How do I clean my glasses properly?

Before we start with the solution, it's good to briefly consider the cause. Because why does a pair of glasses actually get dirty so quickly? This is partly due to putting them on and taking them off, where greasy or wet fingers come into contact with the lenses. Since reading glasses and solar reading glasses are put on and taken off countless times a day, they get dirty much faster than regular glasses, which rest on the nose for most of the day. As a result, it will be necessary to degrease the glasses more often. Sweat, hair, makeup, creams, dust, and weather conditions can also be reasons for dirty glasses.

Whether you need to degrease your glasses now or want to wipe away loose lint and dust: it is important to do this with the right products. This way, you keep your reading glasses in excellent condition. For cleaning the lenses of glasses, you can use mild soap or a dish detergent without citric acid. Even better is to use a cleaning spray specially developed to clean the lenses without damaging them. This way, you can be sure that there are no harmful substances that could damage your glasses. Various good cleaning sprays are available at the optician and online.

Cleaning or degreasing your glasses with just water is not always enough, but be careful which cleaning agents you use. For example, do not use cleaning agents containing citric acid to clean the lenses. Citric acid can damage the coating on your lenses. In short: you can clean your glasses with Dreft, but not with Dreft Lemon. It's also better to avoid Glassex and similar sprays. Glass lenses are not (ordinary) glass, and these cleaning agents contain substances that can damage the anti-scratch coating or anti-reflective layer of your glasses. This also applies to spirits and alcohol. These substances, also effective for degreasing glass, are not suitable for plastic lenses.

You can best clean your eyeglass lenses with a microfiber cloth or the cloth you received with your glasses. These cloths are specially made for this purpose. They clean your glasses excellently without causing scratches or damage. The cloths themselves must of course also be kept clean. You can simply wash them in the washing machine. Just do not use fabric softener, because then the cloths can leave a greasy film on the lenses, which means you will still have to degrease your glasses.

Actually, almost all materials that are not intended for it are not suitable for cleaning the lenses of your glasses. It may be tempting to quickly clean the lenses with your shirt, blouse, or dress, but it is better to avoid this. Textile contains fibers that can eventually cause scratches and damage the protective coatings. This also applies to napkins and kitchen paper. Therefore, always try to keep a glasses cloth handy.

You can clean reading glasses perfectly well with water. Hold the glasses under the tap under running, lukewarm water and dry them afterwards with a dry microfiber cloth. Hot water is not recommended. Glasses cannot withstand unexpected temperature fluctuations and there is a risk that they may warp or even break.

Besides cleaning your lenses well, it is also important to keep the frame itself fresh. This can be done very easily with the same glasses cloth you use to clean your lenses. During the cleaning process, you should hold your glasses by the nose bridge between the lenses. This way, you can use your other hand to clean the frame and the lenses without leaving new smudges with your fingers. Do not hold the glasses by the temples. They are not made for this, which can cause them to bend and the glasses to lose their shape.

A pair of glasses that you wear regularly is best cleaned thoroughly twice a week. By this, we mean cleaning with water and/or a liquid and a microfiber cloth. In between, you can of course always polish the lenses with a microfiber cloth.

Now that you know the best way to keep your glasses clean, you can look for a new model. Check out our collections of reading glasses and sunglasses with prescription.