# Best way to keep eyeglasses clean? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 28, 2010, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-keep-eyeglasses-clean/565649 "2010-12-28T21:26:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2010, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-keep-eyeglasses-clean/565649/21 "2010-12-29T14:25:04Z")
After decades of cleaning my glasses with things that left streaks, I’ve discovered Leader Lens Wipes. I’ve got a container with 60 wipes in it that dispenses them like baby wipes (with a lid to keep them moist), and when they say streak-free cleaning, they actually mean it. They’re perfectly moistened so they clean your glasses, but not so wet that they leave lines after the moisture dries. I’ve never been a fan of buying some product to clean glasses, but I LOVE these lens wipes. ETA: I got them at my eye doctor’s office. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2010, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-keep-eyeglasses-clean/565649/22 "2010-12-29T16:30:07Z")
I want to thank everyone for responding. I plan to go through everything as soon as I can and please keep it coming if anyone else has any ideas. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2010, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-keep-eyeglasses-clean/565649/23 "2010-12-29T17:29:16Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > I would strongly recommend against this. I would suspect that if you hold your glasses up to a bright light, you’d see hundreds of little very subtle scratches in the lens. Paper products will tear the lenses up. Apparently not all paper products do that. I do NOT have hundreds of little tiny scratches and I have examined the lenses with a loupe and a magnifying glass. I just held my glasses up to the bright sunlight, as I do daily, but see nothing like that. I am extremely sensitive to such marks and dust on the lenses. I have seen other people’s glasses with exactly the marks you describe. They are pretty obvious to me, but I have no idea how they clean or care for their lenses. For all I know, they use sandpaper or scouring powder. Is it possible that the paper products you have come in contact with are of a different nature than mine? I’m not saying you are wrong – there might be another reason why we feel differently about this topic. We might both be right, but generalizing to a fault. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2010, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-keep-eyeglasses-clean/565649/24 "2010-12-29T23:14:23Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > …and not a scratch, even using a magnifying glass to see it… Hmmm. How about using another pair of glasses to see it? ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2010, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-keep-eyeglasses-clean/565649/25 "2010-12-29T23:16:15Z")
> [@Napier](#): > > Hmmm. How about using another pair of glasses to see it? I don’t need glasses to see close. I have perfect vision at that distance. ---
**Author:** ![Viridiana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/ebca7d/32.png) [@Viridiana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Viridiana)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2011, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-keep-eyeglasses-clean/565649/26 "2011-01-03T07:59:28Z")
Did you get anti-glare coating? That stuff makes glasses get dirty super-quick, as I found to my annoyance, especially if your lashes are long enough to touch the glasses. The next pair I got was supposed to have an oleophobic layer to counter it, but it didn’t work. Sadly I don’t think there’s any way to stop the problem, but I have like 4 of those little cloths and a couple of bottles of the spray they give you around. Quick spritz and wipe works great and I’ve just gotten used to doing it a lot. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2011, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-keep-eyeglasses-clean/565649/27 "2011-01-03T08:25:50Z")
> [@Viridiana](#): > > Did you get anti-glare coating? That stuff makes glasses get dirty super-quick. . . I came here to say the same thing. I got the anti-glare coating on my previous set of glasses and was so annoyed with having to clean them constantly that I had the coating stripped off. ---
**Author:** ![Maiira](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Maiira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maiira)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2011, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-keep-eyeglasses-clean/565649/28 "2011-01-03T16:34:34Z")
I’ve actually had quite good results with baby wipes. If I just clean them with my breath, I often end up with greasy streaks across the lenses. Baby wipes gets rid of them tout de suite. Just make sure you wipe 'em off with a cotton t-shirt afterward. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2011, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-keep-eyeglasses-clean/565649/29 "2011-01-03T17:22:42Z")
A dry terry cloth works pretty well for getting mine clean. It doesn’t keep them clean though, so I have to do it 2x a day or so to keep them in good condition. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2011, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-keep-eyeglasses-clean/565649/30 "2011-01-03T17:42:57Z")
> [@Viridiana](#): > > Did you get anti-glare coating? That stuff makes glasses get dirty super-quick, as I found to my annoyance, especially if your lashes are long enough to touch the glasses. The next pair I got was supposed to have an oleophobic layer to counter it, but it didn’t work. Sadly I don’t think there’s any way to stop the problem, but I have like 4 of those little cloths and a couple of bottles of the spray they give you around. Quick spritz and wipe works great and I’ve just gotten used to doing it a lot. I do indeed have that coating. Thank you for the suggestion! ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2011, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-keep-eyeglasses-clean/565649/31 "2011-01-03T18:24:33Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > I would strongly recommend against this. I would suspect that if you hold your glasses up to a bright light, you’d see hundreds of little very subtle scratches in the lens. Paper products will tear the lenses up. > > If that’s not the case, what sort of lenses are you talking about? > > Anyway, rinsing with water and wiping with a dry cotton t-shirt works well for me. Funny, the last time I went to an optician he cleaned my glasses with a spray bottle and dried them with a Kleenex. I asked him about scratching that way and he said, “Nonsense!” ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2011, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-keep-eyeglasses-clean/565649/32 "2011-01-03T21:17:03Z")
