How I clean my glasses

https://tratt.net/laurie/blog/2022/how_i_clean_my_glasses.html

by ltratt • 4 years ago

314 328 4 years ago

PaulHoule2• 4 years 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.

ekianjo2• 4 years ago

won't the paper towel cause micro-scratches?

PaulHoule2• 4 years 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• 4 years 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

vmaen2• 4 years ago

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

blakesterz• 4 years 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.

ekianjo2• 4 years ago

HN removes the How in submissions automatically

Tomte• 4 years ago

HN strips "How" on submissions. It's just one of many annoying auto-edits.

mttjj• 4 years 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.

dang6• 4 years ago

Yes, sometimes it doesn't work at all. Most of the time it does. A mod has fixed this one.

Jasper_2• 4 years 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.

teddyh3• 4 years ago

And sometimes titles are editorialized manually:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31396861&p=2#31397151

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31638648#31643597

frosted-flakes5• 4 years ago

The bot removes common clickbait words ("How to...", "12 reasons to...", etc.), and you can change it back if it's not warranted.

dang6• 4 years ago

Don't confuse "edit" with "editorialize". Editorializing is editing a title to put one's own spin on it.

HN's actual rule isn't hard to find—it's in https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html, which is linked at the bottom of every page and which commenters here ought to be familiar with. This is what it says: "Please use the original title, unless it is misleading or linkbait; don't editorialize."

Note that "unless".

mynegation3• 4 years ago

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

dont__panic• 4 years 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.

likpok2• 4 years 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• 4 years 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.

mynegation3• 4 years ago

Close to 10 years. I don’t take naps but I feel your struggle - it is uncomfortable to wake up wearing lenses, for sure. My eyes do not get dry (I use BL Biotrue dailies FWIW), but individual physiology is definitely a factor. I do quite a bit of active stuff, like volleyball, bicycle, snorkeling and managing glasses in these settings is a hassle for me.

haliskerbas• 4 years ago

I wish I could do this but I really can’t. The dailies dry out super fast, and sometimes fall out. And then they stick causing a weird lag when I move my eyes too fast. Maybe it’s my eye shape but I wanted to love contacts and really couldn’t make it work.

hammyhavoc6• 4 years ago

Exact same experience. Amazing visual clarity, however considering how long I can work for in a day or multi-day period, dailies just aren't convenient.

mynegation3• 4 years ago

Sorry about your experience! Looks like your lenses are pretty thick - probably you have large +- prescription? For me, my myopia is not very strong, so dealing with thinner lenses alleviates the problems your described.

shard• 4 years ago

I used contact lenses for many years, starting with RGPs when I was in high school and later switching to soft lenses. However, as I and my eyes have gotten old, I've found that wearing contacts for more than a few hours leads to eye pain, and switching to different brands or contacts with higher water content didn't really make a difference. So nowadays it's glasses-only for me.

lvqz• 4 years ago

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

ars• 4 years 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.

planarhobbit2• 4 years 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• 4 years 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• 4 years 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.

likpok2• 4 years 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• 4 years 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).

Retr0id• 4 years ago

I use isopropanol to clean mine, works great. I just use toilet paper for the cloth, but combined with the isopropanol you don't need to apply any pressure, so scratching doesn't seem to be an issue.

chicob• 4 years ago

Isopropanol also evaporates quickly, so if there is any dirt left behind one can immediately see it.

It probably would be more than enough to clean the hair brushes, instead of the ultrasonic thing.

perihelions• 4 years ago

It's very toxic and absorbed through bare skin. It's overkill, particularly with isopropanol being sufficiently effective and safe and easy to buy.

