How to Clean Your Eyeglasses (and How Not To)

Pollen, sandy beaches, dust from spring cleaning... they can all take a toll on eyewear. Cleaning your eyeglasses each day is the best way to keep them looking great and prevent scratches and other damage. But there's a right way -- and plenty of wrong ways -- to do it. Here are some handy tips from top eye expert Sandy T. Feldman MD:

The Right Way

• Wash and dry your hands thoroughly with a lotion-free soap and a lint-free towel.
• Rinse glasses under a gentle stream of lukewarm tap water.
• Apply a small drop of lotion-free dishwashing liquid to each lens or to your fingertip.
• Gently rub both sides of the lenses and all parts of the frame for a few seconds.
• Rinse both sides of the lenses and the frame thoroughly.
• Carefully dry the lenses and frame with a clean, lint-free towel or a microfiber cloth.

The Wrong Way

• Don’t use your shirttail or other cloth to clean your glasses, especially when they are dry.
• Don’t use saliva to wet your lenses.
• Don’t use household glass or surface cleaners on your eyeglasses.
• Don’t use paper towels, napkins, tissues or toilet paper to clean your lenses.
• Don’t try to "buff away" a scratch in your lenses.

• Individually packaged, pre-moistened lens cleaning wipes or spray eyeglass cleaners can be helpful if you are traveling or don't have dishwashing soap and clean tap water.
• Consider lenses with a durable scratch-resistant coating, especially for children's eyeglasses or if you wear glasses in dusty conditions.
• Eyeglasses can be cleaned more thoroughly with an ultrasonic cleaning device, and yellowing nose pads can be replaced with new ones. Check with an optician before attempting it yourself.
• Always store glasses in a clean case, and never set them with the lenses facing down.

“Following these easy tips is the best way to keep your eyeglasses clean and scratch-free for as long as possible,” Dr. Feldman advises.

Sandy T. Feldman MD is a world-renowned corneal expert who has successfully performed more than 20,000 refractive procedures. Clearview has been voted Best LASIK center by the San Diego Union Tribune and by CityBeat. Dr. Feldman’s many awards include Top Doc San Diego; the Goldline Award, an honor granted to the top 10 laser eye care specialists in the U.S.; and the Silver Elite RealSelf Award. She has also been profiled in publications such as Forbes and Newsweek and is an expert commentator on TV talk shows and news programs. Dr. Feldman is a fellow of the prestigious American College of Ophthalmic Surgeons, as well as a member of the American Academy of Ophthalmology and the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery. More details at clearvieweyes.com.

I can arrange an interview with Dr. Feldman to discuss eyewear or any other eye-related topic. Contact Diana Soltesz at Diana@dsmmedia.com or 818-618-5634.