I’ve talked before about my complex relationship with doing dishes. It is one of those 
chores, like doing laundry, that is never ending; even if you clean all of them, there will still be more tomorrow. To lessen my “begrudge-ness,” I have found ways to proactively make my experience less painful. I have an iPod speaker in the kitchen with several “Dishwashing Playlists” ready to be queued up. I have an unlikely arsenal (which I’ll talk about on Thursday) of tools that help make the process easier. The most crucial tool in my dishwashing toolbox, however, are my Casabella Waterstop Premium Rubber Gloves
Maybe you’ve seen them before at your local Bed, Bath, and Beyond. Maybe you think that gloves are an unnecessary extravagance. Maybe you enjoy drying out your hands and touching caked-on leftovers. Who is to say? But, for me, I would rather my dishes soak in the water than my hands.
For years, I used the standard yellow, Playtex Handsaver Gloves that are available everywhere, but I always wound up with just as much water INSIDE my gloves as in the sink by the end of my chore. Whether I was reaching too deep in the sink or raising my arms to grab something, water would inevitably seep into my gloves kind of defeating the purpose. Not only that, but after storing them under the sink for the next time, they always came out still wet inside or, at the very least, uncomfortably damp.
I know I’m weird. I have a thing about touching skeevy textures. I love the taste of ribs and chicken wings, but eating them with my hands makes me shudder. So, you can 
imagine that putting my hands into cold, damp gloves was not my favorite thing to do. I had pretty much resigned myself to my weirdness when I came across the Casabella gloves at Bed, Bath, and Beyond. At first, I blanched at paying $7.00 for a pair of dishwashing gloves, but after using them for over four months, I happily went back for another pair. And then another pair after that, and so on and so forth until I can afford for someone else to do my dishes.
These gloves have an awesome feature that your standard dishwashing gloves do not. Not only do they have awesome grippers, are specifically tapered for a great fit, but (the piece de resistance) is a clever “self-folding cuff.” You simply pull the gloves on and flip the cuff over at its indented line and you block all water from going down your arms or into the gloves. It’s brilliant. In an attempt to do the same thing with the other pairs of yellow latex gloves that I had already purchased, I was met with wet hands again since the folded cuff wouldn’t stay and had no structure. Although this technology has recently been replicated by Playtex, the durability of the Casabella gloves are unmatched.
“But, Leigh. If you use your gloves for so many months, don’t they get stinky?!” you might ask. If you didn’t then you will now that I’ve mentioned it! Here is where made use of my weird brain and I threw it into action. After Josh and I moved in together, we had duplicates of a lot of stuff: tea kettles, pots/pans, silverware, etc. But, we also now had TWO paper towel holders. As I mentioned, I HATE going to do dishes and putting on wet gloves so I was looking for a way to hang my gloves to dry without having to pinch the fingers. My paper towel holder had two prongs (one for holding the towels, the other for ease of tearing) and voila! My very own dish glove drying system! I was so obsessed with how effective it was that I even approached my dad (an attorney) to see if it could be patented. Alas, not really. But, that didn’t stop me from buying several more paper towel stands and Casabella Water Stop Gloves and giving them out as Christmas presents a few years ago! So, even when your gloves DO start getting a little smelly, I rinse them out with a little soap and water and then flip them over to dry!
If you are not a fan of the pink, they also offer them (online) in a fetching green. You can order them from casabella.com, amazon.com, Bed, Bath, and Beyond (both online and in their stores), or anywhere else Casabella products are sold. I think my favorite comment from a friend (whom I gifted a Leigh Vandiver Patent Pending Dish Washing Glove Stand to) was that when she walked in the kitchen, she felt like her gloves were waving, “Hi!”
This is not a sponsored post (though I’d be up for that, *wink*) but I also wouldn’t gush on so if I wasn’t a true believer in this product. So, next time you need a pair of dish washing gloves, give these a shot and let me know what you think!
I love the way they look like they’re just waiting to strangle whoever comes too close!
Talking of things that make your eyes bug out, did you know that Whole Foods charges $15.00 a pair for these things? Back to online ordering for me.
You know you’re talking about Whole Foods, right? Though, I wonder if it is $15 for a pair of pairs? I know online you can buy two pairs for $14.99… but I can’t imagine asshole foods would be the go-to place for a bargain on anything.
I’m pretty sure it was just a one-pair box, though maybe there had been two-pair boxes on that shelf earlier?
