From peeling … to boiling … to slicing and dicing … in this busy kitchen there are lots of ways to hurt a finger. And cooks know that kitchen germs can cause infection, so it's important to keep cuts dry.
These bandages claim to do the job. Consumer reports tested nine that say they're waterproof or water-resistant, including ones from Band-Aid, Nexcare, and Curad. Store brands were tested, too.
Technicians applied the strips to panelists' fingers, who wore them for four hours. During that time, they were instructed to wash their hands and flex their fingers repeatedly.
All the bandages did a good job of staying on. To see if they stayed dry, panelists dipped their fingers in a bowl of cooled coffee for up to 20 seconds. When the bandages were removed, light brown stains showed when coffee seeped into the bandage pad.
"This one leaked," Ed Kippel said.
In fact, none of the bandages could be counted on to keep you dry.
"We found that most of the waterproof bandages leaked most of the time," Leslie Ware said.
But consumer reports found two bandages leaked much less than the others. Band-aid Water Block Plus kept the liquid out more than half the time.
And Nexcare Waterproof Clear did an even better job of preventing leaks, although panelists found the Nexcare Clear bandages are a little tricky to put on especially when you just have one hand.
It's worth noting that the Nexcare Waterproof Clear bandages and Band-Aid Water Block Plus Strips were among the least expensive bandages consumer reports tested. But be aware, don't use them if you're allergic to latex - neither one claims to be latex-free.
