26 ms·

How I clean my glasses

314 points by ltratt 4y ago

blamazon 4y ago
In the passenger terminal of JFK airport somewhere there is a device where you put your glasses inside a clear plastic box and it makes a big show of washing them like a miniature car wash. Takes a few quarters, seems to work pretty well. I've always wanted one for my home.
chadlavi 4y ago
Who has this kind of time? I've been wearing glasses since I was a kid too and my approach is: don't worry about it, clean them if things look bad. Unless this is maybe parody and I failed to pick up on that?
- TillE 4y ago
  Seriously it sounds exhausting. Wash them with mildly warm water and soap, dry them with a microfiber cloth, boom done. The worst part of having some elaborate routine with an ultrasonic cleaner and all is that the moment after, your glasses will instantly start accumulating dust and probably get smudged. It's not going to be really clean for more than a few minutes. And that's fine, you probably shouldn't worry about it.
btbuildem 4y ago
OP sounds a little.. intense, but hey. As long as they're not hurting anyone. Since we're talking about eyewear care -- here's my approach. I have spray bottle of water, rubbing alcohol and dish soap (mostly water). This gets off any but the most stubborn grime and grease rainbows. Couple of spritzes then a wipe with a soft clean cloth. (The original use for the spray bottle was to kill house flies, it's extremely effective)
PaulHoule 4y ago
What I found is sufficient to get my glasses spotless is: dip in hot water, dry with paper towel, dip in hot water, dry with paper towel, rinse in cold water, dry with paper towel, rinse in cold water, dry with paper towel. Anything less than that I would find my glasses were not really clean.
- ekianjo 4y ago
  won't the paper towel cause micro-scratches?
  - PaulHoule 4y ago
    It probably does but it gets the glasses clean. Many things I've tried (including those microfiber clothes) just smear contamination around making the glasses at least as dirty if not dirtier than when I started.
davidito 4y ago
I have used a variety of wipes to clean and/or dry my lenses over the years. This always left microscratches and damage to the AR coating over time. Since I switched to the hand method, my lenses are in much better shape: 1) Clean hands with basic bar soap, leave soap suds on hands 2) Lightly rub lenses and frames with soapy fingers, taking care not to apply too much pressure and deposit skin oils 3) Rinse off with hot water 4) Shake glasses dry with both hands (carefully) 5) If tiny water spots bother you, or you can't wait for the remaining droplets to naturally dry, use a lint free glasses wipe to dab (not wipe) them dry
- vmaen 4y ago
  Be careful with hot water, according to my essilor, that‘s what destroyed the coating on mine…
blakesterz 4y ago
This title is missing a word: "How I Clean my Glasses" I half expected a post where someone brags about cleaning glasses. HOW I clean my glasses is pretty interesting for those of us who wear them. Mine are just ALWAYS dirty, I don't know what the heck I keep doing to them.
- ekianjo 4y ago
  HN removes the How in submissions automatically
- Tomte 4y ago
  HN strips "How" on submissions. It's just one of many annoying auto-edits.
- mttjj 4y ago
  Pretty sure this is an automated word removal action by the HN submission form. There've been threads about the words that are filtered out by default. It comes down to trying to make titles less clickbait-y. Though I do agree that "How" does provide some important context in this case.
  - dang 4y ago
    Yes, sometimes it doesn't work at all. Most of the time it does. A mod has fixed this one.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- Jasper_ 4y ago
  HN has a strict "don't editorialize article titles" policy, backed by a bot that automatically editorializes article titles for you. It's great.
  - teddyh 4y ago
    And sometimes titles are editorialized manually: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31396861&p=2#31397151 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31396861&p=2#31397151 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31638648#31643597 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31638648#31643597
mynegation 4y ago
I switched to contact lenses (monthlies first and then to dailies) and I do not miss any of these cleaning rituals.
- dont__panic 4y ago
  How long have you used contact lenses? I used contacts from 2005-2017 or so, eventually switched away because it was annoying when I couldn't just take a nap easily, my eyes dried out a lot when I use a computer all day for work, and contacts are not very bikepacking compatible. When I first switched to contacts, it was such a breath of fresh air, but I've been back to glasses for years now and have no desire to go back. My life seems a lot simpler now that I have a good pair of transitions and a good pair of indoor glasses.
  - likpok 4y ago
    There's a number of contact products that allow you to sleep in them. Mine do leave me feeling a little gummy in the morning but it generally fades shortly after waking up. A previous brand (the air optix?) I lived in for a month at a time and was fine though perhaps I just didn't care as much.
  - yesbabyyes 4y ago
    Not OP, but another data point. I have been wearing contacts since I was 16, in 1994, most of the time. I keep a pair of glasses and wear them occasionally (perhaps every couple month on average, or more rarely) for a few days or a week. First monthly lenses, then dailies for a long time. I got lazy and started to sleep with them for days/weeks, which is not to be recommended, but it's mostly worked fine. I've had an infection two or three times over the years. They do get sticky sometimes, and I really have to blink to get started in the morning, or late nights This summer I tried with contacts made to wear for up to a month without taking them out. When testing them out I learned I have also become astigmatic, which is a new experience; the contacts adjust in the eye to stay in the right angle, which makes mornings harder, as it takes a while for them to adjust. During daytime they mostly work well and I see much clearer now. However, I'm also getting older and these are now adjusted for seeing far, so for reading comfortably I'm going to need reading glasses/terminal glasses. My old glasses are scratched pretty badly and the various coatings have rubbed off in the middle, which is pretty annoying. I mostly wear them for giving my eyes some rest (I have recently rediscovered how nice it can be too just remove them and not see anything) and because I really like the frames (Shuron Ronsir). They also have great looking clipons making them my favorite sunglasses.
lvqz 4y ago
My glasses are always clean. Every morning I use a single sheet of toilet paper and it does the work perfectly.
- ars 4y ago
  The article isn't about how to make them clean, the article is about how not to scratch them during the process of cleaning.
planarhobbit 4y ago
Any reason you can’t use pure methanol to clean glasses? I don’t wear glasses so I don’t know the specifics, but that’s what we use to clean industrial laser lenses and any tiny speck or smudge or oil would immediately burn the protective coating. We also don’t touch the lens tissue when we clean it, rather we put methanol on the lens tissue and slide it across. Curved lenses are a bit more interesting but same method of cleaning.
- ISL 4y ago
  Ought to generally be fine. That level of critical cleaning is kinda different from what glasses generally require. Mine wind up with grease, fingerprints, dust, cooking oil, etc., so a good surfactant (i.e. dish soap) and some clean water tend to work pretty darn well. If you want to finish 'em off with a critical-cleaning approach, go for it. The scratch/AR coatings on most glasses should be fine for both methanol and isopropanol. I would not, however, use solvents like acetone on plastic lenses of any kind; it'll probably destroy some of them.
- dekhn 4y ago
  Methanol works fine, it's great for removing the various things that soap and water won't remove (grease/oil). And yes, ideally wipe once in a single direction. Glasses are just another form of optics.
- likpok 4y ago
  Pure methanol is a little annoying to source. It seems like you can only buy it from lab supply shops -- not impossible to get but not exactly at the local Walgreens. All of this feels a little overkill for eyeglasses. Dish soap works very well (it's concentrated so don't use too much or you'll be rinsing a while) and most people have it in their kitchen. I personally mostly use hand soap in the bathroom -- works less well if it's a soap with lotion but most places don't have that. The added benefit is that you can do it almost any time or place without thinking too hard.
  - spike021 4y ago
    +1 I just use warm water and hand soap, followed by rinsing and then a gentle wipe with a soft microfiber towel (the kind you'd buy for washing a car actually).
csmattryder 4y ago
I just use some IPA and a microfiber cloth. Man, I've so many better things to do with my time on the planet than cleaning my specs.
- ttpphd 4y ago
  ...an IPA? Are these beer goggles?
  - csmattryder 4y ago
    Eh sorta... I wouldn't neck it, but it'd definitely knock you out. Isopropyl alcohol - great for cleaning glass-wear and dirty electronics.
bryanlarsen 4y ago
As a farm kid who spent time in a dusty barn every day, my glasses were often so dirty that they looked opaque to others. I didn't notice and didn't care. How the brain processes visual information is really weird. I'm not surprised that a slight speck of dirt would really bother some people but not others.
- jefftk 4y ago
  Dust is fine, you adapt, but with grease it gets blurry and there isn't much ability to correct. I really noticed this when I switched to new glasses with a hydrophobic coating that handled grease very differently.
sodimel 4y ago
My glasses are always dirty, I use my tshirt to clean them every day or so. They are full of little scratches, but if I don't focus on them, I don't notice them. My old pair (which I keep in case my current pair breaks unexpectedly) are even worse, with big visible scratches. They (the old pair) lasted at least 4 or 5 years, and the current ones are at least 3 years old, but I don't really remember.
smm11 4y ago
I spray with Windex, rub the lenses with my thumbs, let sit a few minutes, rinse with water, tap on the sink, then let dry.
mmh0000 4y ago
This article describes way too much OCD and wasted time. Here's my solution: * Buy 4x pairs cheapish glasses from Zenni. * Beat the crap out of them. * Replace as needed.
- chmod775 4y ago
  A good chunk of people require glasses that need to be custom-made. Once you also add amenities like photochromic lenses, it quickly adds up.
  - hammyhavoc 4y ago
    Yeah, I spend £300+ per pair on not having coke bottle thick glasses that are thin and light, and made out of polycarb.
    - jefftk 4y ago
      At least in the US that would be much cheaper: I can get high index (1.74) lenses for +$75: https://www.zennioptical.com/glasses-lenses https://www.zennioptical.com/glasses-lenses (so the overall glasses are ~$100)
      - tecleandor 4y ago
        I have a Zenni pair, I think they are 1.74 and around -6 correction in each eye. They are really cheap compared to other places, but they have very high chromatic aberration on the sides and I don't thing they are perfectly centered. I think it's something that's more noticeable when you need relatively high power lenses.
