How to Clean Sunglasses

By Steve - 2007-12-16 - Viewed 1168 times. Find more articles like this in our Vision and Eye Care category.

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There are some simple and everyday solutions that you can use to care for your polarized sunglasses.

By using these basic procedures you can ensure that your sun glasses will last many years and give you unsurpassed performance in providing excellent eye care and unmatched vision enhancement.

There are three main areas to focus on: the lens, the nose pads and the frame.

Let's start with the lens.

Keep in mind that you need to be gentle with any chemical solutions or rubbing agents. If the lens is merely dirty and not covered in abundant grease and grim then the classic slow but steady breath onto the lens followed by swiftly and gently massaging with a good quality linen or cotton cloth works wonders. Your breath acts as a cleaning solution of tiny water droplets. Never rub the glass on a cloth without some form of moisture or you risk scratching the surfaces. If the lenses have been neglected for some time and there appears to be remnants of your lunch from last Wednesday on them, then it's time to introduce something stronger. This can include chemical solutions and the addition of temperature to clean them up.

For normal glass or plastic lenses, a quick dunk in warm water usually is enough. Or you can add a couple of drops of dishwashing detergent to get the tough grease. If warm water isn't readily available, a quick spray with a commercial window cleaner also can be used. But be careful if you have an anti-reflection coating on your lenses which is common on glasses that have been prescribed for night driving. These coated surfaces have been specially treated and certain liquids or detergents will often make matters worse by creating smudges on the lens. In these cases you should use an optical spray. The optical spray doesn't have to be specifically designed for sunglasses as any optical spray will work just fine including those designed for cameras..

The surface of the nose pads are generally quite resistant to dirt and natural facial oils as they are usually made from a resistant type of plastic or acetate. However dirt can easily get wedged between the nose pads and their frame mounts. If this should happen just soak them for a couple of hours in warm water to loosen the residue. Then it's a simple task to gently brush away the unwanted dirt with an old soft bristle brush or old toothbrush.

Plastic frames, on the other hand, can form a greenish hue over time due to acidic reactions with the skin's natural oils. It is best to avoid the frame touching the face at all. If you properly adjust the nose pads inward to raise the glasses away from your face you can avoid this calamity. Once the frame has been damaged from the facial oils, it is almost impossible to remove the green coloration. Be sure to routinely tighten the screws of the frame.

By routinely inspecting your glasses and doing preventive maintenance, including regular rinsings in warm water with gentle drying, you can prevent dirt build up in the first place. Then you can enjoy your sunglasses more many years of service.

Steve writes about items of interest for both you and himself. For more great information about vision care and how to protect your eyes, be sure to visit www.sunglasspolarized.com

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