Are you sure it was a Kleenex? When I saw an optician cleaning glasses with what appeared to be a kleenex, I asked about that and she said it was a special cotton based disposable tissue/towel. In fact I bought a pack of individual-wrapped moist cotton towelettes made for cleaning glasses and they work really well. ---
**Author:** ![Paintcharge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paintcharge/32/7946_2.png) [@Paintcharge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paintcharge)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2011, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-keep-eyeglasses-clean/565649/33 "2011-01-03T21:18:56Z")
I breathe on them and then use the tail of my shirt. T-shirt if I’m not wearing a flannel shirt. The only time I use any liquid is if I’ve been making a lot of sawdust and the glasses are dusty, then it’s just hot water and my shirt tail. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2011, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-keep-eyeglasses-clean/565649/34 "2011-01-04T03:58:10Z")
My experience is that over time Kleenex, paper towels and T-shirts will scratch even lenses with scratch-resistant coatings. Anti-glare coatings are not scratch-resistant, so these types of cleaning materials will make a mess of the lens surface in just a few months. Another problem with Kleenex and paper towels is that they leave lint behind. Lens tissues are designed neither to scratch lens surfaces nor leave lint. I carry a microfiber cloth in my pocket along with a small spray bottle of lens cleaner. I got the cloth and cleaning fluid at Walgreens. Rather than use the rather large spray bottle it came in, I use a 2-ounce spray bottle I got at an arts supply store. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2011, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-keep-eyeglasses-clean/565649/35 "2011-01-04T05:43:19Z")
keeping them in a closed case is the best way to keep them clean. run under a stream of cold water before other cleaning to rinse off abrasive dust particles. paper, except lens tissue, is claimed to potentially be abrasive to plastics. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2011, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-keep-eyeglasses-clean/565649/36 "2011-01-04T17:04:50Z")
> [@Paintcharge](#): > > I breathe on them and then use the tail of my shirt. T-shirt if I’m not wearing a flannel shirt. > > The only time I use any liquid is if I’ve been making a lot of sawdust and the glasses are dusty, then it’s just hot water and my shirt tail. That is how I kept my old glasses clean and it worked fine but for these new ones it doesn’t. Evidence from this thread suggests the culprit is the anti glare coating. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2011, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-keep-eyeglasses-clean/565649/37 "2011-01-05T01:12:14Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > That is how I kept my old glasses clean and it worked fine but for these new ones it doesn’t. Evidence from this thread suggests the culprit is the anti glare coating. Yeah, same here. It always seemed kind of strange to me that I used to be able to clean my glasses with my shirt but as I got older it seemed my face became smudgier. I just now put it together that the anti-glare coating I adopted 10 years ago is what changed, not the smudginess of my face. heh. I clean my glasses in the morning. Well, technically, I clean them any time I leave the house so it could be multiple times a day. I use paper towels and observe no scratches. When I asked my glasses guy about whether a drop of Dawn would be harmful to the anti-glare coating he chuckled and said “No, but it’s probably 500 times more cleaner than you need.” heh. So what I do is keep a special glasses-cleaning bottle of Dawn. Next time you run finish a bottle of Dawn, fill it up with water and shake it. That’s a months-long supply of glasses cleaner. The actual cleaning goes like this: - Rip a (half-sheet if possible) paper towel in half, squirt some cleaner on one of the halves - Rinse glasses by running under faucet. (I use cold water, but I never thought about it.) - Rub cleaner on wet glasses - Rinse cleaner off - Use other half of paper towel to dry, one swipe per side of lens (four swipes total) always with each swipe being in a single direction/motion I don’t know if I avoid the dreaded paper towel scratches by rinsing the lenses off as the first step or not rubbing back and forth or what, but so far I have. It’s been years. Note that the key ingredient is Dawn. It takes grease _squeak squeak_ out of your way. hehheh. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2011, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-keep-eyeglasses-clean/565649/38 "2011-01-05T02:31:34Z")
Same problem here. I don’t get why my glasses are getting smudged all the time. It’s not like I ever touch the lenses with my fingers. ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2011, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-keep-eyeglasses-clean/565649/39 "2011-01-05T03:34:46Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > That is how I kept my old glasses clean and it worked fine but for these new ones it doesn’t. Evidence from this thread suggests the culprit is the anti glare coating. Definitely the coating. The first time I opted for the anti-glare coating, the optitian warned me about the problem and handed me a freebie cleaning kit. I found I had to clean the glasses at least once a day. ---
**Author:** ![jeffsopt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ce7236/32.png) [@jeffsopt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jeffsopt)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2015, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-keep-eyeglasses-clean/565649/40 "2015-06-11T14:47:15Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > I use homemade Windex – glass cleaner. 1/8 cup vinegar, 1/2 cup ammonia, water to make one quart in a spray bottle. Works just as well as Windex, but without the blue dye that accumulates in the cracks, and it’s cheaper. > > And I use disposable paper towels to dry. They may seem abrasive compared to cloth, but in over 20 years of wiping some of my glasses, there are no discernable scratches, and I can be sure that each time I am starting with a clean surface compared to a recycled rag. Do not use Windex or ammonia on eye glasses. It can cause a chemical reaction to transitions and anti reflective coating. It will ruin your glasses by causing a white cloudy field. The best cleaners are dawn dish soap (regular not the lotion type)and water. Use a clean soft cloth. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-keep-eyeglasses-clean/565649.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-keep-eyeglasses-clean/565649.md?page=3)