What a small world! I’m a guy and I feel the same about touching skeevy, slimy textures, stuff like that give me the willies, and I have to wear gloves whenever I do dishes too, so you’re not weird by at means 🙂 Anyways, I’ve also heard a lot about these Water Stop Gloves on online ads while surfing the web, and they sound like a winner. I love their smart cuffs, but haven’t tried them yet. I wonder if they’re sold in Latin America…
PS. What a cleaver idea to use paper towel stands to hang gloves – that’s neat, how can a simple idea be so useful, convenient and practical as keeping gloves dry is the secret for them to last longer. How hadn’t someone thought of that before? 🙂
Hey Dexter! Thanks for reading. I’m glad to “meet” anyone who sits on the pro-glove side of the fence. Since I posted this, I’ve tried the grocery store brand knock-offs of these gloves and the Cassabella gloves are STILL hands down (pun!) the better product! Totally recommended! And thanks for noticing my glove rack! Are you from Latin America?
You are welcome, and it’s my pleasure. Yeah I did notice the rack. Besides being a hygiene-savvy, I’m also a perfectionist, and detail-oriented. There are also another reasons why it’s always wise to wear gloves when washing up. First, enables you to handle hot water, but also protects you from possible cuts from silverware or even broken dishes, and that’s something that most people have probably never thought about.
Yea, I’m from South America, and as you might have probably noticed, my grammar is far from perfect, though I have a fairly rich vocabulary.
PS. Dexter is a nick. I love old cartoons, and it was meant to be a parody to the nerd character in Dexter’s Lab. I just figured now that it might have sounded too silly Lol
I too have been using the Casabella gloves with great satisfaction. They are definitely the best. Bed bath and beyond no longer carries them. It appears they are hard to find. I found them on a site called vac parts. I also sent an email to the company to find out if they will be available in the future.
Hey Becky! Your comment sent me into a panic and I immediately checked the bed bath and beyond website and you can still order them online, at least. I haven’t seen that they’ve been removed from the shelves (at least in my neck of the woods) either… I do know that you can also get them on the FTTDWYW store on Amazon… shameless plug, I know… So, no fear, Becky… I suspect they are here to stay!
My local (chico ca) BB&B also does not carry these gloves – which bums me out! I agree that these are the best gloves ever made. I also use them for house cleaning chores, so that the harsh chemicals don’t eat my skin 🙂 I like to support my local economy by buying local, but will have to buy these on line from now on!
No more Casabella gloves. Can’t find them anywhere!! So sad!
I’ve had a pair of these gloves for years!!!! I use them and then dry them very carefully because you cannot find this 8th wonder of the world anywhere….I’m soooo sad. Have you find anything similar?
I can’t find them anywhere either! (well, eBay has them for $90/pr)
What’s up??? My hands are NOT happy!
After having a momentary freak out about never being able to find these gloves (and clutching my extra pair under the sink tightly) I tweeted Casabella to see what the deal was! They assured me that although there aren’t any currently in stores or available, they are manufacturing a huge batch and we will see them in stores “early 2015″… so, pay not the outrageous prices on amazon or ebay… patience, dear ones… patience.
I am sure people have noticed by now that these gloves returned to the market in 2015, and they were much changed: cheaper, thinner, stickier, and smaller. I believe that they changed their manufacturer. I think they owe us loyal customers an explanation, and an effort to restore this glove to its former glory.
Yes, Carol. To everything you just said. I was so upset (after consistently vetting them on the blog) when I tried their “new release” batch that I wrote them. Your comment is spurring me on to writing a full post about, because people need to know and I’m surprised they haven’t been more transparent. Apparently, the old gloves were made by a factory in Greece. When the market there tanked, the factory closed and Casabella took their glove molds to China. Somewhere in the factory change, the formula got altered causing the sizes to be off and the chemical composition of the glove itself– leaving it (as you said) cheaper, thinner, stickier, and smaller. The customer representative told me that they were aware of it and were looking to fix it, but I wonder if they are waiting for this current batch to sell out before re-doing them. Thanks for reading, and look for a more comprehensive post next Monday!
Really a pity these gloves are no longer made so it’s virtually impossible to find them. You’ve just brought some hope though as the manufacturer may consider re-doing them moving forward. These gloves are awesome not only for washing up, but also for cooking 🙂
As of this year, Casabella remanufactured these gloves and it was a disaster. They are now working on a second relaunch. I have my fingers crossed, cause they were one of the most well made gloves out there. Thanks for reading!