SnowHill9902• 4 years ago

Do you really mean methanol? It’s toxic even at low concentrations. Can permeate the skin and produces irreversible blindness.

planarhobbit2• 4 years ago

RE: “overkill” - I agree, but this blog post/article prompted me to suggest this as a one step solution to eliminate multiple steps with multiple products as an alternative to what another commenter called “OCD.” A bottle of methanol, and tissue lens. Yes, you can’t find it everywhere, but you can buy it in bulk from a local lab supply store. If you’re cleaning constantly, keep it in a small dark glass bottle dropper that you can take with you.

csmattryder2• 4 years 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• 4 years ago

...an IPA? Are these beer goggles?

csmattryder2• 4 years 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.

sodimel• 4 years 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.

bryanlarsen• 4 years 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.

jefftk4• 4 years 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.

smm11• 4 years 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.

mmh00004• 4 years 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• 4 years 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.

hammyhavoc6• 4 years ago

Yeah, I spend £300+ per pair on not having coke bottle thick glasses that are thin and light, and made out of polycarb.

bravetraveler• 4 years ago

I'm one of those people but I also keep a similarly crude technique - simple microfiber that I replace regularly

The article mentions washing them, I have never tried this or nothing to back it up, but I suspect that may be where the problem lies. Just replace the cloth. They cost pennies.

They even go as far as to put them back in bags and such. I don't bother and have never noticed an excess of grease, dust, or anything they do. Mine is just replaced every now and then sitting openly on my desk

It's at the point where I wonder if doing less is more. It certainly seems obsessive

People may say microscratches, yada yada. It's so inconsequential that my eyes go bad before the lenses do due to my treatment.

jefftk4• 4 years ago

A good chunk of people require glasses that need to be custom-made.

Zenni makes their glasses to order; what do you mean?

throwaway123x2• 4 years ago

Yup, this is my new go to. I don't even bother with the insurance reimbursement any more.

soneca• 4 years ago

That doesn’t solve the problem that after a few days of use my glasses are dirty.

mmh00004• 4 years ago

Hench, the "beat the crap out of them" step. Wipe them on my shirt or any nearby rag as needed.

ryantgtg• 4 years ago

I think it comes across as OCD because the author is logging everything they do. But the gist is basically “buy a 10 pack of cloths and wipe your glasses.”

That’s what I do. And I shake the cloth beforehand to get sand from my pocket off of it. I do exactly four shakes, plus one extra swoosh that technically can’t be categorized as a shake due to its fluidity rating of 95 on the Holloway Motion Scale.

eyelidlessness• 4 years ago

Just seeing “I clean my glasses” (before the title was corrected), I thought: gee it’s about time I place that Zenni order to replace my favorite pair that broke a few months back. Went ahead and ordered two just to have a backup, for all of $30.

Granted I do clean my glasses (soap and water after each shower while they’re steamed up, gently towel dry). And I’m not much for disposable goods, these will last me years. But in the same spirit, I also like that Zenni accepts my expired prescription. My vision hasn’t changed enough to warrant another trip to the optometrist, so why waste the money, or my time, or theirs?

effingwewt2• 4 years ago

I quite literally just got my first pair of glasses (bi-focals, no less!) yesterday, at the age of 41.

This whole article and thread has been super helpful, but I have to say thanks so much for the Zenni tip!

I was on that site all of 5 minutes before rushing to make an account.

The pages are super easy to read and informative, they tell me instantly whether the frames can go with bifocals and whatnot.

It even helped search by face type and let me do a virtual try-on.

In person places here all seemed hell-bent on upselling me, seemed to be bothered by my questions, and the prices were outrageous!

So now I can buy several cheap pairs, see which I like and then buy several copies to have stored for when I inevitably break my first pair.

I almost never say this these days but holy shit was I impressed all around!

Reading what people do for clean glasses (and as a person with OCD who sometimes gets infuriatingly distracted by the little shapes on my eyeball, much less dirty/scratched lenses), I was already not looking forward to needing these things.

mmh00004• 4 years ago

I've worn glasses most of my life. Back in my 20s, after I got my first good job, I paid for the $500-super-duper-fancy glasses. And, I can say they were higher quality than the $30 Zenni pair but not better enough to justify a >1000% markup. As someone else said further down, Zenni glasses have more chromatic abrasion; I've noticed this too. However, constantly babysitting glasses and worrying about scratching/breaking them is not worth the effort for slightly improved image quality at the far sides.

