Lens manufacturers say that anything other than a microfiber cloth will damage the coatings on a lens. But microfiber cloths eventually pick up crap and they look like they’re a pain to wash.
How do you keep your lenses clean? Are you using cloth/kleenex or microfiber cloths? If you use microfiber cloths, how do you clean those?
Optometrist here; rinse with cold or ambient temperature tap water (don’t use hot water!), use dishwashing soap without citric acid if the glasses are really dirty, dry with a clean cotton cloth.
Thank you! It took me decades before I figured out that it doesn’t matter how soft the cloth is if all you’re doing in scrubbing abrasive dust or dirt around on the lens with it. It isn’t always possible, but I try to rinse first to get as much particulate matter off before wiping.
Can you explain why cold water? I’ve always done it, but only because I once made the mistake of buying photoreactive lenses (and, you know, most of us just have to live with a decision like that for a while), and hot water made them go dark. I didn’t think tap water temps would be enough to mechanically stress the material; is the plastic so soft that it could be damaged, or is there another reason?
Hot water can damage your anti reflective coating. It can cause it to come ‘loose’.
The rinsing is indeed done to get rid of sand or dirt particles which is the main cause of scratches.
Hey now don’t diss photoreactive lenses, I got off brand transitions lenses for the first time in my life a couple years ago after a decade without trying them and I honestly like it. I can keep my prescription shades in my car since my car’s windshield blocks a lot of UV so my regular/transitionable glasses won’t darken enough but most cases I’m outside on a sunny day I can still get some sunlight dimming without having to bring my sunglasses everywhere too
I guess? I space 10 years between photoreactive lenses, and although I’ve only done it twice, I didn’t see any improvement between in the intervening years.
I haven’t tried the most modern version, but they’ve never darkened enough, and they don’t lighten quickly enough. On top of that, the shelf life of the photoreactivity is crap, and the performance degrades quickly, forcing me to replace my lenses more frequently than I otherwise would. IME, photoreactive lenses are just a contract to buy new glasses in few years.
That’s the way I’ve been taught by the guy who makes my eyeglasses too! I remember being slightly incredulous but took his word for it.
I only touch the lenses while soaping it, making sure that (liquid dish) soap is evenly distributed across the lenses. Then, I rinse them thoroughly in a stream of running water until I can no longer see water spots on their surfaces. I give the eyeglasses a slight tap to dislodge any excess water before wiping it with a dry clean cotton cloth I reserve for that purpose.
I generally use a similar method to this to deep clean my glasses, but I often don’t want to do that deep of a clean all the time since my glasses get dirty fast. I find the Zeiss glasses wipes work well for me, but there is a lot of waste involved. Oddly enough, their cleaning spray works terribly for me, and it seems to just spread grease around the lenses…
I was looking at the ingredients for each, and it seems that Zeiss used different ingredients for the two products. The wipes contain water, isopropyl alcohol, and “proprietary detergents and preservatives”. The cleaning spray contains water, butyl diglycol, and two other ingredients that to my knowledge are just preservatives. I think that in theory I could make a better cleaning spray by getting the right concentration of isopropyl alcohol and distilled water, mimicking the concentration in the wipes. What do you think is the highest percentage of isopropyl alcohol that I could safely use on glasses without damaging coatings?
Unfortunately I cannot answer that question. Opticians don’t use alcohol to clean glasses, they often use white spirit to clean lenses. Alcohol can potentially damage your frame (if it’s a ‘plastic’ one).
What do you use to wipe away the cleaning spray? Microfiber cloths don’t absorb so we’ll, so you’ll usually get a better result using something cotton
When I tried to use it, I sprayed the Zeiss spray onto a Zeiss supplied microfiber cloth (was part of a kit I got from an optometrist), wipe the glasses, then use a dry part of the microfiber cloth to wipe it away. I don’t think a more absorbent cloth would help much since it’s a greasy residue. Plus, other sources tell me that I shouldn’t use anything other than microfiber to clean my glasses. The spray just seems like a poorly formulated product that can’t cut through grease like dish soap or the Zeiss disposable wipes.
We also give out sprays and microfiber cloths, and I always tell people to use them apart. Just because both says Zeiss doesn’t mean they’re to be used together
I should have clarified that they were both part of the same kit, with no other cloths provided.
Also, what I do is pretty much the same as what Zeiss says to do in their instructions, see this video link (couldn’t find written instructions on their site): https://www.zeiss.com/vision-care/us/need-new-eyeglasses/eyeglass-cleaning-solutions.html#overlay-benefits-832427451
Lastly, what do you mean by using the spray and cloth apart? Do you mean using the cloth dry? Because that is even greasier than using the spray+cloth.
Thanks! That looks pretty easy, and it seems to work for a few other posters.
User name checks out.
Thanks for the tip. Just to be clear… are these instructions for cleaning the glasses, or the microfibre cloth?
Glasses
Hand soap works fine as well.
Some hand soaps have moisturizers that leave a film on lenses. I do not recommend.
Not if it’s moisturizing soap. The moisturizers are designed to remain after rinsing, which will leave an oily film on your glasses. Dish soap is designed to rinse clean, so you should use that instead.