To keep your eyeglasses looking great and in order to prevent damage, it’s recommended that you clean them every day. However, there are right and wrong ways to clean your eyeglasses.
The following tips apply to all types of eyewear and will help you to keep your glasses from being scratched or otherwise damaged.
The Do’s of Cleaning Lenses
- Wash and dry your hands carefully to remove any dirt, lotion or other substance that could be transferred to your lenses.
- Rinse your glasses under a gentle stream of lukewarm tap water to remove dust and other debris. Using hot water may damage some lens coatings. Removing debris helps to avoid scratches as you are cleaning the lenses.
- Apply a very small drop of concentrated, lotion-free dishwashing liquid to each lens.
- Carefully rub both sides of the lenses and all parts of the frame with your fingers for a few seconds. Clean nose pads, the ends of the sidebars and the area where the edge of the lens meets the frame, as this is where dust, debris and skin oils can accumulate.
- Rinse everything thoroughly to remove all traces of soap.
- Remove most of the water from the lenses by gently shaking the glasses and examine them carefully to make sure they’re clean.
- Dry the lenses and frames with a clean, lint-free dish towel that hasn’t been laundered with a fabric softener or dryer sheet.
- Examine the lenses again and remove any remaining streaks or smudges with a clean microfiber cloth.
Spray eyeglass cleaners and micro-fiber cleaning cloths are available from eye care professionals or your local drug or discount store. Spray cleaners can be helpful if you are travelling or don’t have dishwashing soap and clean water available.
If you have an anti-reflective coating on your lenses, make sure the spray cleaner you use is approved for use on anti-reflective lenses.
Microfiber cleaning cloths are excellent for cleaning glasses but, because they trap debris so effectively, make sure you wash them often. Hand-wash them using lotion-free dishwashing liquid and clean water and let them air dry.
If you don’t have any of the aforementioned supplies available, you can also buy individually packaged, pre-moistened disposable cleaning wipes specifically formulated for cleaning eyeglass lenses. When using these wipes, first examine the lenses for dust or debris and blow it off before wiping the lens to avoid scratches.
The Don’ts of Cleaning Lenses
Do Not use your shirttail or other cloth to clean your glasses, especially when the lenses are dry, as doing this can lead to scratches on your lenses.
Do Not use saliva to wet your lenses.
Do Not use household glass or surface cleaners on your eyeglasses. The ingredients in these products can damage eyeglass lenses and coatings.
Do Not use paper towels, napkins, tissues or toilet paper to clean your eyeglass lenses. These paper products can scratch or smear your lenses or, at the least, leave them full of lint.
Do Not try to remove a scratch on your lens by buffing. This will only make it worse.