With that being said, I do pay for quality sunglasses. In my experience, Zenni sunglasses are lacking.

Aulig• 4 years ago

I order my glasses on Aliexpress even. From as little as $2 to $30 (for the most special stuff like photochromic lenses).

Lenses are not expensive. They're just pieces of plastic, just like the frame.

deepspace• 4 years ago

Replace as needed

So here's the thing- I do exactly the same thing. Buy cheap classes. Use a kitchen paper towel or whatever is handy to clean them. But I have never had to replace a pair because of damage.

Every few years, my prescription changes enough to warrant replacement, and then I go and order another set of glasses from Zenni, and they always last until the next time, no matter how badly I treat them.

dncornholio• 4 years 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.

camtarn4• 4 years 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• 4 years 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?

cornstalks• 4 years 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.

dionian2• 4 years 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• 4 years 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.

sdfhdhjdw32• 4 years ago

Haha laminar flow. So I'm not the only one. I always wondered.

vmaen2• 4 years ago

Exactly what I do!

conqrr• 4 years 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.

ddingus• 4 years ago

This is the best way. I do it as a general "reset", to really clean things and start fresh.

In between these sessions, I will use the little wipes. I find that paper they are made of is very similar to chem wipes. I keep the papers in a little box and use them for all sorts of minor tasks.

LK83• 4 years ago

Me too! I thought I was the only one who did this. Replace step 6 with using my shirt :)

twawaaay4• 4 years ago

I use similar method, except:

- Do not apply soap to the lenses. Soap is too thick. Apply it to your fingers and rub between fingers to dilute with a bit of water before applying to glasses.

- Use your fingertips as abrasive. Soap is there to dissolve any fats but your fingertips (if clean) are best material to remove anything from your glasses without scratching the surface.

- Few faucets give good laminar flow. I just blow over the glasses. If you do this right, your glass are not scratched and you have cleaned them well, all water will slide off easily.

- Don't ever use towels on either frames or glasses. Towels can easily scratch glass not to mention much softer frames.

yisonPylkita• 4 years ago

I second this. Don’t use any kind of cloth. Just blow over your glasses a few times, droplets will disappear. Even finest cloth will leave scratches over time. Also it will reapply dirt and grease that naturally builds up as you use it

mixmastamyk2• 4 years ago

Don't ever use towels on either frames or glasses.

Maybe because I get the non-scratch coating, but this has never been an issue for me. Have been doing it for twenty years without issue. Assuming lenses are replaced every several years, which they should be.

dceddia• 4 years ago

I basically do this, but carefully pat dry with either a kleenex tissue or a clean absorbent towel to get the few droplets that inevitably haven't slid off in the not-perfectly-laminar flow.

mc32• 4 years ago

Agreed. This is the best way. Soap on fingers as you described above and laminar flow.

Other methods introduce too much unnecessary complication which don't make the lenses cleaner. Any kind of absorbent material has the potential of depositing tiny fibers or other specs on the lens surface. And air drying potentially leaves behind impurities the from water.

paulsmith• 4 years ago

Almost my exact same method. Just wash your glasses in the sink with soap. It's easy.

headbee2• 4 years ago

Using soap on surfaces that have an oleophobic coating can degrade the quality of the coating. This is even worse with dish soap.

sdfhdhjdw32• 4 years ago

How else do you get rid of grease? The scattering of light on grease on the lenses is unbearable for me whenever I don't use dish soap.

thedracle• 4 years ago

The dish soap method worked best for me. But the best method was getting lasik, now my old glasses are in a drawer gathering dust.

browningstreet• 4 years ago

I had RK in my 20s. No I'm in my 50s, so I'm back to glasses.

pizza2343• 4 years ago

Ultrasonic cleaners, with a bit of dishes soap in the water, are the most efficient/effective way (I uses to clean them with water and soap as well, in the past).

They are simple devices that lightly shake objects very quickly, in water. They work well with dirt that is soft (e.g. grease), and therefore not only for glasses, but also for teeth aligners and jewelry/small objects.

