What's wrong with my hands

[pitterpat]

I was using some Laticrete thinset today, the kind that is really sticky pookey for walls. Washed my hands befor I left the job and got home tonight washed my hands 3 times with vinegar, and hand soap, and dish washing soap and they still look like this:

How do I get this stuff off, and when I washed my hands in vinegar the back of my palms were kind of tingly, like I had open cuts but I don't have any open cuts. Serious here, palms are covered too.

Pat

[Sponsored Links]

[Theold--scottyb]

Try some bag balm or udder cream. You just have dried out hands. The tingly you were feeling is actually cracks in your skin you cant see but can feel..

[jjwq8]

What's wrong with your hands?

For the time it took to take those snaps they were not washing up or cooking or doing other womanly stuff.

Quit moaning and get back in the kitchen!!!:D :fim:

[sgrandjean]

I'll second Scott's reply on the Udder Cream. That stuff works wonders.

Cheers.

[Rob Z]

Pat,

Just curious, which Laticrete thinset were you using? Laticrete is what we use all the time, and I have just gotten used to the stuff being stuck to my skin. It's probably the latex that is stuck on there, and that's why the vinegar isn't taking it off.

I keep those plumber's hand towel things in the truck, and they seem to take care of most of the gunk that sticks to skin.

[justin savage]

Pat, you should try surgical gloves. We get ours from duluth trading. I use them mostly for grouting , my wife uses them for setting and grouting. justin

[jvcstone]

The udder balm is pretty good stuff. Back in the day when I had my hands in the mud, Corn Huskers lotion worked pretty well also.
JVC

[Shaughnn]

Pat,
I think that before you can use a moisturizer, you'll need to clear your pores. I keep a nylon scrubbing pad in the bed of my truck and use it occasionally with my vinegar to remove the really tough stuff. Maybe that might help you?
Shaughnn
PS: Don't forget to scrub the fingernails also, or the cuticles will crack.

[opiethetileman]

I use victorias Secert on my hnads yeah yeah. I go there to buy starberries and cream hand lotion

[Tool Guy - Kg]

......and of course, pink......

[Shaughnn]

Opie,
My brother, who lives in LA, says that *everybody* there uses Victoria Secret also. He made me try some once and, apart from the aroma, I liked the way it worked. Good stuff if you don't mind smelling like an underwear drawer. :D
Shaughnn

[sdaniels7114]

What is Udder Cream? Besides the fact that cream comes from milk and milk comes out of udders.

btw more than one person I've come across gaged a person's experience in the trades by just how rough their hands were. In a soft hands push pencils, hard hands push thinset trowels, kind of way.

[flatfloor]

I 4th the motion, Bag Balm. :)

[pitterpat]

Rob,

It was the Laticrete Multimax Multipurpose thinset. Works great on the walls and it has great bucket life.

Shaughnn - good idea on the nylon scrubbing pad. I'll try.

Justin - I usually wear those nitrile gloves all the time but the last order I got was an XL , so sometimes they don't fit well. I had some on at first yesterday, ten I got tired of them being a little big so I took them off. On they go again Monday.

Will try the udder balm too. And the Victoria Secret

jjwq8 - Watch it there :) I'll have you to know that on T-day I made an out of sight fried turkey in my new turkey fryer. It was da bomb.

Thanks for all the help

[Hamilton]

As a brand new helper when i was 20 yrs old and working with no
knowledge of the trade and a hatred for rubber gloves i recall sleeping
with bag balm on my raw hands with socks pulled up to my elbows.
Good luck pat. Ill get in line with the others. bag balm should do wonders.

My hands look like that alot when they shed,... but thats just dead skin :yeah:

[scott anthony]

Please no offence taken on this but my hands look like that when I use black grout. It also takes days for it to go away. And bag balm is good stuff if you can bear the stuff. It's like axel grease.

[opiethetileman]

Yeah i hate to grout with black and green grout it sucks to get off your hands. Victorias secert hand lotion is the best it makes me smell SWEET as a babys butt. Good luck pitter Pat. get them hands back will ya.

[Mountain Tile]

I like vaseline intensive care, or landers, I try to use one with petroleum jelly it neutralizes the portland and keeps it from eating away at your skin. If you put it on before you start working it will really help to keep it from getting deep into your skin in the first place. Whatever you decide to use keep a bottle of it in the tool bucket and use it before you stick your hands in the shplutz or wash water with cement in it. Thats another thing keeping clean wash water helps too, using dirty water with thinset or cement in it is worse than the shplutz itself. :)

[Shaughnn]

I'll have to disagree with Chuck on this one. While I'm sure he's correct that putting lotion on your hands prior to working with mortars helps your skin, those lotions will also wash off into your water and *can* adversely affect your mortar or grout. I'm also against coating your trowels with anything, even a light coat of machine oil, for the same reason. I'd much rather have some rust spots on my tools and some cracked skin than have to remove a shower because I introduced substances into the setting bed that caused it to fail. The risk just isn't worth it to me, but I'm timid that way. :)
Shaughnn

[Big AL]

Bag balm works miracles.
Used to use in in the military after long walks (I was in the AF, so we didn't call it marching), anyway, you'd get some pretty bad rashes from all that walkin' and things riding up all day.
Bag Balm clear it up good, real good! :lol2:

For your hands, you may want to try "Fast Orange" to clean em' up with after a job. You can apply it dry right out of the tub, then rinse with very hot water. (hot water opens skin pores). THen apply the Bag Balm while pores are still open.
ANother good stuff like Bag Balm is called "Aquafour"
Used to be by prescription only, but now available over counter at Walgreens.