        hammyhavoc 4y ago
        This is what I suspected would be the case. You absolutely do get what you pay for when it comes to optics, but equally, you can over-pay for utter rubbish. If you've got the vocabulary (which you do) to describe and understand what to look for, you can't go wrong.
dncornholio 4y ago
The breath and piece of cloth method worked so well, I really didn't think of needing another method. I'm curious on what the author used to test his cleaning methods, because it seemed to only appears after 2 years of using this method.
- camtarn 4y ago
  Yeah, exactly this: there's no way for the author to tell if the method is actually any better, so this article seems a little premature!
aliljet 4y ago
I've noticed over the years, the primary failure mode for my lenses is the coating being scratched. I wonder if anyone has a good way to have that coating repaired or replaced?
sgtnoodle 4y ago
I hate the metalized coatings they put on lenses these days because they are so fragile. The antireflective coatings "craze" when exposed to thermal cycles. My current pair I ordered without AR coating, and they still came with a "hardness" coating. All it takes to ruin it is a spattering of aerosol sunscreen in passing. A few weeks ago, one lens got bad enough that I soaked it in glass etching acid overnight and then polished it with Novus acrylic polish. In the last month I spent a lot of time outdoors with folk using sunscreen, and the other lens has gotten bad enough that I need to polish it as well.
- onemoresoop 4y ago
  That's the reason I go cheaper on sunglasses. You can find quite good ones for 15-20 and I go through 2-3 pairs a year. No matter how well one takes care of them the coatings and lenses get ruined quite quickly..
  - vel0city 4y ago
    The one recommendation about going with cheap sunglasses is getting polarized ones. Good polarization is practically half the difference between the ultra cheap and the really fancy sunglasses in my experience. Decent polarization really cuts down on glare. There are several brands out there making pretty affordable pairs of glasses with polarization filters on them. I get mine for ~$35, often last me at least a year or so.
- camtarn 4y ago
  Hah, it's great to hear that the etch-and-polish approach actually works! I've considered doing this to my glasses to remove messed-up antireflective coatings, but always chickened out before actually doing it.
  - sgtnoodle 4y ago
    You aren't going to get it perfect. There's always going to be fine scratches, and probably visible ripple texture when you look at the lens from several inches away. When wearing the glasses, though, it looks just fine. It's definitely an improvement from the damaged coatings. On a previous pair with AR coating, I tried sanding rather than etching. It was a lot more effort, and I caused some distortion on the outer edges of the lenses. It was still an overall improvement from the messed up AR coating. I was taking high dose corticosteroids at the time, and the AR coating was driving me so crazy to the point that, if sanding didn't work, they were going to be smashed with a hammer!
cornstalks 4y ago
The best method I’ve found so far: 1. Get your glasses wet with warm water. 2. Apply dish soap to both lenses. 3. Gently rub the soapy water over the lenses. For some stubborn things (like sunscreen) in the edges I sometimes gently use a Q-tip. 4. Rinse under warm water. Gently rub with your fingers to agitate the soapy water and help rinse it off. 5. (This is the important step) Adjust the faucet’s flow to a low laminar flow and run the glasses through water, hitting the top of the glasses first and letting the water flow down and off the bottom of the lenses. It might take a couple passes but doing this will eliminate any water droplets on the lenses. 6. Use a clean towel to gently dry the frames. The lenses don’t need drying since the laminar flow eliminated all the water droplets on them.
- lttlrck 4y ago
  This is exactly what I do. I know someone that cleaned their hard contacts like this too.
- dionian 4y ago
  My process was the same except for #5. Just tried it out and see what you mean! No more drops on the lens! Thanks for sharing
- melenaboija 4y ago
  I do almost the same and I completely agree. For step 6 an unused paper towel is what works best for me. I am guessing this may damage the glasses with the dust but it is fast and effective.
- sdfhdhjdw3 4y ago
  Haha laminar flow. So I'm not the only one. I always wondered.
- vmaen 4y ago
  Exactly what I do!
- conqrr 4y ago
  This works for me. Dish soap is barely a drop that I use to spread. Also clean the frames occasionally with water. For 6, I use a fresh clean underwear instead of a clean towel. One less towel and the usual laundry cycle takes care of the rest.
remflight 4y ago
Lol I think the OP is just getting older and his vision is getting worse. My vision is poor (-600) but was stable for 25 years. In the last two years and especially in the last year once I got into my 50s, my vision has dropped like a rock. I need reading glasses for the first time in my life and when it’s too dark I can’t read anything. Switching between phone and tv is HARD and I can’t read properly for several minutes while my eyes adjust. sigh What a drag it is, getting older…
dionian 4y ago
You should rinse with water to remove debris before rubbing. I just put a drop of dish soap and rub with my fingers and then rinse. Then I dry off with a glass cleaning fabric. I use a toothbrush rather than my thumb to do a more thorough cleaning if desired.
- hammyhavoc 4y ago
  That's a sure-fire way to strip any coatings you've got.
  - JustSomeNobody 4y ago
    Dawn dish soap should be fine to use as long as there isn't any other junk like lotions. A toothbrush, on the other hand, is completely not recommended.
havblue 4y ago
Personally I've had okay luck with the pre moistened lens wipes. You can clean your glasses then proceed to clean whatever screens in your car, phone, laptop, or other surfaces are close by. There's always something dirty within arms reach. No need to worry about destroying the coating.
- jdfellow 4y ago
  Isopropyl wipes are my go to. I buy them in big boxes and carry them regularly.
- CharlesW 4y ago
  My favorite solution as well. These work great for me: https://www.amazon.com/ZEISS-Lens-Wipes-Pre-Moistened-Eyeglass/dp/B003O5FCZ6 https://www.amazon.com/ZEISS-Lens-Wipes-Pre-Moistened-Eyegla...
pen2l 4y ago
Be careful with using ultrasonic cleaners or using otherwise strong solutions because of the risk of taking off polarized/anti-glare lens coating, if you happened to have gotten it (you probably should have :)). Working in a lab that had ultrasonic cleaners, I used to do this and it happened with me after a few washes. It is indeed a bit of a pain to clean it (I'm lazy and just don't... unless it gets really, really bad). This is why I'm strongly considering LASIK, don't have to pay for glasses for years ahead, don't have to deal with inconvenience of having it all the time (and especially when traveling and when doing physical exercise), don't have to deal with glare at night-time driving. I'm nearsighted and have astigmatism so I have to think carefully about this. Happy to hear if folks have their experiences to share on getting LASIK!
- mmh0000 4y ago
  I'm in the same boat as you, in fact I've got several eye consults lined up for next week. I just wanted to say, LASIK is a catch-all term now-days. I would recommend to see if you're eligible for the ReLEX SMILE[0] proceedure. That's what I'm hoping for. There are some (disturbing) videos on youtube that show the process step-by-step[1]. The biggest fear for me for traditional LASIK has always been the flap. SMILE is flapless. [0] https://med.stanford.edu/eyelaser/procedures/ReLEXSMILE.html https://med.stanford.edu/eyelaser/procedures/ReLEXSMILE.html [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L41-CqynUHE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L41-CqynUHE
  - staindk 4y ago
    This is interesting! I recently read that new tech has also allowed PRK to become better and thus more popular again - I compared it to LASIK a while ago and would probably have leaned more towards PRK from what I read. This looks like the best of both worlds, great idea.
    - sswezey 4y ago
      I got PRK last year because I didn't want the flap. I was supposed to have 20/20 or better vision after a month. Exactly one week later, my eyes had recovered to 20/15 and 20/18. The recovery honestly wasn't that bad and I forget that I've only had perfect vision for a year. One of the best investments in myself I've ever made!
digitallyfree 4y ago
Note that I've seen ultrasonic cleaners damage the coatings on glasses (especially if you have Transitions Lenses). At the edges of the lenses I've seen the coatings come off after several rounds through the cleaner. I've seen this with two different models of cleaner but I'm not sure if it happens with all of them.
ama5322 4y ago
Seems overkill. I use pure dish detergent under the tap directly with my fingers (you can feel the dirt, do not press against the lens). Dry with a new/clean paper towel by pressing (buffering? do not drag the paper across the lens). Dirt cheap, perfect result in seconds, can be done everywhere. Normal hand soap contains moisturizer, so this is not indicated (but generally works too although might leave stains). If your lens is being scratched by this try spending a bit more on better glass. There's no point in skimping on something you hold on your eyes the entire day. Mine always lasted more than 7 years, and I only ever needed to change due to loss of acuity.
- ihateolives 4y ago
  > If your lens is being scratched by this try spending a bit more on better glass. There's no point in skimping on something you hold on your eyes the entire day. Doesn't always work that way. I never skimp on glasses, atm I'm looking through 500+€ Zeiss lenses (that's just for lenses, frame price not included), I've had them for a year and have one visible scratch. I always take care of my specs, always carefult when cleaning or putting on table but still have one pretty big and annoying scratch. How did it get there, I have no idea.
  - ama5322 4y ago
    A single solid scratch might be caused by an accident of sorts, this can always happen. The kind of damage the OP is speaking about seem to match the description of very light superficial scratches causing diffused softening. Could be damaged coating, or just the glass being too soft. I've only seen this happen on cheap (and normally polymer) lenses.
hammyhavoc 4y ago
Tried to leave a comment on this blog post, but the confirmation link I get via email gives me this error: `Invalid link or already submitted comment`
jackspratts 4y ago
Hotest water you can stand. Blast copious amount over lenses, both sides. This removes some grease and large grit. Put several drops of detergent on finger tip and rub onto thumb tip. Using thumb and finger coat detergent onto both sides of both lenses then rub gently. A few seconds is all you need. This removes all remaining oils and suspends any remaining grit preventing friction scratches during cleaning. Rinse lenses with hot water and gently dry with paper towel. Hold up to light to check progress. Remaining smears if any come off with paper towel. Been doing it for decades. It never scratches and it cleans like new.
