I’ve worn eyeglasses since I was 3 years old. A few years ago, I started getting annoyed with the dust and grease that keep building up on my glasses. Maybe it’s old-age grumpiness kicking in, or maybe it’s because I started to use LCD displays whose immaculate picture quality sensitized me to any blurriness between the LCD matrix and my retina.
Anyway, I started cleaning my glasses regularly. The problem was that I couldn’t figure out a good cleaning technique. First, I tried washing my glasses with running water and then drying them up with towels. That didn’t work so well for the grease and the towels (either cloth or paper) would leave tons of lint on my glasses. So I bought a professional microfiber cloth, the same kind that I use for cleaning photographic lenses, and some isopropyl alcohol (isopropanol), the stuff that they put in those overpriced “lens cleaning kits” you’ll find in the photography section of your electronics store. That was a lot better than my previous technique, but the alcohol would not clean off all the grease, which was impossible to remove completely with the cloth.
Well, I’ve finally figured it out. (Actually, I wish I had. I learned about this technique from my optician.) The answer is dishwashing liquid (AKA dish soap).
- Rinse your glasses under running water.
- Put a bit of dishwashing liquid on one of the lenses, then use your fingers to gently rub the liquid on both sides of both lenses.
- Rinse glasses again to remove the dish soap. The glasses should now be 100% grease-free.
- Use a microfiber cloth to clean off remaining water drops and other spots. (The microfiber cloth leaves no fluff, so your glasses should be perfectly clean.) Paper towels or tissues work well, too.
It’s really a perfect combination. The dish soap dissolves all the grease, so you don’t get any smudges when you use the microfiber cloth. The microfiber cloth removes the remaining water drops and (non-greasy) stains made by evaporating water, and leaves no lint. The result: pristine-looking glasses in one minute.
What’s more, this technique is fairly convenient to use. Many online how-tos recommend special eyeglass-cleaning sprays or vinegar, which may be expensive or unavailable. On the other hand, most people have dish soap in their kitchen, so the only special accessory you need is a microfiber cloth, which costs $7 (for a top-quality one) and can be re-used for years. And even that isn’t really necessary, as paper towels or tissues work almost as well.
I completely agree with your method of cleaning glasses using dishwasher liquid. I have been using it for the past 2 years. In the past, I used ordinary soap and ruined several pairs of glasses. I later discovered that ordinary soap (or many other kinds of soap) contains “emollients” to make your skin soft. The emollients destroy a fine stratum of chemicals that many modern glass manufacturers incorporate in the manufacturing process. The polarized glasses and night-driving glasses with anti-reverberating properties are particularly vulnerable.
More power to you!
Costco has a relatively cheap ($6) cleaning kit which comes with two microfiber cloths, 2.5 bottles* of cleaning fluid with unlimited refills, and a repair kit. That stuff works really well on the go, although I do use the dish soap method too!
*2 small bottles and one mini/travel bottle.
I use this same method to clean CDS/DVDs. Run lukewarm water and use a few drops of dish soap and a clean finger tip to wash them under water flow. Shake dry…then dry completely with a microfiber cloth…paper towels scratch.
For eyeglasses…the microfiber cloths need to be regularly degreased…I just put them in a bowl and wash by hand…otherwise they pick up lint in a washer.
Microfiber cloths are alittle more expensive than regular rags, but its amazing how soft they are and dont scratch my glasses. Thank you so much for the article.
I use a plastic pump spray bottle with a weak detergent / water mix and use a old fat blush brush to wash. Spray directly on your glasses and nose pads a couple of times and use the brush to clean all sides. Rinse all with warm warm water. Blot your warm glasses dry with one sheet of toilet paper and you are done real quick. I always do this at the bathroom sink so toilet paper is always close by. No scratches either.
I use Johnson & Johnson’s baby hair shampoo instead – works really well, and is safe for plastic lenses. Use warm water to rinse.
Hmmm, agree – have been cleaning my glasses for the last 20 years using fairy.
The only point where I strongly disagree is using papertowels to dry your glasses: paper is very hard and rough – so if you wear plastic glasses the paper will scratch these.
I like the idea with the micro fiber but so far I have simply blown the water drops away or used the hand dryer.
Definately use the microfiber cloths and keep them in a case when not wearing them.
Dawn Ultra to be more specific for Dish Soap and Glass. Thats what I use to wash windows. For my Glasses I use Lens Crafters products.
Hmm never thought about using dish soap to clean my glasses. Always used the the micro fiber that came with my glasses.
I only use clean t-shirts. They must be wash-machine clean. Depending on fabric they work perfect. If very dirty I may pour some water first, then use one part of t-shirt gently to remove all the dirt. It’s important that there’s no hard dirt like minuscule stones. Then other part of t-shirt to clean the grease. I may rub quite powerfully which is not a good thing to do, but I’ve weared the same plastic lenses 10 years, and they are still perfectly fine. I do this every 2nd day, so I must have done it 1500+ times.