Some grease is still sticky, but generally speaking, I do a 10 minutes pass every day, and the eyeglasses have never been cleaner.

BE CAREFUL with coated lenses (in particular, cheap sunglasses there), as they will be destroyed (the coating/film will detach from the lens)!

aidenn0• 4 years ago

What uncoated lenses do you have? Polycarbonate lenses usually have an anti-scratch coating, and most lenses have an AR coating as well.

kqr• 4 years ago

I clean my wife's glasses (it's unfair that she should get both bad eyes and all the extra work associated with it, so I do the parts of it I can).

This is the exact thing I do as well. I have also found that rinsing with hot water helps tiny droplets evaporate quickly without (for some reason? Clean water at home?) leaving drying stains.

My main concern is that the more effective soap may damage coatings. In practise, however, it seems that she has to change lenses often enough that damaged coating does not have time to become a big issue. (This is partially due to how pregnancy and breastfeeding changes the eyes -- we'll see how things go after this.)

js2• 4 years ago

The best method I've found so far (I've worn glasses for over four decades):

https://www.amazon.com/Zeiss-Pre-Moistened-Cleaning-Wipes-Co...

If they are especially dirty, I'll rinse them with clean water and maybe a bit of soap first.

buro9• 4 years ago

Yup, I do this with some nice microfibre for drying / removing any smears afterwards.

robga• 4 years ago

I use the exact same cleaners and have for years.

clumsysmurf• 4 years ago

And they are easy to get, I see them at walmart in 50 and 100 count.

andrelaszlo• 4 years ago

I asked the optician how they clean glasses:

- Wash with cold water. Warm or hot water might ruin the coating. (Our water comes supercooled right out of the tap in the winter,so in order to not have my hands instantly frozen into a solid block of ice I go for 15—20 degrees or so.)

- Use a drop of mild dish soap without ammonia.

- Dry them with a soft clean cloth (they use microfiber I think, I just use a random soft towel that doesn't give off any lint/dust)

Doesn't have to be more complicated than that. It takes 20 seconds and my glasses are as good as new.

otachack• 4 years ago

I second this. Super easy to do and kept my current 1 year old glasses in great shape.

causi2• 4 years ago

Wash with cold water. Warm or hot water might ruin the coating.

This is why I worry about radiant heat from fires while camping or burning yard debris. Plastic lenses are usually opaque to IR and that means they're heating up even more than you might think.

buildbot• 4 years ago

Are optical coatings that sensitive that warm water might bother them? I'll have to treat my lenses differently.

foobarian• 4 years ago

I asked my optician to please give me glass lenses and avoid the shenanigans with inferior materials, but they declined citing safety concerns with broken glass. Ah well.

clashmeifyoucan2• 4 years ago

My opticians have always given me a microfiber whenever I got a set of glasses made, and last time I went I asked for a spare as well. Now I have the habit of having one in my pocket at all times so I don't have to devolve back to using the bottom of my tshirt.

frogulis• 4 years ago

Our water comes supercooled right out of the tap in the winter

I'm from a place that never really gets below freezing, so I have to ask. Is this serious? If so, that's fascinating. When you turn the tap on, does the water instantly turn to slush on the way out? Does it come out at full speed or sluggishly?

julian_sark2• 4 years ago

I use a tall glass with tap water and some dish soap. Dunk them in while I shower, then remove, rinse off with cold water. Afterwards I could use a towel, but actually I tap them dry with a sheet of toilet paper. I THOUGHT that would leave small dust, but surprisingly, does not.

I use cheap, uncoated glasses though and replace them every 3-4 years anyways.

ComputerCat• 4 years ago

Same! Except dish soap lathered between fingers first, and I just blow dry them to avoid streaks or fuzz of any kind.

parentheses• 4 years ago

yep. no more microfiber whatever and no “lens cleaner”. i discovered this a long time ago and i think it’s hilarious that others use such care to clean theirs.

jsvaughan• 4 years ago

this is it. also needs emphasis on getting a clean tea towel or equivalent out of the drawer, do not be tempted to use anything else.

ornornor2• 4 years ago

That’s exactly my technique too. Except I wear rubber gloves because the dish soap makes my hands very dry otherwise.

chrisseaton3• 4 years ago

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.