- l8arrival 4y ago
  This is really bad advice, about hot water. When I was in New Zealand once, where you sometimes still encounter faucets with a separate hot water and cold water tap, I accidentally ran my glasses through the very hot water coming out of the hot water tap and it completely destroyed the coating on the lenses, it was as if I had run sandpaper over them. The water only needs to be lukewarm. i.e. rinse glasses with lukewarm water, then get a drop of dish soap on fingers and rub fingers through a bit more water to dilute the soap, then gently scrub the lenses as you describe, and then rinse the glasses again with lukewarm water. Almost all the water will sheet off.
- oezi 4y ago
  I would strongly advise against paper towels. With bad luck these contain small splinters of wood that might be just as sturdy enough to cause small scratches. Happened to me on a pair that I had just worn for 6 weeks.
Kehvarl 4y ago
If I have a proper cleaning cloth and some cleaning spray handy I'll use that, otherwise I'll just use my shirt or a clean microfiber cloth. Even with that abuse, the coating on my lenses tends to last roughly 2 years. I've never managed to cause enough scratching on my lenses to bother me before it was time to see about getting new ones anyway.
green-salt 4y ago
If you think you can withstand and are a candidate for lasik, I highly recommend it. Like any medical procedure, weigh options, cost, risk.
- glerk 4y ago
  Daily contacts are also a great alternative if your prescription isn’t too high. I used to use monthlies, and only recently found dailies with my level of astigmatism. The difference in comfort is pretty significant for me.
  - int_19h 4y ago
    And if you can tolerate wearing them.
nayuki 4y ago
> The ultrasonic cleaner and distilled water are more expensive and have greater ongoing costs, although it looks like £13 of distilled water will last for about 3 years Weird complaint, because distilled water is $1 CAD for 4 litres here at any supermarket.
- regularfry 4y ago
  For some reason we don't have distilled water quite so readily available in the UK. I have absolutely no idea why.
init0 4y ago
Why don't you wash it with water?
hanoz 4y ago
I've never done anything other than breathe on them and polish with the bottom of my shirt. What am I missing?
- pizza234 4y ago
  Grease is not entirely caught by cloth; the stickier/large the grease patch, the more it will spread over the lens, making it time consuming to clean.
  - dheerajvs 4y ago
    My lenses have oleophobic coating. I find breathing on them and rubbing with microfiber cloth to be quite effective even when they are coated with grease.
    - int_19h 4y ago
      Try running them through a soap cleaning once. You might be surprised at how much cleaner they'll end up looking after (been there with my spouse!).
- jws 4y ago
  Depending on what your lenses are made of, and if you have fragile coatings on them, and if you live around or work with fine abrasives, this works fine. I miss actual glass, uncoated lenses.
  - eps 4y ago
    Not missing them at all. In fact, wouldn't wear them even if I'm being paid to be that. Stone age tech :)
rajup 4y ago
https://www.amazon.com/Pre-Moistened-Lens-Cleaning-Wipes-Efficiently/dp/B0723CV53X/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?keywords=Optix+55&qid=1657729061&s=hpc&sr=1-1 https://www.amazon.com/Pre-Moistened-Lens-Cleaning-Wipes-Eff... You can thank me later! Never leave home without a bunch of these.
- ornornor 4y ago
  Never had any luck with any kind of wipes (prepackages, microfiber, with a solution, without: they always smear things across the lens rather than clean them. The only way to have truly transparent lenses for me is the water finger dishsoap process.
dmtroyer 4y ago
suddenly very self-conscious about my very dirty glasses...
eigenrick 4y ago
I tend to enjoy sports and manual labor, so end up sweating all over my glasses a few times a week. Because of this, the oil removal process is the piece in which I'm most interested. I have used a glass cleaner spray bottle (which was methanol) when that ran out, I just refilled it with 95% ethanol (grain alcohol) and it seems to be fine. I am curious about RoR and its chemical makeup. Is it that different than an alcohol?
nunez 4y ago
this reminded me of how thankful i was to finally find contacts that work for me. glasses are annoying (to me). it took ten years, lots of disappointment, and an old-school OD doing a number on my eyes after an allergic reaction to contact lens cleaner, but it was one of the best things to happen in 2021. (I use Acuvue Oasys toric dailies.)
xchip 4y ago
Shall I do all that after or before my 'American psycho' routine?
Nathanael_M 4y ago
This is exactly the content I want to see here. I love it. It's so over the top and min-maxed. This is optimized beyond efficiency and I whole-heartedly approve.
gorkish 4y ago
These rituals are pretty time consuming compared to my routine: 1) use a kimwipe 2) use another kimwipe if they are still foggy Beyond this, throw them in an ultrasonic cleaner or the dishwasher if you want them shiny. Buying glasses that do not have an artificially overinflated price is quite liberating. Edit: Gonna assume the salty downvote is because I said "ritual" isn't it? Heaven forbid that anyone else know about a convenient product purpose built for cleaning optics.
aspyct 4y ago
Before the camel hair brush, we typically use a blower on the lenses. The least you touch that expensive glass, the better!
robinson-wall 4y ago
I bought a device with some kind of cloth pads held opposite each other, and when you close it they brush up against an inner pad which presumably removes grease from them. It cost £20 and I was dubious about it, but it cleans better than I've ever managed by myself with a spray. Lasted about 1.5y before it stopped being effective (just moves grease around rather than picking it up) and I went and bought another one.
BXLE_1-1-BitIs1 4y ago
Absolutely first thing to do is hold the glasses under the faucet to get dust particles off. Follow with, as others have said, dish soap, fingers and microfiber.
hypertele-Xii 4y ago
I just lick the lens and rub with a cloth. Spit and shine.
quasarj 4y ago
Ain't no way I could brush the dust off, it's all glued on by oil. I guess I'm a fat fucker and produce way more oil than normal, though...
helij 4y ago
I just buy a pack of 200 Zeiss Lens Wipes every 6 months (~£12). They are amazing and quick. Money well spent.
ghostly_s 4y ago
Odd article. Claims to be inspired by camera lens cleaning methods, but I've never heard of any photog using an "oil remover", and certainly not an ultrasonic cleaner.
- teh_klev 4y ago
  "Inspired" doesn't mean you do the exact same things, sometimes you introduce your own ideas, not all necessarily good :) The residual oil remover mentioned is just a fancy name for lens cleaner that you can pick up in most supermarkets: http://www.newprouk.co.uk/images/ROR/ROR%20data%20sheet.pdf http://www.newprouk.co.uk/images/ROR/ROR%20data%20sheet.pdf I've used this stuff to clean my SLR lenses (and my spectacles) but just by squirting a small amount onto a microfibre cloth rather than directly. > certainly not an ultrasonic cleaner. Yeah, I think I'd rather not be exposing my glasses to the rigours of the sonic tank :)
d23 4y ago
I read this and was baffled. I've never broken a pair of glasses. The article made me realize I needed to clean my glasses. I wiped them off with a wipe from a pack of wipes I always use. A few hours later, I just realized one of the hinges on my glasses has no tension anymore. It just swings freely. What a strange coincidence.
JustSomeNobody 4y ago
I worked in an optical lab some 20+ years ago to pay for college. Here's how I clean mine: Fill a clean sink with warm, mildly soapy (dawn dish) water. Let them soak in that for a few minutes. Rinse them clean with fresh water. Spray with lens cleaner (basically it's water with a touch of isopropyl alcohol), thoroughly. Dry with an old cotton baby diaper. I've had a handful of these since my lab days. They're so freaking soft now, it's crazy. Here's key: Never ever ever let your towel hit a counter. If you do, you'll scratch a lens. As author of the post writes, keep them in a bag. They come out of the bag, clean the glasses, they go back in the bag. Inspect your glasses. Make sure screws are tight. Look at the nose pads, replace before they get funky. Seriously, they're touching your freaking face. About every 6 months, I do the above, but I take them completely apart first. I'll spray the screws with alcohol and rub them back and forth on a towel to get the oils and such off. I'll clean the bezels where the lenses go. The nose pads fit in with screws. They insert into a cup and the screw goes through that way. I'll get a paper towel and make a point and twist it around in the cup to clean the oils out of there. Finally I'll wipe everything down as per above and reassemble.
Digit-Al 4y ago
Dude, please use margins. The writing is far too close to the edge of the screen for comfortable reading.
odysseus 4y ago
I feel like this article lays the groundwork for a high quality artisanal eyeglass cleaning video. Reminds me just a touch of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBb9O-aW4zI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBb9O-aW4zI
dzek69 4y ago
I have only used two pairs of glasses for around 12 years, I replaced my old ones only because I left them at the gym and never got them back. The magic: I just bought the glasses at good place (not the most expensive brand in my country, but quite decent) and picked the "greatest package" of features. They offered me like four features to pick from: - anti blue light - scratch resistance - scratch resistance level 2 - something else I don't remember but sounded useful so I picked them all. The frames wasn't anthing top-branded so I paid like $200. The prices may differ around the world, I know but it's still lower than any mid-range smartphone and I suspect it should be similar in most of the world. I used to use a t-shirt without any fluid for years (results were good enough), but since covid I clean my glasses with hand sanitizer with 60% alcohol (water based, not that jelly thing that would smear the view) and 4-layered tissues, the softest ones I can find (I have allergy, so I use tissues all the times, so just by "coincidence" I always have the softest tissues you can find with me). Scratches? I can see a few, I suspect they all happened when I dropped my glasses on the concrete. I once sit on my glasses, I once dropped something heavy on the glasses I left on the floor near my bed. Frames got bended and they don't keep on my head that good anymore, so I drop them like twice a month, especially when I'm working physically on something. But still don't get scratches even by that. For contrast: My girlfriend bought the "greatest package" in a quite no-name shop (but with high rating on Google Maps, everyone is recommending the place), paid around 80% of what I paid, just because she liked the frames they were offering. After three years her glasses are scratched like hell, they look like a thing made from scratches. It's definitely time to replace them. Idk if she ever dropped them, she cleans them the same way I do. But those tiny scratches are definitely caused just by cleaning. So to everyone I recommend trying to find a good store for your glasses and spend bigger amount of money on them. If you're replacing glasses every two years your investment on something better will return fast. If you are low on money - prefer good lenses over looks. It will still be cheaper than ultrasonic cleaner and easier than treating your everyday item like an ancient artifact :)
jollyllama 4y ago
A service where you pay a few bucks and send your glasses for deep cleaning, refurbishing of hinges, and touch up paint etc. would be cool, assuming you have redundant pairs or don't wear them every day. I do notice the grime that accumulates in the nooks and crannies of my glasses.
- nickjj 4y ago
  > I do notice the grime that accumulates in the nooks and crannies of my glasses. Basic wood toothpicks work really well for getting rid of anything that might build up around the little nubs near your nose. It takes like 30 seconds and it's something you might do once a month.
makach 4y ago
Don’t ever use any form of paper. I saw my optician get ready to clean my new subscription glasses with the type of paper towel that you use to dry your hands with - I didn’t scream at her, but yelped so that she stopped what she was about to be doing.
- lostlogin 4y ago
  > subscription glasses Is this a thing, or a typo of prescription? Subscriptions would be very helpful when you have children with glasses. Probably ludicrously expensive though.
  - makach 4y ago
    It is a thing. Like with phones you can pay a monthly fee and renew your glasses every year.
bradwood 4y ago
As a late 40-something I've recently had to start using readers. I went to the optometrist and got a £70 pair which I broke within the first 6 months. After one or two more pairs I thought - fuck this and just ordered a cheap pack of 5 readers at the right strength for a tenner off Amazon. For 2 quid a pair, I treat these now as disposables and I've never looked back. I use the microfibre cloth + breath method to clean them and this works well. But having 10 pairs of specs lying around at work, in the car, at home, etc was the best call I ever made. Granted my prescription is standard - if I had astigmatism or similar it might be different, but for those who just need readers this is a no brainer.
donatj 4y ago
Rinse under the faucet with medium-warm water to get any dust/grime off, then dry using medium pressure with a hand towel size microfiber cloth. That's all you need to do. I use the cloth for a couple months and then toss it. They're never the same after being washed, and they're cheap enough. I bought a 24 pack for $7 on Amazon in 2017 and I'm still working my way through it. I've had this pair of glasses for about 4 years and they're perfect.
iLemming 4y ago
Nobody uses baking soda? Really? I still can't find anything better to remove the fingerprints and other stains off eyeglasses. I would use a pinch of soda, add a few drops of water, then gently rub it around the glass, repeat on the other side and finally rinse it all off. It works better than alcohol and soap. Leaves no residue, no streaks, nothing. Putting glasses on after, feels like switching to 8K from 1080p.
- alliao 4y ago
  you're kidding right, is it plastic or glass lenses? no microscratches? lol
  - iLemming 4y ago
    I'm not kidding at all. When you add some water to that pinch of baking soda it turns into a mushy puree, rubbing it gently won't harm the surface. Sodium bicarbonate is an alkali, and great at dissolving grease. It removes fingerprint stains off the glass extremely well. And I think it does a better job of keeping the glass non-attractive to dust particles. No, there won't be any micro-scratches if it's used gently. After all, I'm not telling you to use kosher table salt, right? Seriously, just try baking soda.
motoboi 4y ago
Wash with water and (very little) soap. Use your fingers to gently rub. Rinse with water until lens become hidrophobic again (signaling all the soap is gone). Dry with air from your mouth (strong blows).
joshvm 4y ago
> The ultrasonic cleaner and distilled water are more expensive and have greater ongoing costs Distilled water should be pretty cheap. You can sometimes buy it as "ironing" water. I use it for my watercooled PCs (plus coolant concentrate), in Switzerland it's about 1 CHF a litre from the supermarkets.
- Tryk 4y ago
  Is there a reason to buy distilled water? Why don't you just make it yourself (e.g. https://www.wikihow.com/Make-Distilled-Water https://www.wikihow.com/Make-Distilled-Water)
mdemare 4y ago
This, but for keyboards.
- dumptruk 4y ago
  This is the approach I use https://www.wikihow.com/Clean-Keycaps https://www.wikihow.com/Clean-Keycaps Denture tablets are gentle enough to not remove the legends from the keycap, especially if its laser printed and not etched, double shot, or dye sublimated legends. You can speed the drying process by putting your keycaps in a dryer bag wrapped with a towel and shaking the water loose from the keycaps. As for cleaning the rest of the board, i use an air duster to blow out any "board chow" that has settled between the keycap posts. For the rest of the keyboard, water with a drop or two if dishwasher detergent. You can use other cleaners but be careful of stronger, undiluted solvents as the denaturing effect in some ingredients will ruin the case over time.
- iLemming 4y ago
  Tip #1: Try a mechanical keyboard. Tip #2: Try a split keyboard. Giving any of that a heartfelt attempt, I promise you, makes it really difficult to go back to the old way. Some mechanical keyboards are very durable. I've been using Kinesis Advantage boards and can you believe it? I washed them multiple times. First time I spilled beer. The keyboard worked, but some keys felt different, they've become "sticky". I opened it, removed all the keycaps, took out the PCBs and washed them in warm soapy water. After drying and reassembling, the keyboard worked better than the first time I unboxed it. The second time I spilled soup on it, without any hesitation I opened it; and washed it again; and it worked just as before. I had more incidents (with different boards) and each time I would follow the same procedure, and the keyboards still work. So, if the idea of washing the keyboard feels appealing to you, then Tip #1.
traderj0e2 4y ago
How do you all super-clean the inside of your car windshield? I find those to get a lot dirtier and greasier than my eyeglasses!
- gorkish 4y ago
  Also kimwipes.
bdpngn 4y ago
I just use isopropanol solution (70% isopropanol/30% water) then wipe with a bit of toilet paper/whatever
u801e 4y ago
I sometimes use the lens cleaning wipes. Other times, I just wash them with liquid soap and water and pat them dry with a towel or paper towel (or anything as long as it doesn't leave lint).
otikik 4y ago
I got lasik eye surgery and got perfect vision in 20 minutes, more than 15 years ago. Best decision ever (don’t skimp on this, go to the best professional you can afford)
atkailash 4y ago
jchook 4y ago
> I then wipe the lens with a dry microfibre cloth... > Once a week, I use an oil remover... Intimacy / kisses tend to leave my lenses smudged with face oils and sometimes makeup. Dry cloths don't seem to remove that very well. This works for me: 1. Spray with lens cleaner 2. Wipe off with a microfiber cloth
sli 4y ago
A small ultrasonic cleaner for my frames is a really good idea that I'd never considered, mostly because I didn't know they were so cheap. My lenses are trivially easy to take out by removing two screws, something I require in my frames since discovering the feature, so no worries about damaging them in the cleaner. My frames sure could use it.
j-bos 4y ago
I wipe mine on my t shirt. Rain, sweat, mud, face grease, food stuff. Works every time. Sometime shower with them.
ourmandave 4y ago
I buy a 500 count box of lens wipes and clean them whenever they get smudged enough to notice. I get inexpensive glasses from Zenni so they're almost disposable. Cleaning them like your the old man from Toy Story restoring Woody to collectable quality just feels like overkill.
chromerift 4y ago
I've never had a problem keeping my glasses clean. I understand people who take them on/off having problems, but if you just have them on all the time, what are you doing!? I clean mine max once a day, usually can go 2-3 without cleaning. The only time I ran into problems was working with polishing metals. My glasses were getting scratched with the small particles/dust you couldn't even see. I almost thought they were faulty. I fixed it by just rinsing before putting soap (before I would directly lather soap). Now I just rinse on both sides, soap softly, rinse, dry with softest tissues around. In a pinch some alcohol will do, but do not like it or other cleaning solutions. Tissues only take 1-2 wipes unlike microfiber clothes which I also don't like. I avoid touching the glasses themselves, only ever touch the frame (only part it's worn in 5 years is where I touch it), never put them in a case, always put them on my nightstand to sleep. I replace them maybe once every two years, usually because I've ended up scratching them when accidentally hitting something. They're regular CR 39, nothing fancy (I like it due to it's high Abbe number, cannot stand the chromatic aberration on high index lenses).
- finder83 4y ago
  Longer hair I find adds a lot to glasses getting dirty, also windy conditions with dirt blowing in the air
powerhour 4y ago
It seems like my vision quality changes rapidly enough that I don't need glasses to last more than a couple years. And like others here I just order a bunch on zenni. Bonus: I like that I can get a bunch of styles without worrying about wasting hundreds on a single pair.
Const-me 4y ago
I usually clean sunglasses by spraying alcohol and wiping with a paper towel. Pharmacies here sell that liquid in small plastic bottles with spray nozzle, the liquid contains 70% ethanol, 30% distilled water.
- tgsovlerkhgsel 4y ago
  I would expect that to destroy many coatings.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
colechristensen 4y ago
You don’t need any of this. Water and Kimwipes. They’re usually used in lab settings and are properly lint free paper wipes that can get anything optically clean. Warm water is the most you’ll ever need.
balls187 4y ago
I got LASIK. One of the best decisions I have ever made. EDIT TO ADD: I got the surgery 3 years ago, I'm 42 now. Post surgery I am at 20/15 vision. No complications, and no side effects. If anyone is interested, here is the video of the entire procedure (they even offered to live stream it on facebook for me): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4YOuS-nznk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4YOuS-nznk
- ridiculous_fish 4y ago
  Please tell us more. How old are you, how long ago was the surgery, how is your vision now, any side effects?
  - balls187 4y ago
    Sure thing. I edited my original comment.
    - ridiculous_fish 4y ago
      Thank you. Very encouraging results.
oogabooga13 4y ago
Love these tips! Personally not a huge fan of the Zeiss wipes, seems to be too much solution on them. The Target Brand...yes Target Brand wipes are great. Just enough solution to clean and not be abrasive and also evaporate without wet streaks on the lens. Also extremely cheap (the bottle version of the solution is nice as well.)
hoseja 4y ago
OH! That's why I can't focus in low light! Time to get those new glasses finally I guess...
mickotron 4y ago
Tissue or my shirt. It’s that simple.

314 points by ltratt 4y ago

In the passenger terminal of JFK airport somewhere there is a device where you put your glasses inside a clear plastic box and it makes a big show of washing them like a miniature car wash. Takes a few quarters, seems to work pretty well. I've always wanted one for my home.

chadlavi 4y ago

Who has this kind of time? I've been wearing glasses since I was a kid too and my approach is: don't worry about it, clean them if things look bad. Unless this is maybe parody and I failed to pick up on that?

TillE 4y ago
Seriously it sounds exhausting. Wash them with mildly warm water and soap, dry them with a microfiber cloth, boom done. The worst part of having some elaborate routine with an ultrasonic cleaner and all is that the moment after, your glasses will instantly start accumulating dust and probably get smudged. It's not going to be really clean for more than a few minutes. And that's fine, you probably shouldn't worry about it.

btbuildem 4y ago

OP sounds a little.. intense, but hey. As long as they're not hurting anyone. Since we're talking about eyewear care -- here's my approach. I have spray bottle of water, rubbing alcohol and dish soap (mostly water). This gets off any but the most stubborn grime and grease rainbows. Couple of spritzes then a wipe with a soft clean cloth. (The original use for the spray bottle was to kill house flies, it's extremely effective)

PaulHoule 4y ago

What I found is sufficient to get my glasses spotless is: dip in hot water, dry with paper towel, dip in hot water, dry with paper towel, rinse in cold water, dry with paper towel, rinse in cold water, dry with paper towel. Anything less than that I would find my glasses were not really clean.

ekianjo 4y ago
won't the paper towel cause micro-scratches?
- PaulHoule 4y ago
  It probably does but it gets the glasses clean. Many things I've tried (including those microfiber clothes) just smear contamination around making the glasses at least as dirty if not dirtier than when I started.

davidito 4y ago

I have used a variety of wipes to clean and/or dry my lenses over the years. This always left microscratches and damage to the AR coating over time. Since I switched to the hand method, my lenses are in much better shape: 1) Clean hands with basic bar soap, leave soap suds on hands 2) Lightly rub lenses and frames with soapy fingers, taking care not to apply too much pressure and deposit skin oils 3) Rinse off with hot water 4) Shake glasses dry with both hands (carefully) 5) If tiny water spots bother you, or you can't wait for the remaining droplets to naturally dry, use a lint free glasses wipe to dab (not wipe) them dry

vmaen 4y ago
Be careful with hot water, according to my essilor, that‘s what destroyed the coating on mine…

blakesterz 4y ago

This title is missing a word: "How I Clean my Glasses" I half expected a post where someone brags about cleaning glasses. HOW I clean my glasses is pretty interesting for those of us who wear them. Mine are just ALWAYS dirty, I don't know what the heck I keep doing to them.

ekianjo 4y ago
HN removes the How in submissions automatically
Tomte 4y ago
HN strips "How" on submissions. It's just one of many annoying auto-edits.
mttjj 4y ago
Pretty sure this is an automated word removal action by the HN submission form. There've been threads about the words that are filtered out by default. It comes down to trying to make titles less clickbait-y. Though I do agree that "How" does provide some important context in this case.
- dang 4y ago
  Yes, sometimes it doesn't work at all. Most of the time it does. A mod has fixed this one.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
Jasper_ 4y ago
HN has a strict "don't editorialize article titles" policy, backed by a bot that automatically editorializes article titles for you. It's great.
- teddyh 4y ago
  And sometimes titles are editorialized manually: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31396861&p=2#31397151 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31396861&p=2#31397151 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31638648#31643597 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31638648#31643597

mynegation 4y ago

I switched to contact lenses (monthlies first and then to dailies) and I do not miss any of these cleaning rituals.

dont__panic 4y ago
How long have you used contact lenses? I used contacts from 2005-2017 or so, eventually switched away because it was annoying when I couldn't just take a nap easily, my eyes dried out a lot when I use a computer all day for work, and contacts are not very bikepacking compatible. When I first switched to contacts, it was such a breath of fresh air, but I've been back to glasses for years now and have no desire to go back. My life seems a lot simpler now that I have a good pair of transitions and a good pair of indoor glasses.
- likpok 4y ago
  There's a number of contact products that allow you to sleep in them. Mine do leave me feeling a little gummy in the morning but it generally fades shortly after waking up. A previous brand (the air optix?) I lived in for a month at a time and was fine though perhaps I just didn't care as much.
- yesbabyyes 4y ago
  Not OP, but another data point. I have been wearing contacts since I was 16, in 1994, most of the time. I keep a pair of glasses and wear them occasionally (perhaps every couple month on average, or more rarely) for a few days or a week. First monthly lenses, then dailies for a long time. I got lazy and started to sleep with them for days/weeks, which is not to be recommended, but it's mostly worked fine. I've had an infection two or three times over the years. They do get sticky sometimes, and I really have to blink to get started in the morning, or late nights This summer I tried with contacts made to wear for up to a month without taking them out. When testing them out I learned I have also become astigmatic, which is a new experience; the contacts adjust in the eye to stay in the right angle, which makes mornings harder, as it takes a while for them to adjust. During daytime they mostly work well and I see much clearer now. However, I'm also getting older and these are now adjusted for seeing far, so for reading comfortably I'm going to need reading glasses/terminal glasses. My old glasses are scratched pretty badly and the various coatings have rubbed off in the middle, which is pretty annoying. I mostly wear them for giving my eyes some rest (I have recently rediscovered how nice it can be too just remove them and not see anything) and because I really like the frames (Shuron Ronsir). They also have great looking clipons making them my favorite sunglasses.

lvqz 4y ago

My glasses are always clean. Every morning I use a single sheet of toilet paper and it does the work perfectly.

ars 4y ago
The article isn't about how to make them clean, the article is about how not to scratch them during the process of cleaning.

planarhobbit 4y ago

Any reason you can’t use pure methanol to clean glasses? I don’t wear glasses so I don’t know the specifics, but that’s what we use to clean industrial laser lenses and any tiny speck or smudge or oil would immediately burn the protective coating. We also don’t touch the lens tissue when we clean it, rather we put methanol on the lens tissue and slide it across. Curved lenses are a bit more interesting but same method of cleaning.

ISL 4y ago
Ought to generally be fine. That level of critical cleaning is kinda different from what glasses generally require. Mine wind up with grease, fingerprints, dust, cooking oil, etc., so a good surfactant (i.e. dish soap) and some clean water tend to work pretty darn well. If you want to finish 'em off with a critical-cleaning approach, go for it. The scratch/AR coatings on most glasses should be fine for both methanol and isopropanol. I would not, however, use solvents like acetone on plastic lenses of any kind; it'll probably destroy some of them.
dekhn 4y ago
Methanol works fine, it's great for removing the various things that soap and water won't remove (grease/oil). And yes, ideally wipe once in a single direction. Glasses are just another form of optics.
likpok 4y ago
Pure methanol is a little annoying to source. It seems like you can only buy it from lab supply shops -- not impossible to get but not exactly at the local Walgreens. All of this feels a little overkill for eyeglasses. Dish soap works very well (it's concentrated so don't use too much or you'll be rinsing a while) and most people have it in their kitchen. I personally mostly use hand soap in the bathroom -- works less well if it's a soap with lotion but most places don't have that. The added benefit is that you can do it almost any time or place without thinking too hard.
- spike021 4y ago
  +1 I just use warm water and hand soap, followed by rinsing and then a gentle wipe with a soft microfiber towel (the kind you'd buy for washing a car actually).

csmattryder 4y ago

I just use some IPA and a microfiber cloth. Man, I've so many better things to do with my time on the planet than cleaning my specs.

ttpphd 4y ago
...an IPA? Are these beer goggles?
- csmattryder 4y ago
  Eh sorta... I wouldn't neck it, but it'd definitely knock you out. Isopropyl alcohol - great for cleaning glass-wear and dirty electronics.

bryanlarsen 4y ago

As a farm kid who spent time in a dusty barn every day, my glasses were often so dirty that they looked opaque to others. I didn't notice and didn't care. How the brain processes visual information is really weird. I'm not surprised that a slight speck of dirt would really bother some people but not others.

jefftk 4y ago
Dust is fine, you adapt, but with grease it gets blurry and there isn't much ability to correct. I really noticed this when I switched to new glasses with a hydrophobic coating that handled grease very differently.

sodimel 4y ago

My glasses are always dirty, I use my tshirt to clean them every day or so. They are full of little scratches, but if I don't focus on them, I don't notice them. My old pair (which I keep in case my current pair breaks unexpectedly) are even worse, with big visible scratches. They (the old pair) lasted at least 4 or 5 years, and the current ones are at least 3 years old, but I don't really remember.

smm11 4y ago

I spray with Windex, rub the lenses with my thumbs, let sit a few minutes, rinse with water, tap on the sink, then let dry.

mmh0000 4y ago

This article describes way too much OCD and wasted time. Here's my solution: * Buy 4x pairs cheapish glasses from Zenni. * Beat the crap out of them. * Replace as needed.

chmod775 4y ago
A good chunk of people require glasses that need to be custom-made. Once you also add amenities like photochromic lenses, it quickly adds up.
- hammyhavoc 4y ago
  Yeah, I spend £300+ per pair on not having coke bottle thick glasses that are thin and light, and made out of polycarb.
  - jefftk 4y ago
    At least in the US that would be much cheaper: I can get high index (1.74) lenses for +$75: https://www.zennioptical.com/glasses-lenses https://www.zennioptical.com/glasses-lenses (so the overall glasses are ~$100)
    - tecleandor 4y ago
      I have a Zenni pair, I think they are 1.74 and around -6 correction in each eye. They are really cheap compared to other places, but they have very high chromatic aberration on the sides and I don't thing they are perfectly centered. I think it's something that's more noticeable when you need relatively high power lenses.
      - hammyhavoc 4y ago
        This is what I suspected would be the case. You absolutely do get what you pay for when it comes to optics, but equally, you can over-pay for utter rubbish. If you've got the vocabulary (which you do) to describe and understand what to look for, you can't go wrong.

dncornholio 4y ago

The breath and piece of cloth method worked so well, I really didn't think of needing another method. I'm curious on what the author used to test his cleaning methods, because it seemed to only appears after 2 years of using this method.

camtarn 4y ago
Yeah, exactly this: there's no way for the author to tell if the method is actually any better, so this article seems a little premature!

aliljet 4y ago

I've noticed over the years, the primary failure mode for my lenses is the coating being scratched. I wonder if anyone has a good way to have that coating repaired or replaced?

sgtnoodle 4y ago

I hate the metalized coatings they put on lenses these days because they are so fragile. The antireflective coatings "craze" when exposed to thermal cycles. My current pair I ordered without AR coating, and they still came with a "hardness" coating. All it takes to ruin it is a spattering of aerosol sunscreen in passing. A few weeks ago, one lens got bad enough that I soaked it in glass etching acid overnight and then polished it with Novus acrylic polish. In the last month I spent a lot of time outdoors with folk using sunscreen, and the other lens has gotten bad enough that I need to polish it as well.

onemoresoop 4y ago
That's the reason I go cheaper on sunglasses. You can find quite good ones for 15-20 and I go through 2-3 pairs a year. No matter how well one takes care of them the coatings and lenses get ruined quite quickly..
- vel0city 4y ago
  The one recommendation about going with cheap sunglasses is getting polarized ones. Good polarization is practically half the difference between the ultra cheap and the really fancy sunglasses in my experience. Decent polarization really cuts down on glare. There are several brands out there making pretty affordable pairs of glasses with polarization filters on them. I get mine for ~$35, often last me at least a year or so.
camtarn 4y ago
Hah, it's great to hear that the etch-and-polish approach actually works! I've considered doing this to my glasses to remove messed-up antireflective coatings, but always chickened out before actually doing it.
- sgtnoodle 4y ago
  You aren't going to get it perfect. There's always going to be fine scratches, and probably visible ripple texture when you look at the lens from several inches away. When wearing the glasses, though, it looks just fine. It's definitely an improvement from the damaged coatings. On a previous pair with AR coating, I tried sanding rather than etching. It was a lot more effort, and I caused some distortion on the outer edges of the lenses. It was still an overall improvement from the messed up AR coating. I was taking high dose corticosteroids at the time, and the AR coating was driving me so crazy to the point that, if sanding didn't work, they were going to be smashed with a hammer!

cornstalks 4y ago

The best method I’ve found so far: 1. Get your glasses wet with warm water. 2. Apply dish soap to both lenses. 3. Gently rub the soapy water over the lenses. For some stubborn things (like sunscreen) in the edges I sometimes gently use a Q-tip. 4. Rinse under warm water. Gently rub with your fingers to agitate the soapy water and help rinse it off. 5. (This is the important step) Adjust the faucet’s flow to a low laminar flow and run the glasses through water, hitting the top of the glasses first and letting the water flow down and off the bottom of the lenses. It might take a couple passes but doing this will eliminate any water droplets on the lenses. 6. Use a clean towel to gently dry the frames. The lenses don’t need drying since the laminar flow eliminated all the water droplets on them.

lttlrck 4y ago
This is exactly what I do. I know someone that cleaned their hard contacts like this too.
dionian 4y ago
My process was the same except for #5. Just tried it out and see what you mean! No more drops on the lens! Thanks for sharing
melenaboija 4y ago
I do almost the same and I completely agree. For step 6 an unused paper towel is what works best for me. I am guessing this may damage the glasses with the dust but it is fast and effective.
sdfhdhjdw3 4y ago
Haha laminar flow. So I'm not the only one. I always wondered.
vmaen 4y ago
Exactly what I do!
conqrr 4y ago
This works for me. Dish soap is barely a drop that I use to spread. Also clean the frames occasionally with water. For 6, I use a fresh clean underwear instead of a clean towel. One less towel and the usual laundry cycle takes care of the rest.

remflight 4y ago

Lol I think the OP is just getting older and his vision is getting worse. My vision is poor (-600) but was stable for 25 years. In the last two years and especially in the last year once I got into my 50s, my vision has dropped like a rock. I need reading glasses for the first time in my life and when it’s too dark I can’t read anything. Switching between phone and tv is HARD and I can’t read properly for several minutes while my eyes adjust. sigh What a drag it is, getting older…

dionian 4y ago

You should rinse with water to remove debris before rubbing. I just put a drop of dish soap and rub with my fingers and then rinse. Then I dry off with a glass cleaning fabric. I use a toothbrush rather than my thumb to do a more thorough cleaning if desired.

hammyhavoc 4y ago
That's a sure-fire way to strip any coatings you've got.
- JustSomeNobody 4y ago
  Dawn dish soap should be fine to use as long as there isn't any other junk like lotions. A toothbrush, on the other hand, is completely not recommended.

havblue 4y ago

Personally I've had okay luck with the pre moistened lens wipes. You can clean your glasses then proceed to clean whatever screens in your car, phone, laptop, or other surfaces are close by. There's always something dirty within arms reach. No need to worry about destroying the coating.

jdfellow 4y ago
Isopropyl wipes are my go to. I buy them in big boxes and carry them regularly.
CharlesW 4y ago
My favorite solution as well. These work great for me: https://www.amazon.com/ZEISS-Lens-Wipes-Pre-Moistened-Eyeglass/dp/B003O5FCZ6 https://www.amazon.com/ZEISS-Lens-Wipes-Pre-Moistened-Eyegla...

pen2l 4y ago

Be careful with using ultrasonic cleaners or using otherwise strong solutions because of the risk of taking off polarized/anti-glare lens coating, if you happened to have gotten it (you probably should have :)). Working in a lab that had ultrasonic cleaners, I used to do this and it happened with me after a few washes. It is indeed a bit of a pain to clean it (I'm lazy and just don't... unless it gets really, really bad). This is why I'm strongly considering LASIK, don't have to pay for glasses for years ahead, don't have to deal with inconvenience of having it all the time (and especially when traveling and when doing physical exercise), don't have to deal with glare at night-time driving. I'm nearsighted and have astigmatism so I have to think carefully about this. Happy to hear if folks have their experiences to share on getting LASIK!

mmh0000 4y ago
I'm in the same boat as you, in fact I've got several eye consults lined up for next week. I just wanted to say, LASIK is a catch-all term now-days. I would recommend to see if you're eligible for the ReLEX SMILE[0] proceedure. That's what I'm hoping for. There are some (disturbing) videos on youtube that show the process step-by-step[1]. The biggest fear for me for traditional LASIK has always been the flap. SMILE is flapless. [0] https://med.stanford.edu/eyelaser/procedures/ReLEXSMILE.html https://med.stanford.edu/eyelaser/procedures/ReLEXSMILE.html [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L41-CqynUHE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L41-CqynUHE
- staindk 4y ago
  This is interesting! I recently read that new tech has also allowed PRK to become better and thus more popular again - I compared it to LASIK a while ago and would probably have leaned more towards PRK from what I read. This looks like the best of both worlds, great idea.
  - sswezey 4y ago
    I got PRK last year because I didn't want the flap. I was supposed to have 20/20 or better vision after a month. Exactly one week later, my eyes had recovered to 20/15 and 20/18. The recovery honestly wasn't that bad and I forget that I've only had perfect vision for a year. One of the best investments in myself I've ever made!

digitallyfree 4y ago

Note that I've seen ultrasonic cleaners damage the coatings on glasses (especially if you have Transitions Lenses). At the edges of the lenses I've seen the coatings come off after several rounds through the cleaner. I've seen this with two different models of cleaner but I'm not sure if it happens with all of them.

ama5322 4y ago

Seems overkill. I use pure dish detergent under the tap directly with my fingers (you can feel the dirt, do not press against the lens). Dry with a new/clean paper towel by pressing (buffering? do not drag the paper across the lens). Dirt cheap, perfect result in seconds, can be done everywhere. Normal hand soap contains moisturizer, so this is not indicated (but generally works too although might leave stains). If your lens is being scratched by this try spending a bit more on better glass. There's no point in skimping on something you hold on your eyes the entire day. Mine always lasted more than 7 years, and I only ever needed to change due to loss of acuity.

ihateolives 4y ago
> If your lens is being scratched by this try spending a bit more on better glass. There's no point in skimping on something you hold on your eyes the entire day. Doesn't always work that way. I never skimp on glasses, atm I'm looking through 500+€ Zeiss lenses (that's just for lenses, frame price not included), I've had them for a year and have one visible scratch. I always take care of my specs, always carefult when cleaning or putting on table but still have one pretty big and annoying scratch. How did it get there, I have no idea.
- ama5322 4y ago
  A single solid scratch might be caused by an accident of sorts, this can always happen. The kind of damage the OP is speaking about seem to match the description of very light superficial scratches causing diffused softening. Could be damaged coating, or just the glass being too soft. I've only seen this happen on cheap (and normally polymer) lenses.

hammyhavoc 4y ago

Tried to leave a comment on this blog post, but the confirmation link I get via email gives me this error: `Invalid link or already submitted comment`

jackspratts 4y ago

Hotest water you can stand. Blast copious amount over lenses, both sides. This removes some grease and large grit. Put several drops of detergent on finger tip and rub onto thumb tip. Using thumb and finger coat detergent onto both sides of both lenses then rub gently. A few seconds is all you need. This removes all remaining oils and suspends any remaining grit preventing friction scratches during cleaning. Rinse lenses with hot water and gently dry with paper towel. Hold up to light to check progress. Remaining smears if any come off with paper towel. Been doing it for decades. It never scratches and it cleans like new.

l8arrival 4y ago
This is really bad advice, about hot water. When I was in New Zealand once, where you sometimes still encounter faucets with a separate hot water and cold water tap, I accidentally ran my glasses through the very hot water coming out of the hot water tap and it completely destroyed the coating on the lenses, it was as if I had run sandpaper over them. The water only needs to be lukewarm. i.e. rinse glasses with lukewarm water, then get a drop of dish soap on fingers and rub fingers through a bit more water to dilute the soap, then gently scrub the lenses as you describe, and then rinse the glasses again with lukewarm water. Almost all the water will sheet off.
oezi 4y ago
I would strongly advise against paper towels. With bad luck these contain small splinters of wood that might be just as sturdy enough to cause small scratches. Happened to me on a pair that I had just worn for 6 weeks.

Kehvarl 4y ago

If I have a proper cleaning cloth and some cleaning spray handy I'll use that, otherwise I'll just use my shirt or a clean microfiber cloth. Even with that abuse, the coating on my lenses tends to last roughly 2 years. I've never managed to cause enough scratching on my lenses to bother me before it was time to see about getting new ones anyway.

green-salt 4y ago

If you think you can withstand and are a candidate for lasik, I highly recommend it. Like any medical procedure, weigh options, cost, risk.

glerk 4y ago
Daily contacts are also a great alternative if your prescription isn’t too high. I used to use monthlies, and only recently found dailies with my level of astigmatism. The difference in comfort is pretty significant for me.
- int_19h 4y ago
  And if you can tolerate wearing them.

nayuki 4y ago

> The ultrasonic cleaner and distilled water are more expensive and have greater ongoing costs, although it looks like £13 of distilled water will last for about 3 years Weird complaint, because distilled water is $1 CAD for 4 litres here at any supermarket.

regularfry 4y ago
For some reason we don't have distilled water quite so readily available in the UK. I have absolutely no idea why.

init0 4y ago

Why don't you wash it with water?

hanoz 4y ago

I've never done anything other than breathe on them and polish with the bottom of my shirt. What am I missing?

pizza234 4y ago
Grease is not entirely caught by cloth; the stickier/large the grease patch, the more it will spread over the lens, making it time consuming to clean.
- dheerajvs 4y ago
  My lenses have oleophobic coating. I find breathing on them and rubbing with microfiber cloth to be quite effective even when they are coated with grease.
  - int_19h 4y ago
    Try running them through a soap cleaning once. You might be surprised at how much cleaner they'll end up looking after (been there with my spouse!).
jws 4y ago
Depending on what your lenses are made of, and if you have fragile coatings on them, and if you live around or work with fine abrasives, this works fine. I miss actual glass, uncoated lenses.
- eps 4y ago
  Not missing them at all. In fact, wouldn't wear them even if I'm being paid to be that. Stone age tech :)

rajup 4y ago

https://www.amazon.com/Pre-Moistened-Lens-Cleaning-Wipes-Efficiently/dp/B0723CV53X/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?keywords=Optix+55&qid=1657729061&s=hpc&sr=1-1 https://www.amazon.com/Pre-Moistened-Lens-Cleaning-Wipes-Eff... You can thank me later! Never leave home without a bunch of these.

ornornor 4y ago
Never had any luck with any kind of wipes (prepackages, microfiber, with a solution, without: they always smear things across the lens rather than clean them. The only way to have truly transparent lenses for me is the water finger dishsoap process.

dmtroyer 4y ago

suddenly very self-conscious about my very dirty glasses...

eigenrick 4y ago

I tend to enjoy sports and manual labor, so end up sweating all over my glasses a few times a week. Because of this, the oil removal process is the piece in which I'm most interested. I have used a glass cleaner spray bottle (which was methanol) when that ran out, I just refilled it with 95% ethanol (grain alcohol) and it seems to be fine. I am curious about RoR and its chemical makeup. Is it that different than an alcohol?

nunez 4y ago

this reminded me of how thankful i was to finally find contacts that work for me. glasses are annoying (to me). it took ten years, lots of disappointment, and an old-school OD doing a number on my eyes after an allergic reaction to contact lens cleaner, but it was one of the best things to happen in 2021. (I use Acuvue Oasys toric dailies.)

xchip 4y ago

Shall I do all that after or before my 'American psycho' routine?

Nathanael_M 4y ago

This is exactly the content I want to see here. I love it. It's so over the top and min-maxed. This is optimized beyond efficiency and I whole-heartedly approve.

gorkish 4y ago

These rituals are pretty time consuming compared to my routine: 1) use a kimwipe 2) use another kimwipe if they are still foggy Beyond this, throw them in an ultrasonic cleaner or the dishwasher if you want them shiny. Buying glasses that do not have an artificially overinflated price is quite liberating. Edit: Gonna assume the salty downvote is because I said "ritual" isn't it? Heaven forbid that anyone else know about a convenient product purpose built for cleaning optics.

aspyct 4y ago

Before the camel hair brush, we typically use a blower on the lenses. The least you touch that expensive glass, the better!

robinson-wall 4y ago

I bought a device with some kind of cloth pads held opposite each other, and when you close it they brush up against an inner pad which presumably removes grease from them. It cost £20 and I was dubious about it, but it cleans better than I've ever managed by myself with a spray. Lasted about 1.5y before it stopped being effective (just moves grease around rather than picking it up) and I went and bought another one.

BXLE_1-1-BitIs1 4y ago

Absolutely first thing to do is hold the glasses under the faucet to get dust particles off. Follow with, as others have said, dish soap, fingers and microfiber.

hypertele-Xii 4y ago

I just lick the lens and rub with a cloth. Spit and shine.

quasarj 4y ago

Ain't no way I could brush the dust off, it's all glued on by oil. I guess I'm a fat fucker and produce way more oil than normal, though...

helij 4y ago

I just buy a pack of 200 Zeiss Lens Wipes every 6 months (~£12). They are amazing and quick. Money well spent.

ghostly_s 4y ago

Odd article. Claims to be inspired by camera lens cleaning methods, but I've never heard of any photog using an "oil remover", and certainly not an ultrasonic cleaner.

teh_klev 4y ago
"Inspired" doesn't mean you do the exact same things, sometimes you introduce your own ideas, not all necessarily good :) The residual oil remover mentioned is just a fancy name for lens cleaner that you can pick up in most supermarkets: http://www.newprouk.co.uk/images/ROR/ROR%20data%20sheet.pdf http://www.newprouk.co.uk/images/ROR/ROR%20data%20sheet.pdf I've used this stuff to clean my SLR lenses (and my spectacles) but just by squirting a small amount onto a microfibre cloth rather than directly. > certainly not an ultrasonic cleaner. Yeah, I think I'd rather not be exposing my glasses to the rigours of the sonic tank :)

d23 4y ago

I read this and was baffled. I've never broken a pair of glasses. The article made me realize I needed to clean my glasses. I wiped them off with a wipe from a pack of wipes I always use. A few hours later, I just realized one of the hinges on my glasses has no tension anymore. It just swings freely. What a strange coincidence.

JustSomeNobody 4y ago

I worked in an optical lab some 20+ years ago to pay for college. Here's how I clean mine: Fill a clean sink with warm, mildly soapy (dawn dish) water. Let them soak in that for a few minutes. Rinse them clean with fresh water. Spray with lens cleaner (basically it's water with a touch of isopropyl alcohol), thoroughly. Dry with an old cotton baby diaper. I've had a handful of these since my lab days. They're so freaking soft now, it's crazy. Here's key: Never ever ever let your towel hit a counter. If you do, you'll scratch a lens. As author of the post writes, keep them in a bag. They come out of the bag, clean the glasses, they go back in the bag. Inspect your glasses. Make sure screws are tight. Look at the nose pads, replace before they get funky. Seriously, they're touching your freaking face. About every 6 months, I do the above, but I take them completely apart first. I'll spray the screws with alcohol and rub them back and forth on a towel to get the oils and such off. I'll clean the bezels where the lenses go. The nose pads fit in with screws. They insert into a cup and the screw goes through that way. I'll get a paper towel and make a point and twist it around in the cup to clean the oils out of there. Finally I'll wipe everything down as per above and reassemble.

Digit-Al 4y ago

Dude, please use margins. The writing is far too close to the edge of the screen for comfortable reading.

odysseus 4y ago

I feel like this article lays the groundwork for a high quality artisanal eyeglass cleaning video. Reminds me just a touch of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBb9O-aW4zI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBb9O-aW4zI

dzek69 4y ago

I have only used two pairs of glasses for around 12 years, I replaced my old ones only because I left them at the gym and never got them back. The magic: I just bought the glasses at good place (not the most expensive brand in my country, but quite decent) and picked the "greatest package" of features. They offered me like four features to pick from: - anti blue light - scratch resistance - scratch resistance level 2 - something else I don't remember but sounded useful so I picked them all. The frames wasn't anthing top-branded so I paid like $200. The prices may differ around the world, I know but it's still lower than any mid-range smartphone and I suspect it should be similar in most of the world. I used to use a t-shirt without any fluid for years (results were good enough), but since covid I clean my glasses with hand sanitizer with 60% alcohol (water based, not that jelly thing that would smear the view) and 4-layered tissues, the softest ones I can find (I have allergy, so I use tissues all the times, so just by "coincidence" I always have the softest tissues you can find with me). Scratches? I can see a few, I suspect they all happened when I dropped my glasses on the concrete. I once sit on my glasses, I once dropped something heavy on the glasses I left on the floor near my bed. Frames got bended and they don't keep on my head that good anymore, so I drop them like twice a month, especially when I'm working physically on something. But still don't get scratches even by that. For contrast: My girlfriend bought the "greatest package" in a quite no-name shop (but with high rating on Google Maps, everyone is recommending the place), paid around 80% of what I paid, just because she liked the frames they were offering. After three years her glasses are scratched like hell, they look like a thing made from scratches. It's definitely time to replace them. Idk if she ever dropped them, she cleans them the same way I do. But those tiny scratches are definitely caused just by cleaning. So to everyone I recommend trying to find a good store for your glasses and spend bigger amount of money on them. If you're replacing glasses every two years your investment on something better will return fast. If you are low on money - prefer good lenses over looks. It will still be cheaper than ultrasonic cleaner and easier than treating your everyday item like an ancient artifact :)

jollyllama 4y ago

A service where you pay a few bucks and send your glasses for deep cleaning, refurbishing of hinges, and touch up paint etc. would be cool, assuming you have redundant pairs or don't wear them every day. I do notice the grime that accumulates in the nooks and crannies of my glasses.

