Plumbers
Workwear and PPE for plumbing and heating: coveralls, bump caps for under-sink work, nitrile and PVC gloves, and wellingtons for a flooded floor.
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Plumbers — common questions
Straight answers about what we stock, how it is sold and which standard applies.
Why a bump cap rather than a helmet?
Because the hazard is what you sit up into. A bump cap protects against banging your head on a pipe, a boiler casing or the underside of a sink, which is the injury plumbers actually get. It is NOT a substitute for a helmet certified to EN 397 anywhere a site specifies head protection, and it is not designed for falling objects.
Which gloves survive flux, solvent cement and jointing compound?
Nitrile for general handling, because it resists more chemicals than latex and contains no natural rubber. PVC gauntlets where you need length and the work is sustained and wet. For anything with a named hazardous substance, read its safety data sheet and match the breakthrough time rather than trusting the words chemical resistant on a label.
Do I need waterproof footwear?
For a leak or a flooded plant room, yes, and wellingtons certified to EN ISO 20345 give you a toecap as well as keeping water out. For ordinary domestic work most plumbers wear a safety shoe or trainer, which is easier on carpets and in and out of a van.
What about kneeling all day?
Trousers with knee pad pockets and pads bought separately are the usual answer, and they are in the Workwear section under Trousers. Knee damage is cumulative and the pads are the cheapest PPE on this site.
