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How to care for your armor products during the coronavirus pandemic

Follow these guidelines to make sure you’re properly protecting yourself and your gear

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In order to prevent exposure and illness, it is critical for first responders to frequently and thoroughly disinfect all armor equipment.

image/Safariland

Content provided by Safariland

The Safariland Group’s mission, “Together, We Save Lives,” is inherent in the lifesaving and protective products it delivers.

During this unpreceded time, Safariland intends to further this mission by supporting law enforcement and military agencies who are out on the front lines, selflessly exposing themselves to the potentially deadly respiratory disease COVID-19, caused by the fast-spreading novel coronavirus.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, there is currently no vaccine to prevent COVID-19, and the agency warns that the virus can remain infectious on hard surfaces, such as plastic and steel, for up to three days.

In order to prevent exposure and illness, it is critical for first responders to frequently and thoroughly disinfect all armor equipment.

Important guidelines on how to properly clean and disinfect Safariland armor products including ballistics, carriers, hard armor plates, shields and helmets.

  • Visibly dirty surfaces should be cleaned using a detergent or soap and water prior to disinfection.
  • Refer to Safariland Use and Care for cleaning information on armor ballistics and carriers.
  • Do not use aerosols, such as Lysol, on Safariland armor products. Aerosols may negatively affect the ballistic material reducing the performance of the product.
  • Use only EPA-registered disinfectant wipes. Use only wipes that don’t contain bleach.
  • Refer to the disinfectant label for the required contact time, the product shelf life and all safety instructions prior to handling and use.
  • The surface should remain visibly wet for the prescribed contact time in order to produce disinfection. Note: If the surface is not kept wet for the appropriate amount of time needed to kill the microorganisms, it is possible to spread microorganisms with the wipe.
  • It may be necessary to use more than one wipe to keep the surface wet for the recommended contact time.
  • After the prescribed disinfectant contact time, the surface may be wiped dry or be allowed to air dry.

For questions or concerns about properly disinfecting Safariland duty gear products, please refer to Safariland’s COVID-19 update

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