Today’s scratch-resistant lens treatments are incredibly durable.  However, they are not 100% scratch-proof.  With enough abuse or lack of maintenance, they will eventually fail.

Proper cleaning and maintenance of a quality lens will provide years of optimized, distortion-free vision.  Scratched lenses lead to ocular fatigue, glare, and reduced optical clarity.

As tempting as it is, Don’t use the following methods to clean your eyeglass lenses:

• Don’t use clothing (shirt, blouse, jacket, etc) to clean your lenses.  Dirt particles on the lens or clothing can leave permanent scratches on the lens.

• Don’t use traditional spray glass cleaners (eg. Windex) and/or paper towels as you would for the windows in your house. Realize that “glasses,” though decades ago were made of glass, are today 99% plastic, not glass!  Ammonia-based glass cleaners will eat away at the non-glare ophthalmic lens treatments.  Paper towels are far too abrasive to use on the optics of an eyeglass lens.  Fine scratches on your kitchen window will never bother you the way a minute scratch directly in your line of sight will in eyeglasses.

• Don’t use dish soap or other hand soaps.  Some mild soap solutions will not harm ophthalmic lenses, but do you really want to experiment with your eyewear?  Don’t take the chance. Concentrated dish soaps will compromise the integrity of the lens treatments.

Do practice the following methods to care for your eyeglass lenses:

• Use a clean microfiber cloth.  High quality lens manufacturers provide a microfiber cleaning cloth with each pair of lenses purchased.  If a cloth is not included with the lenses, they may be purchased very inexpensively.  As your optician for guidance on purchasing an eyeglass-friendly cleaning cloth.  If the lenses don’t have fine dirt particles on them, it is generally safe to clean the lenses using the microfiber cloth only, without spray cleaner, but it’s not advised.  This is a last choice option.

• Liquid Cleaners approved for ophthalmic lenses should be sprayed on the front and back of the lenses.  Then the lenses can be gently wiped clean of marks, debris, and dirt on the lenses.  Approved liquid cleaners help lift dirt & debris off the surface of the lens for easy removal.  The liquid cleaner also helps break up the oily residue left on the lenses from our face and skin.  The cleaner acts as a buffer so scratches don’t occur when the lenses are wiped.

• Lens-towelettes (pre-moistened) are another convenient way to clean your lenses, especially when you are on-the-go.  Like the pre-moistened napkins you get when you’re eating BBQ ribs in a restaurant, these specifically designed lens cloths are lens-friendly ways of maintaining your glasses.  If large dirt particles exist on lens, rinse them under water prior to wiping them with a pre-moistened towelette or microfiber cloth.

A little attention to proper lens cleaning will provide you with years of clean, attractive, and visually optimized optics.