This final step is also how soldiers get those perfect mirror finishes on their boots and belts!

batch122• 4 years ago

I did it by using lots of polish, time, and a little (drops of) water. I don't remember holding my boots under a faucet, maybe I could have had an easier time if I'd have known back then. Some folks did use heat guns, but that always made the polish crack for me.

JJMcJ• 4 years ago

You can get water shedding coatings for lenses. Then you just have a few beads of water when you do this. You can either leave them there to dry or dab at them with a soft cloth like a tee-shirt.

Since I've started doing this I've actually had compliments from optometrists what good shape my lenses are in.

ridgeguy• 4 years ago

I use this with mods on steps 5 & 6.

We have super hard water. Despite soaping to degrease the lenses, our water never just sheets off like soft or distilled water does on a really clean surface. It beads up and leaves deposits when droplets evaporate. So step 5 is problematic for me.

After the rinse, I set the glasses down on a paper towel - temple pieces extended as if I were going to put them on. The lens frames rest on the paper towel, their lower parts in contact with the towel.

I use canned air to gently drive droplets down front & back surfaces to the bottom of the lenses. They then generally wick away into the paper towel, or else evaporate at the lens/frame interface. No need for step 6. Takes about 30 sec, leaves no spots on the lenses after.

ezekg• 4 years ago

Exactly how I do it. There's no easier way to clean lenses.

WalterBright• 4 years ago

I don't use a towel to dry them, as any grit at all will fog the lenses. Instead, I just bang the edge of the glasses against my abdomen to knock the drops off.

They'll eventually fog, but it takes a lot longer.

raggi• 4 years ago

I do something similar, but I tend to be less particular with using laminar flow, as ensuring that works reliably is difficult. I find I can simply blow on the lenses to drive any remaining droplets off of them.

thomasmg• 4 years ago

I do the same. The problem is at step 5: some faucets (at hotels and so on) are automatic (no touch, due to pandemic maybe). I don't have a solution for this yet.

dwringer• 4 years ago

The easiest solution I've found is to use a Zeiss lens wipe; at this stage the lens is already clean so you don't have to worry about pushing dirt around on the lens, and the alcohol on the wipe evaporates quickly and cleanly.

A better solution is to keep a clean microfiber lens cloth that never comes into contact with anything except freshly cleaned lenses to dry them. Unfortunately, for me it's tough to keep one that clean for very long.

A worse solution is just to use the relatively-clean inside of a t-shirt. All three methods have their place IMHO.

nickjj2• 4 years ago

I do something similar for the first 1-4 steps, only difference is I use cold water instead of warm or hot.

I don't know how true it is but I read in a few places where hot water and glasses don't mix well. It can mess with prescription lenses and potentially strip away extra coatings you have like auto-tint.

I know hot and warm are different but just to be safe I always go with cool.

It's too bad hot water is bad for lenses because it would be really convenient to be able to clean them while showering.

dboreham• 4 years ago

Opened this page to make post about my secret method for glasses cleaning. Find 50 posts saying to do the same thing I do. The joy of HN...

flappyeagle• 4 years ago

I do almost the exact thing except with cold water.

qwertywert_• 4 years ago

I just air-dry my glasses after dish soap cleaning, by whipping it in the air with my arm. Works pretty well actually.

MengerSponge• 4 years ago

0. Wash your hands :)

It's better to do a final rinse with RO or distilled water.

toss1• 4 years ago

At the end of that sequence, I finish with a spray of deionized water (made using a resin filter specifically to make DI water), and a clean/dry microfiber wipe. DI water is an amazing all-around cleaner and leaves zero residue.

