As a spectacle wearer, you know how dirty glasses can get.
Fingerprints, makeup, dust, and dirt are just some of the things that can make your lenses grubby, and ultimately obstruct your eyesight.
Although cleaning your glasses may sound like a simple task, like anything, there are both right and wrong ways to do it.
As the need to clean our glasses is greater than ever due to our lenses steaming up, we’re increasingly likely to grab what we can to wipe our glasses clean.
However, If you don’t clean your glasses properly, you could damage your lenses and any coating or protection they have on them.
Common mistakes
Using your shirt
Like many people, when you notice your glasses need a clean, you may be tempted to use your shirt or top to clean them. You should refrain from doing this as tiny fibres in the fabric of your clothing can scratch your lenses.
Wetting lenses with saliva
Using saliva to wet lenses has become a common practice, however, saliva does not actually help clean your glasses, can leave smears and is also very unhygienic.
Using household glass cleaners
Household glass cleaners often contain bleach and other powerful chemicals to help remove bacteria and dirt. The ingredients used in household glass cleaners can actually damage your lenses and break down any additional coatings, leaving your glasses ineffective.
Drying with paper towels
Once you have cleaned your lenses, it is important to dry them. However, using paper towels, toilet roll, or tissues can damage your glasses as they often contain wood pulp which can scratch your lenses and fill them with lint.
How to clean your glasses effectively
As we stock premium lenses and frames at Kelly Eyecare, we highly recommend that you use a premium glasses cleaner to help protect and preserve your spectacles – after all, they are an investment.
We stock lens cleaner in all of our branches, so make sure to enquire next time you visit us.
Specialised lenses
Some specialised lenses, such as Optifog lenses, do not require lens spray as the Optifog Cloth not only activates the lenses but also cleans them.
If you have specialised lenses, please refer to the manufacturer’s cleaning guide, or speak to a member of our friendly team, who will be more than happy to help.
What if you don’t have spray?
To preserve your premium glasses and lenses, we do encourage you to use a high-quality cleaning spray, however, we understand that sometimes this may not possible.
To start with, make sure you handle your glasses correctly. When removing your glasses, take them off with both hands and by the arms of your glasses as this will stop you from getting fingerprints on the lenses.
Clean your hands
Before cleaning your glasses, we recommend that you clean your hands first as this will ensure you do not get any dirt or oils on your lenses.
Clean in lukewarm water
Rinsing your glasses in lukewarm water will remove dust and prevent scratching your glasses as you clean them. We do not recommend that you use hot or boiling water as this can damage any coatings.
Use neutral hand soap
A small drop of neutral hand soap will help clean and sanitise your lenses. Most dishwashing liquid contains acidic ingredients which can also damage coatings applied to your glasses.
Make sure you also wash around the nose pads on your frames as grease, hair products, makeup and dust tend to gather.
Dry with a lint-free cloth
Once you have washed your glasses, make sure to thoroughly dry them with a clean, lint-free cloth that hasn’t been treated with any softener.
You can also use a microfibre cleaning cloth.
We’re here for you
As an essential service provider, Kelly Eyecare practices are open during this lockdown and our commitment to keeping you safe remains as prevalent as ever.
We are continuing to take all appointment bookings and of course, follow the same Covid protection protocols that we have had in place for many months.
The whole Kelly Eyecare team are working hard to ensure we provide you with the best care and service.
For more information on our safety protocols, please visit our COVID-19 page on our website.
Please take care and stay safe.
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