Yee
- Dry Wipes
- Dual Port Soldering Station
- Dymax
- E-Z Pik
- Eclipse
- Edge Series Cutters
- EMI/RFI
- Environmentally Safe
- ESCA Tech
- ESCA Tech D-Lead Paint Test Kit
- ESCA Tech PT-KIT-24-1.0 D-Lead Paint Test
- ESD
- ESD Bags
- ESD Boots
- ESD Cleaning Wipes
- ESD Cleanroom Swabs
- ESD Damage
- ESD Equipment
- ESD Explained
- ESD Floor Mats
- ESD Floors
- ESD Footwear
- ESD Garments
- ESD Gloves
- ESD Jackets
- ESD Mats
- ESD Monitors
- ESD Packaging
- ESD Palm Coated Gloves
- ESD Personal Grounding
- ESD Products
- ESD Protection
- ESD Protection in Cleanrooms
- ESD Safe Anti-Fatigue Mats
- ESD Safe Packaging
- ESD Safe Pens
- ESD Safety
- ESD Scissors
- ESD Shielding Bags
- ESD Shoe Covers
- ESD Shoes
- ESD Socks
- ESD Table Mats
- ESD Testers
- ESD Training
- ESD Transport
- ESD Wrist Straps
- Ethyl Adhesives
- Exam Gloves
- Excelta
- Excelta Discounted
- Excelta Pliers
- Excelta Scissors
- Excelta Tweezers
- EZ Grip Black Tweezers
- Face Masks
- Fan Ionizer
- fast wetting
- Field Meters
- Finger Cots
- Flame Retardant
- Flat Nose Pliers
- floor marking
- floor markings
- Flux
- flux cored
- Foam Packaging Material
- FOD Awareness
- Food Industry Apparel
- Food Industry Gloves
- Frocks
- Global Glove
- Gloves
- Gown Room Procedures
- Gowning
- Grounding
- Hairnets
- Hakko
- Hakko FX971
- Hakko FX972
- Hand Held Magnifiers
- Hand Tools
- Healthcare
- Heat Guns
- Heel Grounder
- Heel Grounders
- HexcelPack
- HexcelWrap
- Hi-Tech Conversions
- High Quality Hand Tools
- High Tech Conversion
- High-tech Conversions
- High-Tech Conversions Sticky Mats
- Hourglass Fortis 500
- Hourglass Freestyle 1100 Nitrile Exam Gloves
- Hourglass International
- Hourglass Royal Touch 300
- Humidity Indicator Cards
- Ideal-Tek
- Indium
- Indium 8.9HF
- Indium solder
- Industrial and Kitchen Safety Apparel
- Industrial Bench Magnifiers
- Industrial Gloves
- Industrial Storage
- industrial swabs
- Insulative
- Ionizer
- Ionizing Gun
- IPA
- IPC Expo 2023
- ISO 4
- ISO 5
- ISO 6
- ISO 7
- ISO 8
- ISO Gowns
- Isolation Gowns
- Isopropyl Alcohol
- Jar Solder
- JBC Tools
- JNJ Industries
- Kapton Dots
- Kapton Tape
- Kapton Tape Discounted
- Keystone Arm Guards
- Keystone Beard Covers
- Keystone Safety
- KFM
- Kitting and Assembly
- Kitting Trays
- Kolver
- Label Printers
- Labeling
- labels
- Latex
- Lead Free Solder
- Lead Paint Test Kit
- Lead Solder
- Lead Testing
- Lead-Free Wire Solder
- LFM
- Lindstrom
- Loctite
- Louvered Wall Mount
- Low VOC
- low-spatter
- Magnifying Lamp
- Magnifying Lamps
- Mailers
- Material Handing
- Materials
- Matting
- Medical Grade Gloves
- Medical Storage
- medical swabs
- Metal-In
- Metal-Out
- MG Chemcials Swabs
- MG Chemicals
- MG Chemicals UVLED82
- Microscope Adapter Ring
- Microscopes for Forensics
- Mistakes in Repairing Circuit Boards
- Moisture Barrier Bags
- Moisture Control
- Moisure Barrier Bags
- Mops
- Mr Ouch Labels
- MTE Solutions
- NASE-1C Nano Rework Station
- Needle Nose Pliers
- Nickel Conductive Coating
- Nitrile
- Nitrile Exam Gloves
- No Clean Flux
- No Clean Solder Paste
- Nozzle Tips
- O'Cedar
- O'Cedar Brooms
- O'Cedar Brushes
- O'Cedar Mops
- oven
- Overhead ESD Workstation Solution
- Packaging
- Paint Test Kit
- paste
- PCB Repair
- PCBS
- Permabond
- Permabond 825
- Permabond ET5422
- Personal Grounding
- PFAS-free
- Physical Vapor Deposition
- Pliers
- Polyester Knit Wipes
- Polymide Dots
- Polymide Tape
- Powder Free Nitrile Gloves
- PPE
- Precision Tools
- Precision Tweezers
- Preforms
- Presaturated Wipes
- Production Basics
- profile
- Protektive Pak
- Puritan
- Puritan Swabs
- Purus International Cleanroom Mats
- PVA Nozzle Extension Tip
- PVD
- Quantum Storage
- reflow
- Retractile Cord Manufacturing
- Retractile Cords
- Rework
- robotics
- Roll-O-Matic
- Rosin
- Round Nose Pliers
- RoyalTouch300 Nitrile Exam Gloves
- SAC305
- Safe Degreasers
- Safety Sleeves
- Scissors
- Screwdrivers
- SCS
- Shelf Life of ESD Bags
- Shipping
- Sleeves
- SMS
- Sn63/Pb37
- SN995
- Soder-Wick
- solder
- Solder Evaluation
- Solder Flux
- Solder made in the USA
- Solder Paste
- Solder Stations
- Solder Tips
- Solder Wick
- Solder Wire
- Soldering Materials
- Soldering Station
- Sole Grounders
- Spatulas
- SPC
- Specialty Tweezers
- Spill Control
- Spill Control Products
- Spill Kits
- Sponge Roller Mops
- Static Control
- Static Control Gloves
- Static Dissipative
- Static Shielding
- Static Shielding Bags
- Static Wipes
- Steel Pliers
- Steinel
- Steinel Professional Heat Guns
- Stencil Rolls
- Stencil WIpes
- Stereo Microscopes
- Sticky Mats
- Stocked Items
- Storage
- Storage Bins
- Storage Systems
- Superwick
- Surface and Mat Cleaner
- Surface Resistivity Meters
- swabs
- Tack Flux
- Tacky Floor Mat Placement
- Tacky Mats
- Tacky Traxx
- Techspray
- Teknipure
- TekniSwabs
- Test for Lead Paint Kit
- Thermal Interface
- Thermaltronics
- Titanium Blue Tweezers
- Titanium Tweezers
- Tools
- Top 10 Selling Products
- Top Selling Products at MTE Solutions
- Totes
- Transforming Technologies
- Transforming Technologies ESD Mats
- Tronex
- Tweezers
- Understencil Wiping
- Unitron
- Universal Snap Kit
- UV LED Adhesive
- UVLED82
- Vileda Professional
- Virtu-Clean
- Vision Luxo
- Wall Storage
- Water Soluble Flux
- WAVE
- What are ESD Gloves
- What is ESD
- Winter
- Winter Protection
- Wipers
- Wipes
- Work Bench
- Work Station
- Workbenches
- Wrenches
- Wrist Straps