The best recommendation for it is remembering my chemistry teachers telling us that "water is the universal solvent". Well, filtering and removing all of the stuff previously dissolved in the water turns it into a very aggressive yet gentle solvent. It's great for cleaning surfaces and tools at the shop, windows at home, it makes glassware really shine, and of course, as a final step cleaning eyeglasses.

(I just use a kit & resin from CR Spotless, available online. No affiliation, hope it helps as a starting point)

m463• 4 years ago

I learned the dish soap method when I ... accidentally dropped them in dish water.

It is AWESOME.

It is amazing for sunglasses. Clarity is critical for driving, but they also seem to build up oil faster than normal glasses. Dawn makes them meticulously clean.

ramg• 4 years ago

If you leave your sunglasses in the open in the car, it might be collecting the offgassing from the plastic - that same haze that accumulates on the inside of your windshield. I keep mine in a closed container and it seems to do just fine.

fmajid• 4 years ago

I use an air compressor to blow the droplets away.

BenFrantzDale• 4 years ago

I do almost the same thing, but I turn it to scalding hot once I’m done using my fingers so the lenses get hot so they dry faster. So far that hasn’t seemed to damage anything.

wyclif4• 4 years ago

This is almost exactly what I do. After a lot of trial and error I found it works for me. The only thing I would add is to never use paper products to dry your Rx glasses or sunglasses if they have plastic lenses; the fibers in the paper will scratch the lenses.

FunnyBadger• 4 years ago

This is exactly what I do. It's always worked fine for me (40+ years)

tlarkworthy• 4 years ago

I do similar but use centrafugal forces to spin dry them almost dry with arm swings. Then I use toilet tissue dabbed to get the final few drops off (not wiped!). Toilet tissue can be scratchy so you might want an alternative but for me it's not doing much work and it's always at hand.

analog31• 4 years ago

I do some optics design and prototyping for my day job. This is close enough to how I clean expensive optics, except that I would avoid a q tip unless absolutely necessary. The only thing I'd add is if you do need to dry something with a cloth, an old cotton undershirt that's been washed many times does a great job.

Also, I wash my windows at home with plain water and a squeegee.

lttlrck• 4 years ago

This is exactly what I do.

I know someone that cleaned their hard contacts like this too.

Groxx6• 4 years ago

Avoid moisturizing soap in general when doing this, since they often have silicones, and that can leave a film. Dish soaps are less likely to have them, so it's a decent one to try blindly... or just read the label.

But yep, this is exactly what I do. Usually hand soap, but the stuff I get is just plain soap, no fragrance or moisturizer, so it rinses super easily. And when it's properly clean, the water leaves the surface dry and streak-free.

fy20• 4 years ago

This is what I do, usually once or twice a day. I seem to touch my face and glasses a lot, so dish soap is important as it removes the grease. Hand soap isn't as powerful and often has additives that will leave a film behind.

Between cleanings when I get a small smudge I go back to using my t-shirt, but I only clean the specific area that is dirty.

twistedanimator• 4 years ago

I just wanted to thank you for this advice. I just used your laminar flow idea and didn't even need to use my microfiber cloth at all, the lenses were totally clean!

Here's what I did: 1. First pass of laminar flow water from the faucet to remove any large debris. 2. Two sprays of lens cleaner on each side of each lens. 3. Rinse lenses with laminar flow water making sure to leave no droplets behind.

Thank you for changing my algorithm forever.

remflight• 4 years 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…

dionian2• 4 years 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.

hammyhavoc6• 4 years ago

That's a sure-fire way to strip any coatings you've got.

JustSomeNobody2• 4 years 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.

sgtnoodle2• 4 years 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• 4 years 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• 4 years 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.

camtarn4• 4 years 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.

sgtnoodle2• 4 years 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!

havblue• 4 years 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• 4 years ago

Isopropyl wipes are my go to. I buy them in big boxes and carry them regularly.

