Laboratories can establish various strategies, sequences, methods, and techniques for their PPE doffing procedures. The procedural details will vary between laboratories based on the site-specific and activity-specific risk assessments, the procedures being conducted, and the PPE worn.
The PPE doffing order is more important than the donning order because all PPE should be clean when donned. Doffing involves carefully removing and discarding potentially contaminated PPE.
If an item of PPE becomes obviously or potentially contaminated during work (e.g., gloves or lab coat), doff them as soon and safely as possible, and don new.
Contaminated PPE should not be doffed with bare hands. However, sometimes it may be possible to doff PPE with bare hands if able to remove the PPE from touching a clean (contamination-free) area of the PPE or if using an area of ‘clean’ inside-out PPE to doff other PPE (as described further below).
