Eyeglasses are such intimate accessories that we rarely clean them. When you see a speck of dirt on them, you scrub it off with your tie end or end of sleeves. Doing this can damage the glasses surface. If you are a busy person, you will rarely have time to clean your glasses letting dirt and bacterias accumulate in the nooks of your glasses. Bacterias can germinate on your glasses if you leave them unclean for many days. This can also cause skin infections and other bacterial infections.
Things needed for cleaning your glasses
Most of the time you clean your glasses with any smooth linen. If your glasses are cheap glasses and made from glass, then you can take the risk of scrubbing with whatever smooth cloth is handy to you. But if your glasses lenses are expensive with additional coating on them, you should be careful with what you are using for cleaning.
- Microfibre cloth – Use only the microfibre cloth provided with the glasses to clean your lenses. These are specially designed for cleaning lenses. These fibres do not affect the lenses surfaces. Other fibres or linens are rough on the lenses and can damage the additional layer over the lenses.
- Cleaning solution – You should use just any solution to clean your lenses. It can damage the lens surface and rub off the anti-glare or anti-UV coating over the lenses. The cleaning solutions meant for cleaning the eyeglasses are a milder solution that does not degrade the quality of the lenses. You can try a Lens guard solution for cleaning your glasses.
How to clean your glasses properly?
I know, rubbing the glasses with microfiber daily or once in while is convenient and effective. However, a thorough clean up is necessary to clean up the dirt collected in the corners of the frames. Follow the following steps for cleaning your glasses.
- Clean your hands thoroughly first of all. If your hands are oily or have cream on them, it will get on your lenses and make them dirtier.
- Put your glasses under running water. Avoid hot water as it can damage your glasses. This will get rid of dust or dirt that can scratch the surface of the lenses
- Wipe away all the water from the glasses using microfiber.
- Spray cleaning solution on the lenses and use microfibre to rinse them. If you are using soap solution, then rinse with your finger to clean the lenses. After rinsing, use water to clean soap and dry them using microfiber.
After cleaning lenses, don’t forget to wipe the temples of the frames. Also, use microfibre to clean the edges of the frames like nose pads. You can use rubbing alcohol to clean the nose and earpiece.
In case, your glasses are smudged
If your glasses are smudged and the stain is not coming out with the above methods then you can use other cleaning solutions. Look for solutions that do not have abrasive content of acid in them. Do not use dishwashing gel as they contain acid. They can damage the lenses and affect the clarity of lenses over time.
You can also use toothpaste for getting rid of adamant smudges. Apply a dollop of the toothpaste and rinse it with your finger. Do not use tissue or any other clothes to rinse the lenses. Tissues are a bit rough and can damage the lenses. After rinsing the lenses, wash them off with water. Dry the lenses with microfibre. The smudges will be gone with this method.
You can use other home cleaning solutions to clean smudges off your lenses. However, make sure they do not contain any harmful substance that can deteriorate your lenses. For instance, acetone commonly found in nail polish remover is a very effective cleaning substance. But it can damage the lenses.
Lensguard is available for free if you are buying your glasses online from Specscart. You can clean your glasses with this cleaning solution and use the special microfiber provided with the lenses. Plus, you have a small screwdriver that you can use to adjust your frames or nose pads if required.