CharlesW• 4 years ago

My favorite solution as well. These work great for me: https://www.amazon.com/ZEISS-Lens-Wipes-Pre-Moistened-Eyegla...

pen2l3• 4 years 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!

mmh00004• 4 years 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

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L41-CqynUHE

staindk• 4 years 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.

tecleandor2• 4 years ago

What did you use with the ultrasonic cleaner? Just de-ionized water or any solution?

pen2l3• 4 years ago

If I recall correctly, first I used to use di water, but later on I used a solution. Whatever protocol is used in biological labs to wash flasks and tubes, I pretty much followed that, I don't remember what washing solution I used, I recall it felt like soapy water. It's possible that latter might have been the problem.

anigbrowl• 4 years ago

I have had anti-glare lens coating but it always wears off because I clean my glasses with whatever softish fabric comes to hand. I'm not getting again because the last pair I had eroded in edgewise fashion so lenses look like the coastline of some unvisited continent, which is far more distracting than any glare in the worn-away areas.

camtarn4• 4 years ago

I wish I could do this - I've asked my opticians if I can have lenses without the coating, but they've said that the lenses automatically come coated and there's nothing they can do. Which seems pretty strange given that the lenses are made to order, now that I think about it. Maybe it's something about the way they order the lenses in, where there's simply no spot to ask for no coating, and they don't want to / aren't allowed to pick up the phone?

digitallyfree• 4 years 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.

ama53222• 4 years 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• 4 years 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.

ama53222• 4 years 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.

hammyhavoc6• 4 years 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`

blamazon• 4 years 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.

jackspratts• 4 years 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• 4 years 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• 4 years 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• 4 years 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• 4 years 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• 4 years 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_19h2• 4 years ago

And if you can tolerate wearing them.

nayuki• 4 years 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• 4 years ago

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

init0• 4 years ago

Why don't you wash it with water?

hanoz• 4 years ago

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

pizza2343• 4 years 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• 4 years 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.

jws• 4 years 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• 4 years 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• 4 years ago

https://www.amazon.com/Pre-Moistened-Lens-Cleaning-Wipes-Eff...

You can thank me later! Never leave home without a bunch of these.

ornornor2• 4 years 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• 4 years ago

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

eigenrick• 4 years 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?

nunez4• 4 years 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• 4 years ago

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

Nathanael_M• 4 years 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.

gorkish2• 4 years 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• 4 years 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• 4 years 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.

chadlavi• 4 years 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• 4 years 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.

BXLE_1-1-BitIs1• 4 years 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• 4 years ago

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

quasarj• 4 years 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• 4 years 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• 4 years 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• 4 years 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

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• 4 years 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.

JustSomeNobody2• 4 years 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• 4 years ago

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

odysseus• 4 years 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

dzek69• 4 years 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• 4 years 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.

nickjj2• 4 years 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.

makach2• 4 years 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• 4 years 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.

makach2• 4 years ago

It is a thing. Like with phones you can pay a monthly fee and renew your glasses every year.

bradwood• 4 years 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• 4 years 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.

iLemming3• 4 years 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• 4 years ago

you're kidding right, is it plastic or glass lenses? no microscratches? lol

iLemming3• 4 years 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• 4 years 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• 4 years 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• 4 years 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)

mdemare• 4 years ago

This, but for keyboards.

dumptruk• 4 years ago

This is the approach I use 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.

iLemming3• 4 years 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• 4 years 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!

gorkish2• 4 years ago

Also kimwipes.

bdpngn• 4 years ago

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

u801e• 4 years 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• 4 years 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)

jchook• 4 years 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• 4 years 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• 4 years ago

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

ourmandave• 4 years 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• 4 years 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• 4 years ago

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

powerhour• 4 years 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• 4 years 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.

tgsovlerkhgsel2• 4 years ago

I would expect that to destroy many coatings.

colechristensen2• 4 years 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.

balls1872• 4 years 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

ridiculous_fish2• 4 years ago

Please tell us more. How old are you, how long ago was the surgery, how is your vision now, any side effects?

balls1872• 4 years ago

Sure thing. I edited my original comment.

oogabooga13• 4 years 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• 4 years ago

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

mickotron• 4 years ago

Tissue or my shirt. It’s that simple.

btbuildem• 4 years 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)

How I clean my glasses

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