You might’ve noticed that landscapers, yard workers, and many other people who work outside wear long sleeves. They usually have pants, hats, gloves, boots, and long sleeve shirts. When it’s blazing hot outside, you probably wonder why on Earth they’d subject themselves to such overheated conditions.
Landscapers wear long sleeves because it protects them from sunburns, bug bites, skin cancer, and cuts while working. Long sleeves can provide better airflow with the right material, and it prevents their skin from drying out. Studies show that long sleeves can keep you cooler than short sleeves.
Throughout this article, you’ll also learn the following info about why landscapers wear long-sleeve clothing:
- How long sleeves can protect them against the sun
- Why they’re known for keeping the wearer a bit colder than short sleeves
- Additional reasons that landscapers wear long sleeves throughout the year
To Protect Themselves From the Sun’s Rays
Many studies show that the biggest reason that landscapers wear long-sleeve clothing is that they don’t want to subject themselves to the sun’s harmful rays. UV rays are known for causing a plethora of issues, and there’s no way to protect yourself from these problems without dousing yourself in sunscreen every hour.
Unless you want to make sunscreen a part of your monthly bills, then you’ll have to consider long sleeves. This process is what causes many landscapers to choose long sleeves, but here are the dangers posed from sunrays:
- Coolibar shows us that skin cancer is a serious issue when dealing with UV rays. By now, most people know that UV rays can cause a plethora of severe health problems, including skin cancer and eye irritation. While vitamin D is a great benefit of sunlight, your skin can’t handle it all day long every day.
- The sun can cause painful burns. There’s no doubt that you’ve heard about sunburns, but they’re another reason that landscapers have long sleeves. Long-term exposure to sunlight can cause sunburns so severe that you’ll have to visit the doctor. Contrary to popular belief, you can’t get tan enough to prevent sunburns.
- Believe it or not, too much sun exposure can cause tiredness and exhaustion. Heat exhaustion is no joke; it can make people sick very quickly. You’ll feel fatigued and tired throughout the day, but that problem is largely avoided by wearing long sleeves to protect your skin.
It Keeps Them Cool
Staying cool might bring short sleeves to mind, but landscapers find that airflow is optimized by long sleeves. When you wear short sleeve shirts, the only cooling factor is when the wind blows directly on your skin. However, when you wear long sleeves, the sleeves act as wind tunnels.
Furthermore, since you don’t have the heat of the sun beating down on your skin, it’ll feel more like you’re standing in the shade. Rather than standing underneath inescapable heat, you’ll have a thin wind tunnel barrier.
Long Sleeves Fight Humidity
If you live in a humid climate, the landscapers in the area often wear long-sleeve shirts because they wick away moisture. Another post by Coolibar points out that polyester pushes sweat and humidity off of your skin. It might feel gross at first, but moisture removes itself due to polyester’s synthetic plastic nature.
Another way that long sleeves remove humidity is due to the aforementioned wind tunnel effect. Instead of sweat building up on your skin, loose sleeves allow wind to flow through your arms and dry your sweat. It’s a win-win situation that keeps you cool and dry, especially if the landscapers are wearing the right materials.
They Won’t Get Cuts As Often
Landscapers often deal with weeds, stickers, and plants that are coated in thorns. On top of that, grass blades and tools can cause itchy, painful cuts. Wearing tough long-sleeve shirts can keep their arms safe from unwanted harm, which could otherwise lead to infections and hospital visits.
You might think that polyester, cotton, and other materials would be strong enough to fight off a cut. However, indirect contact that causes cuts will bounce right off of the materials. Even if it’s a direct force, it’ll damage the shirt material much more than the landscaper’s skin. Some long-sleeve shirts are made with tough materials to prevent cuts.
Bugs Can’t Bite or Sting Them
Bees, mosquitos, and other bugs are no stranger to those who work in the landscaping industry. Getting a bite or sting here and there might not be so bad, but since they work outside every day, they’re subject to continuous bites and stings. Not only is that process annoying, but it can be dangerous for their health.
Long sleeves are fairly impenetrable when it comes to bug bites and stings. There aren’t many bees or mosquitoes in the world that can cut through shirts, so landscapers are protected simply from the clothing that they wear. Long sleeves don’t protect their hands, which is why they wear gloves and long socks for their feet.
It Makes Them More Visible
Many shirts that landscapers wear are designed for the job. In other words, they come with tough, moisture-wicking fabric, and vibrant colors. T-Shirt By Design explains that the bright colors found on landscaping shirts have a purpose: people need to be able to see landscapers during all times of the day.
Furthermore, some landscaping shirts have reflective white or yellow bands. These bands are made to reflect all sources of light, including sunlight, moonlight, and synthetic light sources. Whenever they’re near a light, you’ll be able to see landscapers who are wearing these special shirts.
They’ll Be Protected From Excessive Dryness
It’s no secret that the sun dries things out. It’s the reason that trees drop their leaves earlier than they should, grass goes yellow and burns, and living organisms get dehydrated much quicker in the summer months. However, it also dries your skin quickly, causing a variety of chafing and chapping problems.
If you have underlying skin conditions, they’ll be accentuated by the sun’s drying effects. It can cause skin cracks, painful burns, as mentioned earlier on the page, and more. Why not wear long sleeves instead of dealing with all of the problems caused by UV rays? Once you learn all of the benefits that long sleeves can provide, it’s a no-brainer.
Long Sleeves Work Throughout the Year
Rather than having to buy shirts for every season of the year, you’ll have one set that works at all times. Spring, summer, autumn, or winter, landscapers have long sleeve shirts that will fit all situations.
During the spring and fall, polyester does its job to wick away the rain, while it does the same for sweat in the summer. When it’s cold in the winter, some landscapers prefer to wear sweaters, but they always have long sleeves to protect their arms from everything that you’ve learned today.
Conclusion
Now that you know why landscapers wear long sleeves, you’re well informed and ready to consider getting long sleeve clothing for your outdoor projects. There’s a reason that people that are living in the hottest climates on the planet wear robes, hats, and long sleeves!
Here’s a rundown of the post:
- Long sleeves protect landscaper’s skin from drying, sunburns, and skin diseases.
- They won’t get cut, stung, or bitten from bugs, tools, and plants.
- Long sleeves promote optimal airflow and wick away moisture from the skin.
- Visibility is improved when landscapers wear bright colors on their long sleeve clothes.
- Landscapers wear long sleeves to beat the direct heat of the sun.