Keeping Your Glasses Clean

This is the first time in my life I’ve found myself wearing my glasses more often than not.  I love my new glasses, feel confident wearing them, and enjoy how comfortable they are to wear.  So, most days I choose them instead of my contacts.

This means about every minute of the 15 or so hours I’m awake my glasses are on. And so, they get dirty!

I never paid much attention to just how dirty my lenses would get when I only wore them for a few hours every evening.  But, wearing them outside (Hello, pollen!), through my hair spray ritual, and just living in my fashion eyeglasses leads to a build up of dirt, debris, oils, and other substances on my lenses and frame.

So, what do I do if I’m driving or away from home and I notice my glasses are a little dirty?  I take them off and wipe them on my shirt.  Apparently, this is one of the WORST ways to clean your glasses.  (Woops!)  In addition to adding more dirt or dust from your shirt, the fabric of whatever you are wearing could scratch your lenses. The only thing worse then doing this is doing this after exhaling some steam or a spitting on your lenses.

Both of these techniques are definite glasses care don’ts!

So, how do you best clean your glasses?

You can pick up some nice cleaning cloths and spray from your optometrist’s office. It works great, but I don’t always remember to carry it with me.  And, sometimes I notice it makes my lenses look sparkly but it doesn’t do much to clean my frame from some of the oils and make-up residue it naturally accumulates.

What’s another way to clean your glasses?  Just use warm water and a tiny bit of dishwashing (gentle) detergent on your lens. You can create a bit of a lather and then rinse them off with more warm water. Find a clean, soft (and not super-lint-filled) cloth to dry them.  Voila! You won’t recognize your surroundings everything will look so clean and bright!

How do I know? Well, because I just tried it. Truly, my glasses are cleaner than they have been in weeks!

If you have coatings on your glasses, be sure to ONLY use the cleaner from the optometrist office.

But lenses do wear out, and scratches do happen. So, if cleaning doesn’t help anymore, call your closest America’s Best and grab a new pair (or two) for a great low price!