How to Care for your Glasses

Having dirt, grease, or grit on your lenses can be irritating, and beyond that, it can cause eye strain and headaches. Even worse is the fact that bacteria are more likely to grow on dirty lenses, thereby spreading to your nose and eyes. This is why cleaning your glasses should be part of your daily eye care routine.

A number of people don`t know that the nose pads and ear clips of their glasses are the most contaminated areas. Let`s show you how to clean your glasses safely and hygienically.

How to Clean your Glasses

How sharp and focused your view is depends on the state of your lenses. Having clean lenses and long-lasting glasses may not come as easy as you imagine. Here`s how to clean your lenses without damaging them.

Microfiber Cloth

This is the most effective and safest tool you can use to get your glasses clean without scratching or smearing them. You can use the microfiber cloth with the cleaning solution to clean your lenses. Keep reading to discover how.

Cleaning Solution

This is a spray made specifically for cleaning eyeglasses. It’s particularly safe for polycarbonate lenses and lens coatings. You can also use lotion-free dish soap to substitute this cleaning solution. Here`s how to do the cleaning  with a microfiber cloth, solution, and warm water:

• Wash your hands thoroughly in order not to transfer germs from your hands to your glasses.
• Run warm water over your glasses to prevent dust or other things that might scratch the lenses. If there`s hard water in your area, it`s better to use distilled water instead of water from a faucet.
• Wipe your glasses with the microfiber cloth.
• Spray your glasses on both sides with a cleaning solution. If you opt for dish soap, put a single drop on both sides of the lenses and rub it gently over the lens surface. Rinse properly if you use soap.
• Dry your glasses by shaking off excess water droplets. You may use a gas duster to avoid streaks and watermarks.

How to Clean Glasses Frames

Frames have lots of tiny parts like hinges, springs, and screws which can get dirty from oils and sweat from your face. Here`s how to clean your glasses frame:

• Run the frame under warm water. Use a mild soap like lotion-free dish soap; apply it with your fingertips.
• Rinse the frames thoroughly under warm water.
• Use a moist towelette with rubbing alcohol to clean the earpieces and nose pads.

Glasses Mistakes to Avoid

Using the Wrong materials

It`s quite easy to use tissues, paper towels, and the shirt you’re wearing to clean your lenses, however, they are not appropriate because they are too coarse and can cause scratches on the lenses, making them lose clarity over time. You should stick to soft lens cloths such as the type that comes with your glasses when you first got them.

Using Products with Acetone

You also shouldn`t use nail polish remover to clean lenses and frames because it is destructive to the lenses and the glasses frames, particularly if you leave it for too long on the surface.

Using Saliva

When you use saliva to clean them, you spread germs from your mouth to your lenses. The germs will definitely multiply, and that`s not good for you.

Getting your Glasses Professionally Cleaned

You can get your glasses professionally cleans at your optometrist`s, ophthalmologist`s, and eyeglass retailers`. A number of eyeglass retailers offer complimentary cleaning.

If you notice repeated breakouts on your nose or around your ears where your glasses have contact with your face, then you might just need professional cleaning.

How to Store your Glasses

You will get your glasses scratched and smudged if you throw them into a travel bag. You will need to store them safely if you want them to last long and serve you fine. So how should you store them? A hinged, hardshell case is your best option. You can get such cases at drugstores or at the optical retailer`s where you got your glasses.

When you`re about to go to bed, you could put your glasses in their case or on a clean, stable countertop or furniture surface with the lenses facing up. You should open both sides of the earpieces of your glasses and place them upside down.

Some Eye Health Facts

• Our eyes close automatically to protect us from perceived dangers.
• People generally read 25% slower on screen than on paper.
• When you stare at a computer for so long, you blink less often, and it, over time, results in tired eyes.
• Premature aging around the eyes is usually caused by UV damage.
• Contrary to popular belief, reading in dim lighting doesn’t actually damage your eyes, it tires them out.
• Dogs can’t distinguish between green and red.
• An ostrich`s eye is bigger than its brain.
• Owls cannot move their eyeballs; that`s why they turn their heads almost all the way around.
• The fear of eyes is ommetaphobia.
• The muscles in the eye are 100 times stronger than they need to be to perform their function.
• The eyes are the second most complex organ after the brain.
• Only one-sixth of the human eyeball is exposed.
• The eyes can process 36,000 pieces of information in an hour.
• In an average life, the human eyes will see about 24 million different images.
• The cornea is the transparent covering of the iris and pupil.
• Technically, we see with our brain, not our eyes. Our eyes function like a camera, as they capture light and send data back to the brain.
• You are likely to blink more often when you talk.
• The eye is the fastest muscle in the human body, hence the saying, “in the blink of an eye”.
• A blink usually lasts 100-150 milliseconds.
• Red-eye in photos is due to light from the flash bouncing off the capillaries.
• If the human eye was a digital camera, it would have 576 megapixels.
• With the right lighting and conditions, humans can see the light of a candle from 14 miles away.
• Heterochromia is a condition in which the eyes have two different colors.
• Contrary to popular belief, contact lenses cannot get lost behind your eye; the eyeball`s structure doesn`t permit that.
• Your eyes start to develop just two weeks after conception.
• The human eyes remain the same size from birth.
• All babies are color blind at birth.
• Color blindness is more common in males.
• Babies don`t produce tears until they are about six weeks old.
• Newborns can clearly see objects about 8-15 inches away.
• Glasses have various names in different parts of the world. Some call it ‘eyeglasses’, spectacles’, and even ‘specs’ for short.
• Bioptic glasses, like telescopes, magnify objects that are in a far distance.
• There are speculations that the first glasses were made in Northern Italy in the 13th century.
• Many years ago, people were bullied, called names, and traumatized for wearing glasses.
• More women than men wear contact lenses in the United States of America.

Now that you Know…

Now you know how to clean your glasses, as well as keep them safe. As a way of personal hygiene, cleaning your eyeglasses regularly should become a part of your daily routine. It will help you see more clearly, as well as prevent eye infections and dermatological conditions such as acne and blackheads. Get bacteria off those glasses already!