[Mountain Tile]

Sorry Shaughnn, but don't you think your being a little paranoid there buddy?
Thats ridiculus, that the lotion you put on your hands is going to transfer from your hands to your wash water to your trowel to the thinset your setting the tile in. Are you saying that if you put your hands in the water and clean your trowel in that water you will get what like 1 part per million of petrolium in your thinset and compromise the bond? I'm sorry and I'm not trying to offend you but that's nuts. I've worked with guys who said not to clean or treat your tools with a lubricant like wd-40 and I can understand the reasoning there, your applying a generuos amount directly to your tools. I know other guys who have been doing that for 25 yrs. with no problems in the bonding depatrment. I will occaissonaly clean my trowels and edges with wd-40 and wipe off all the excess with a clean rag, I know what your saying and when it comes to spraying the tools your probably right and maybe I should'nt do it but have been for yrs. with no problems and I'm sure atleast half the pros here do the same, that said, there is no way using hand lotion prior to setting is going to compromise your bond, no way. :suspect:

[Rd Tile]

Surgical gloves, wear em every time I grout, get a box.:)

[Shaughnn]

Chuck,
I'll admit that it's an extreme position to take, but it's the one which I'm most comfortable with. I wouldn't wash my hands, after eating a greasy burrito, in my bucket of wash water and so I don't choose to coat my hands with lubricants either. I guess I'm just particular/peculiar that way? :)
Shaughnn

[Bri]

Pat

Old Italian trick is to put a teaspoon of sugar in one hand, pour a little olive oil into the sugar, and rub your hands together with the mixture. Works great and is all natural. Hands feel great afterwards. Just rinse your hands off to remove the sugar and towel dry. :king:

[Hamilton]

I heard youre done gettin your hands wet Bri... shouldnt be needin that
trick now should ya :D Vinegar works great for takin cement out of your
pores, feels good too. Ill have to try this sugar and olive oil trick... if it dont
work ill just toss a salad or sumthin :rofl:

[dgunnels]

The sugar scrub is a wonderful idea. (All the spa types places are selling sugar scrubs these days. Guess what it is?? :yeah: ) Next, you may need a little help with this or just do one hand at a time, I would apply a liberal, heavy coat of lotion to your hands. Wrap your hands in plastic, shopping bags work great for this. Wrap hands with a heating pad set on low for about 30 minutes. This also works great for those crusty olf feetsies. If you really want to get into this you can purchase special hand heating mitts from a beauty supply place.

[Lazarus]

My biggest gripe is grouting. Never used to wear gloves, but started with the latex, cheap ones. Too thin & break easily and you'll sweat buckets using them. I went to the nitrile gloves and never looked back!

:gerg:

[JTG]

Gloves are the way to go.
I pick mine up at the pharmacy next to the hospital. I use the Latex with no problems. Had a helper that needed to Nitril (blue) ones. A little more expensive.
I don't think I pay more than $10.00 for a box. Has made a big diffenence in the way my hands feel and look. Another thing that has helped is not being in the field over a couple times a week.
JTG :yeah:

[Big AL]

Neesie,
my wife has one of those melted wax dipping tubs for feet and hands.
She (forces) me to rub her feet with lotion, then dip em' and cover with the plastic booties.
After about 10 minutes, peel them off and chuck em'

yep, I'm wipped!! :crazy:


Good thing is that when the booties are on she can't walk around, so that is usually the time I sneak into the kitchen and eat a gallon of ice cream, and all the kids' cookies, when she ain't lookin' ! :yipee:

[dgunnels]

Sounds heavenly Al. If my hubby did that he wouldn't have to sneak out for ice cream or cookies. I'd make sure he had all that stuff before he did my feet. Wow, if both our spouses ever go 'boots up' I won't have to look far.

[Shaughnn]

Nessie,
I'll fight you for him. :D
Shaughnn

[Big AL]

:crazy: :crazy: :crazy: :crazy: :crazy: :crazy:

[John Bridge]

Gee, I wonder if we've finally found a topic too, shall I say "intimate, for the Mud Box?

Naw. :D

[EEEO]

Yep, this one might slip past the "Net Nanny" software. :rofl:

[Marge]

Sheesh, I was sent to "Tile Time Out" for talking about the sizes of niches........

[Mike2]

I'm reporting y'all to the Kinky Ranger. :shake:

[Shaughnn]

Marge,
Just remember, "It's not the width of the niche that matters. Depth is what counts." :P
Shaughnn

[Marge]

Have I not already mentioned you are shameless???

[dgunnels]

Of course, he's shameless. Don't you see how he's trying to muscle in on Big Al.

The real questions is: Have Pat's hand gotten any better? Pat?

[Big AL]

If there is one thing I've learned here it is that you MUST be sure to wrap your niche before getting it wet! :idea:
New use for Kerdi? :loaded:

(moderators: please don't kick me out if I went over the line.) :bow:

[dgunnels]

Could you try wrapping your wife's feet and hands in Kerdi instead of parrafin?

[Big AL]

might be a little expensive.
Also, I'm sure there would be some issue with double vapor barriers or something too. :loaded:

Plus, would I need a modified thinset for that? Or would mastic to the trick.

ok, I'm done...took this one way to far!

[fmrusmc]

On a serious note, if Laticrete contains Latex, you may have a Latex allergy. A blood test will confirm.

[flatfloor]

Chris, why does everybody run to the MD for these expensive tests? Just pull a latex bag over your head, if you wake up in the morning your non-allergic. No wonder medical care is so expensive these days. :rolleyes:

[pitterpat]

Nessie, Hands are better, they don't itch any more. Still a little dry....been doing more tile lately. Thanks for asking. Pat

[dgunnels]

Good :)

[Dave Taylor]

Send us a pic of them healed hands and help gits' this thread back-on-track! :---).

[Tool Guy - Kg]

No, derailment is a whole lot better. :nod: