What do you use to clean your eyeglasses?

R

rifon2

Joined
Oct 9, 2005
Messages
5,124
Following the advice of some knowledgeable people, I use filtered tap water and a cloth of 100% cotton - usually a plain white handkerchief - to clean my eyeglasses and prescription sunglasses.

I'm told that combination won't affect any coatings on the lenses, and will keep scratches to an absolute minimum.

Seems to have worked well over the years.


But today I was in an eyeglass shop, and they were selling all kinds of cleaning sprays and cloths.

So it got me to wondering - anyone use a product or combination that works better than plain water and a clean white cotton cloth?
 
there are "microfiber" cloths sold that are not supposed to scratch lenses. Fairly cheap investment too, few bucks. When I was selling shoes some years ago, we used felt cloths instead of cotton, for the reason that cotton fibers could scratch the leather and make it rough. I've got one of those cloths, only because it came with a pair of sunglasses I bought. So far so good, and I am still known to use my shirt on them.

But then again, if it ain't broke don't fix it...you would have ruined a pair of your glasses with that hanky by now if it were gonna happen.
 
Crizal cleaning cloths.

Revised%20Essilor%20shot.JPG


One came with my glasses. Best thing I've ever used. Just this, no water, no nothing else. Will do a much better job than a handkerchief. My lenses get a bit oily in the upper corner. This takes care of it quickly, cleanly. There are similar items from other manufacturers.

When out of these, I just use a fluffy 100% terrycloth.

In both cases, I might use a bit of water it there is some substance that is dried on and stubborn (for example, juice from fruit or some such).
 
Relayer said:
Crizal cleaning cloths.

Revised%20Essilor%20shot.JPG


One came with my glasses. Best thing I've ever used. Just this, no water, no nothing else. Will do a much better job than a handkerchief. My lenses get a bit oily in the upper corner. This takes care of it quickly, cleanly. There are similar items from other manufacturers.

When out of these, I just use a fluffy 100% terrycloth.

In both cases, I might use a bit of water it there is some substance that is dried on and stubborn (for example, juice from fruit or some such).
Click to expand...

Same here, except I was told to wet the lenses first. I use one drop
of diswashing liquid or the Crizal spray cleaner and rinse. The Crizal
cloth wipes dry to a spotless clear every time.
 
I was told by my eyeglass place to ...

run water from tap (i have a filter on my kitchen faucet)
drop or two of dishwashing detergent on each lens
use wet fingers to lightly swirl soap around
rinse off
wait a few mins to air dry and for water to run off
use Zeiss cloth (came with glasses) to finish wiping up
 
Relayer said:
Crizal cleaning cloths.

Revised%20Essilor%20shot.JPG


One came with my glasses. Best thing I've ever used. Just this, no water, no nothing else. Will do a much better job than a handkerchief. My lenses get a bit oily in the upper corner. This takes care of it quickly, cleanly. There are similar items from other manufacturers.

When out of these, I just use a fluffy 100% terrycloth.

In both cases, I might use a bit of water it there is some substance that is dried on and stubborn (for example, juice from fruit or some such).
Click to expand...

CARRERA50 said:
Same here, except I was told to wet the lenses first. I use one drop
of diswashing liquid or the Crizal spray cleaner and rinse. The Crizal
cloth wipes dry to a spotless clear every time.
Click to expand...


Interesting! Never heard of the Crizal cloths.

I just looked at their website and found this:


The best way to clean your lenses is by first rinsing your lenses under warm, running water to remove any sandy/gritty debris that could be dragged across the surface of the lenses during cleaning and potentially scratch your lenses. Clean with a mild liquid detergent (like Dawn® or Joy® dishwashing detergent) to remove facials oils, which if not removed, can smear across the lenses. Rinse with water. Then dry with a soft cotton cloth. Finish by polishing your lenses with the Crizal cleaning cloth provided to you. You can also use the Crizal cloth for “touch up” cleaning throughout the day when it is not convenient to wash the lenses.




Very useful info. :thumbup:
 
I think the microfiber cloths work best. Make sure you keep them clean because they pick up dust after awhile.
 
I've worn glasses all day, every day for over 20 years. I always just wipe them clean with my t-shirt. I have to do this pretty often these days, my little son loves to pull daddy's glasses off and run his grubby mitts all over the lenses. :rolleyes:

With modern "scratch-proof" coatings, you really don't need to use anything fancy. As long as you don't rub sand or some other, really hard grit into them, your glasses should be golden.
 
gazz98 said:
I was told by my eyeglass place to ...

run water from tap (i have a filter on my kitchen faucet)
drop or two of dishwashing detergent on each lens
use wet fingers to lightly swirl soap around
rinse off
wait a few mins to air dry and for water to run off
use Zeiss cloth (came with glasses) to finish wiping up
Click to expand...

I do something similar, but with a t shirt instead of a Zeiss cloth. I could probably stand to get one of those. I have found I can get by with less soap.

After rinsing, with my new and relatively unscratched lenses, I've found that I can get most or all of the water off of the lenses by blowing on them.

It probably looks and sounds stupid, but I figure it's one less opportunity to scratch up the lenses. One of those hand drying blowers would probably work for this too, if handy.
 
moonwilson said:
I've worn glasses all day, every day for over 20 years. I always just wipe them clean with my t-shirt. I have to do this pretty often these days, my little son loves to pull daddy's glasses off and run his grubby mitts all over the lenses. :rolleyes:

With modern "scratch-proof" coatings, you really don't need to use anything fancy. As long as you don't rub sand or some other, really hard grit into them, your glasses should be golden.
Click to expand...

yep those coatings work a trick...since mine are reading only when i do remember to take them with me they usually go in a pocket with no case, dont got any noticeable scratches.
 
Thanks for the replies, they're helpful and appreciated.

What with decent prescription eyeglasses costing a bundle these days, I've been doing quite a bit of research on this topic.

I've discovered a great deal of (conflicting) advice including the following:


1. Just about everyone recommends starting by running warm tap water on both sides of the lenses.
2. Many recommend adding a little bit of dishwashing liquid like Dawn.
Others say NEVER to use dishwashing liquid; they say it can damage coatings on the lenses. (Coatings such as UV protection.)
3. Some recommend using white vinegar as a cleaning agent.
Others recommend against it because its acid content can damage lens coatings.
4. Just about everyone says NEVER to use any ammonia-based cleaner such as Windex.

5. Many recommend mixing rubbing alcohol with distilled water 50/50 as the BEST cleaning solution. (And maybe just as important, no one recommends against it.)
Place some in a spray bottle that has been thoroughly cleaned with hot water.
Spray some on each side of the lenses after rinsing with tap water, and then wipe dry...


1. Many recommend microfiber cloths for wiping wet lenses dry, but there's no consensus on which microfiber cloth- if any - is best.
2. Many recommend using compressed air, or a hair dryer set on "cool", for drying.
(No cloth at all.)
3. There is virtually unanimous agreement on NEVER using paper products (tissues, napkins, etc.) for drying.
4. There is also virtually unanimous agreement on NEVER wiping lenses when they're dry. and

5. There's virtually unanimous agreement that a clean white cotton cloth is great for wiping lenses dry.
 
Warm water, hand soap, dry on cotton towel, finish with Kleenex. Has worked for 40 years with almost no scratches on the lenses (the glasses staff always comment on how good the lenses look when I get a new prescription). The only things to avoid are soaps with moisturizers or those stupid Kleenexes with lotion. They'll make a mess of your lenses pronto.

- Mark
 
All of the ideas sound good and I suppose I have tried them all but it really isn't a big deal; have been wearing glasses for over 65 years and haven't found cleaning them to be rocket science.
 
rifon2 said:
Interesting! Never heard of the Crizal cloths.

I just looked at their website and found this:


The best way to clean your lenses is by first rinsing your lenses under warm, running water to remove any sandy/gritty debris that could be dragged across the surface of the lenses during cleaning and potentially scratch your lenses. Clean with a mild liquid detergent (like Dawn® or Joy® dishwashing detergent) to remove facials oils, which if not removed, can smear across the lenses. Rinse with water. Then dry with a soft cotton cloth. Finish by polishing your lenses with the Crizal cleaning cloth provided to you. You can also use the Crizal cloth for “touch up” cleaning throughout the day when it is not convenient to wash the lenses.


Very useful info. :thumbup:
Click to expand...


I've worn glasses for the last ~30 years. I've tried many methods of cleaning them. Warm (not hot) running water with a bit of dish soap as in your quote above works best for me. I dry them on a clean soft cotton cloth.
 
I forgot about the 50/50 alcohol and water but have used it and it did work.

But with the plastic lenses I was most often told to rinse them with warm water and then to put one drop of Dawn on my fingers and work it into a lather, then gently wash the lenses, then rinse with the warm water until the soap was gone.

I was told to dry them with a 100$ cotton cloth that was never used on anything else and was not laundered with fabric softner of any kind.

Worked for me, YMMV.
 
A local sporting goods store sells Costa Del Mar cleaning cloths. They are treated cloths packed individually in sealed foil packs so you can stuff a couple in pockets or gear without any fuss or bother. and are not really expensive at about 5 bucks for a box of twenty. I do not wear eyeglasses, but I use them for sunglasses, binoculars, riflescopes, etc.
They are the best and easiest lens cleaning product I have encountered.
 
Thanks---I like my Costa del Mar glasses so I'm not surprised that the wipes are also good quality. I've used the Zeiss wipes with success but they can go dry even inside the sealed packets. Do unopened Costa wipes stay moist for a long time?

Thanks,

DancesWithKnives
 
The same stuff to clean LED screen tv's "Klean Screen" it's expensive but Makes my Maui Jim's look new unbelievably clear. at Best Buy
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top