nickjj 4y ago
> I do notice the grime that accumulates in the nooks and crannies of my glasses. Basic wood toothpicks work really well for getting rid of anything that might build up around the little nubs near your nose. It takes like 30 seconds and it's something you might do once a month.

makach 4y ago

Don’t ever use any form of paper. I saw my optician get ready to clean my new subscription glasses with the type of paper towel that you use to dry your hands with - I didn’t scream at her, but yelped so that she stopped what she was about to be doing.

lostlogin 4y ago
> subscription glasses Is this a thing, or a typo of prescription? Subscriptions would be very helpful when you have children with glasses. Probably ludicrously expensive though.
- makach 4y ago
  It is a thing. Like with phones you can pay a monthly fee and renew your glasses every year.

bradwood 4y ago

As a late 40-something I've recently had to start using readers. I went to the optometrist and got a £70 pair which I broke within the first 6 months. After one or two more pairs I thought - fuck this and just ordered a cheap pack of 5 readers at the right strength for a tenner off Amazon. For 2 quid a pair, I treat these now as disposables and I've never looked back. I use the microfibre cloth + breath method to clean them and this works well. But having 10 pairs of specs lying around at work, in the car, at home, etc was the best call I ever made. Granted my prescription is standard - if I had astigmatism or similar it might be different, but for those who just need readers this is a no brainer.

donatj 4y ago

Rinse under the faucet with medium-warm water to get any dust/grime off, then dry using medium pressure with a hand towel size microfiber cloth. That's all you need to do. I use the cloth for a couple months and then toss it. They're never the same after being washed, and they're cheap enough. I bought a 24 pack for $7 on Amazon in 2017 and I'm still working my way through it. I've had this pair of glasses for about 4 years and they're perfect.

iLemming 4y ago

Nobody uses baking soda? Really? I still can't find anything better to remove the fingerprints and other stains off eyeglasses. I would use a pinch of soda, add a few drops of water, then gently rub it around the glass, repeat on the other side and finally rinse it all off. It works better than alcohol and soap. Leaves no residue, no streaks, nothing. Putting glasses on after, feels like switching to 8K from 1080p.

alliao 4y ago
you're kidding right, is it plastic or glass lenses? no microscratches? lol
- iLemming 4y ago
  I'm not kidding at all. When you add some water to that pinch of baking soda it turns into a mushy puree, rubbing it gently won't harm the surface. Sodium bicarbonate is an alkali, and great at dissolving grease. It removes fingerprint stains off the glass extremely well. And I think it does a better job of keeping the glass non-attractive to dust particles. No, there won't be any micro-scratches if it's used gently. After all, I'm not telling you to use kosher table salt, right? Seriously, just try baking soda.

motoboi 4y ago

Wash with water and (very little) soap. Use your fingers to gently rub. Rinse with water until lens become hidrophobic again (signaling all the soap is gone). Dry with air from your mouth (strong blows).

joshvm 4y ago

> The ultrasonic cleaner and distilled water are more expensive and have greater ongoing costs Distilled water should be pretty cheap. You can sometimes buy it as "ironing" water. I use it for my watercooled PCs (plus coolant concentrate), in Switzerland it's about 1 CHF a litre from the supermarkets.

Tryk 4y ago
Is there a reason to buy distilled water? Why don't you just make it yourself (e.g. https://www.wikihow.com/Make-Distilled-Water https://www.wikihow.com/Make-Distilled-Water)

mdemare 4y ago

This, but for keyboards.

dumptruk 4y ago
This is the approach I use https://www.wikihow.com/Clean-Keycaps https://www.wikihow.com/Clean-Keycaps Denture tablets are gentle enough to not remove the legends from the keycap, especially if its laser printed and not etched, double shot, or dye sublimated legends. You can speed the drying process by putting your keycaps in a dryer bag wrapped with a towel and shaking the water loose from the keycaps. As for cleaning the rest of the board, i use an air duster to blow out any "board chow" that has settled between the keycap posts. For the rest of the keyboard, water with a drop or two if dishwasher detergent. You can use other cleaners but be careful of stronger, undiluted solvents as the denaturing effect in some ingredients will ruin the case over time.
iLemming 4y ago
Tip #1: Try a mechanical keyboard. Tip #2: Try a split keyboard. Giving any of that a heartfelt attempt, I promise you, makes it really difficult to go back to the old way. Some mechanical keyboards are very durable. I've been using Kinesis Advantage boards and can you believe it? I washed them multiple times. First time I spilled beer. The keyboard worked, but some keys felt different, they've become "sticky". I opened it, removed all the keycaps, took out the PCBs and washed them in warm soapy water. After drying and reassembling, the keyboard worked better than the first time I unboxed it. The second time I spilled soup on it, without any hesitation I opened it; and washed it again; and it worked just as before. I had more incidents (with different boards) and each time I would follow the same procedure, and the keyboards still work. So, if the idea of washing the keyboard feels appealing to you, then Tip #1.

traderj0e2 4y ago

How do you all super-clean the inside of your car windshield? I find those to get a lot dirtier and greasier than my eyeglasses!

gorkish 4y ago
Also kimwipes.

bdpngn 4y ago

I just use isopropanol solution (70% isopropanol/30% water) then wipe with a bit of toilet paper/whatever

u801e 4y ago

I sometimes use the lens cleaning wipes. Other times, I just wash them with liquid soap and water and pat them dry with a towel or paper towel (or anything as long as it doesn't leave lint).

otikik 4y ago

I got lasik eye surgery and got perfect vision in 20 minutes, more than 15 years ago. Best decision ever (don’t skimp on this, go to the best professional you can afford)

atkailash 4y ago

jchook 4y ago

> I then wipe the lens with a dry microfibre cloth... > Once a week, I use an oil remover... Intimacy / kisses tend to leave my lenses smudged with face oils and sometimes makeup. Dry cloths don't seem to remove that very well. This works for me: 1. Spray with lens cleaner 2. Wipe off with a microfiber cloth

sli 4y ago

A small ultrasonic cleaner for my frames is a really good idea that I'd never considered, mostly because I didn't know they were so cheap. My lenses are trivially easy to take out by removing two screws, something I require in my frames since discovering the feature, so no worries about damaging them in the cleaner. My frames sure could use it.

j-bos 4y ago

I wipe mine on my t shirt. Rain, sweat, mud, face grease, food stuff. Works every time. Sometime shower with them.

ourmandave 4y ago

I buy a 500 count box of lens wipes and clean them whenever they get smudged enough to notice. I get inexpensive glasses from Zenni so they're almost disposable. Cleaning them like your the old man from Toy Story restoring Woody to collectable quality just feels like overkill.

chromerift 4y ago

I've never had a problem keeping my glasses clean. I understand people who take them on/off having problems, but if you just have them on all the time, what are you doing!? I clean mine max once a day, usually can go 2-3 without cleaning. The only time I ran into problems was working with polishing metals. My glasses were getting scratched with the small particles/dust you couldn't even see. I almost thought they were faulty. I fixed it by just rinsing before putting soap (before I would directly lather soap). Now I just rinse on both sides, soap softly, rinse, dry with softest tissues around. In a pinch some alcohol will do, but do not like it or other cleaning solutions. Tissues only take 1-2 wipes unlike microfiber clothes which I also don't like. I avoid touching the glasses themselves, only ever touch the frame (only part it's worn in 5 years is where I touch it), never put them in a case, always put them on my nightstand to sleep. I replace them maybe once every two years, usually because I've ended up scratching them when accidentally hitting something. They're regular CR 39, nothing fancy (I like it due to it's high Abbe number, cannot stand the chromatic aberration on high index lenses).

finder83 4y ago
Longer hair I find adds a lot to glasses getting dirty, also windy conditions with dirt blowing in the air

powerhour 4y ago

It seems like my vision quality changes rapidly enough that I don't need glasses to last more than a couple years. And like others here I just order a bunch on zenni. Bonus: I like that I can get a bunch of styles without worrying about wasting hundreds on a single pair.

Const-me 4y ago

I usually clean sunglasses by spraying alcohol and wiping with a paper towel. Pharmacies here sell that liquid in small plastic bottles with spray nozzle, the liquid contains 70% ethanol, 30% distilled water.

tgsovlerkhgsel 4y ago
I would expect that to destroy many coatings.

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

colechristensen 4y ago

You don’t need any of this. Water and Kimwipes. They’re usually used in lab settings and are properly lint free paper wipes that can get anything optically clean. Warm water is the most you’ll ever need.

balls187 4y ago

I got LASIK. One of the best decisions I have ever made. EDIT TO ADD: I got the surgery 3 years ago, I'm 42 now. Post surgery I am at 20/15 vision. No complications, and no side effects. If anyone is interested, here is the video of the entire procedure (they even offered to live stream it on facebook for me): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4YOuS-nznk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4YOuS-nznk

ridiculous_fish 4y ago
Please tell us more. How old are you, how long ago was the surgery, how is your vision now, any side effects?
- balls187 4y ago
  Sure thing. I edited my original comment.
  - ridiculous_fish 4y ago
    Thank you. Very encouraging results.

oogabooga13 4y ago

Love these tips! Personally not a huge fan of the Zeiss wipes, seems to be too much solution on them. The Target Brand...yes Target Brand wipes are great. Just enough solution to clean and not be abrasive and also evaporate without wet streaks on the lens. Also extremely cheap (the bottle version of the solution is nice as well.)

hoseja 4y ago

OH! That's why I can't focus in low light! Time to get those new glasses finally I guess...

mickotron 4y ago

Tissue or my shirt. It’s that simple.