# Foggy goggles? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 28, 2003, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foggy-goggles/177993 "2003-05-28T12:21:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![LateComer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b5ac83/32.png) [@LateComer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LateComer)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2003, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foggy-goggles/177993/1 "2003-05-28T12:21:07Z")
The last couple of months I’ve taken up raquetball. Great sport. I have a problem though. The goggles I wear steam up at a moment’s notice. Basically I end up wearing them on my forehead while I play because even if I wipe them before a volley they fog up shortly. I’ve tried wearing a sweat band hoping that it would keep some sweat away from my eyes but this doesn’t help. What can I do about these foggy goggles? ---
**Author:** ![Desmostylus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@Desmostylus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desmostylus)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2003, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foggy-goggles/177993/2 "2003-05-28T12:32:24Z")
You need a surfactant coating on the inside of the goggles so that the water forms a continuous film, rather than individual beads. There are sprays that you can get to use on the goggles. A simpler and cheaper way is to lick a finger, wipe it across a soap-bar, then rub the inside of the goggles with your finger. It’s best to do this with clean hands, so that you dont get oil from your finger onto the goggles, and to have the goggles slightly wet when you do it. Takes a bit of practice to get it right. ---
**Author:** ![LateComer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b5ac83/32.png) [@LateComer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LateComer)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2003, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foggy-goggles/177993/3 "2003-05-28T12:57:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Desmostylus \* > \*\*You need a surfactant coating on the inside of the goggles so that the water forms a continuous film, rather than individual beads. > > There are sprays that you can get to use on the goggles. > \*\* You mean like Rain-X? Do they sell these sprays at sports stores? ---
**Author:** ![Desmostylus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@Desmostylus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desmostylus)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2003, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foggy-goggles/177993/4 "2003-05-28T13:24:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by LateComer \* > \*\*You mean like Rain-X? Do they sell these sprays at sports stores? \*\* I don’t know what’s in Rain-X, so I wouldn’t use it near my eyes. Might be OK, might not. I’ve only ever bought the sprays from bike shops, 'coz that’s what I needed it for - to stop the fog build up inside the goggles when I used to have a bike. They probably _do_ sell the sprays in other sport stores, the Carerra goggles I used to wear are exactly the same ones that skiers wear. ---
**Author:** ![XJETGIRLX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9fc29f/32.png) [@XJETGIRLX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XJETGIRLX)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2003, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foggy-goggles/177993/5 "2003-05-28T13:32:15Z")
Well, I don’t know much about raquetball goggles but when I used to scuba dive the easiest way to keep your goggles from fogging up was to spit on them. Just hock a good one into the goggles, smear it all around, rinse 'em off (but don’t wipe them down) and you’re good to go. ---
**Author:** ![Desmostylus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@Desmostylus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desmostylus)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2003, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foggy-goggles/177993/6 "2003-05-28T13:36:29Z")
Here’s a story about anti-fogging. > **[Off-Road.com: Reviews, Racing, Parts, ATVs, UTVs, 4x4s, Trucks, Forums](https://www.off-road.com/blog/)** > > 4 Wheel Parts, the largest retailer of 4x4 and off roading products globally, is excited to announce their participation in the upcoming Rebelle Rally, which s... It mentions Rain-X specifically: > [@](#): > > **What Doen’t Work** > > Don’t use Rain-X as an anti-fogger. While this stuff works great on the outer surface of your goggles to help with rain and splattering mud, it doesn’t help on the inner lens. > > Anything with ammonia or harsh chemicals in the solution is a no-no. Even if you let it air dry, moisture from your face can re-activate the chemical and cause it to irritate or cause a burning sensation in your eyes. > > Don’t use any soaps with grit in them, like Lava, as applying the soap will scratch the lens. > > Don’t rub the lens too much when applying the anti-fog solution, as excess rubbing can cause static electricity to build up on the lens, which will attract dust and cause it to stick to the inner lens. On preview, the story also mentions spit, which is the classic diver’s remedy, as **XJETGIRLX** says. It also mentions potato, apple and car-wax. ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2003, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foggy-goggles/177993/7 "2003-05-28T14:23:02Z")
Why are you wearing goggles when you play racquetball? When I played racquetball, the appropriate eyewear was a protective frame without lenses. Has this changed? ---
**Author:** ![LateComer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b5ac83/32.png) [@LateComer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LateComer)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2003, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foggy-goggles/177993/8 "2003-05-28T18:28:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Nametag \* > \*\*Why are you wearing goggles when you play racquetball? When I played racquetball, the appropriate eyewear was a protective frame without lenses. Has this changed? \*\* Maybe goggles isn’t quite the right word. The Wilson web page refers to them simply as “eyeware.” [These are the ones I have and which the gym I use has.](http://www.wilson.com/wilson/products/product.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524442311997&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302666309&bmUID=1054146522955) It looks like [this one](http://www.wilson.com/wilson/products/product.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524442312005&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302666309&bmUID=1054146522955) looks like it would not fog up as badly because of being more open. I looked around a few sporting goods sites and don’t see anything that doesn’t have lenses. ---
**Author:** ![LateComer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b5ac83/32.png) [@LateComer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LateComer)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2003, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foggy-goggles/177993/9 "2003-05-28T18:31:43Z")
oops. It looks like [this one](http://www.wilson.com/wilson/products/product.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524442312005&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302666309&bmUID=1054146522955) looks like it would not fog up as badly because of being more open. I looked around a few sporting goods sites and don’t see anything that doesn’t have lenses. ---
**Author:** ![SCHLERMIE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e19adc/32.png) [@SCHLERMIE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCHLERMIE)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2003, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foggy-goggles/177993/10 "2003-05-28T19:41:20Z")
Have you tried cleaning the inside of the goggles with toothpaste? Not the gel kind but the paste. I know it sounds weird but if you use that or soft scrub to clean the inside of the lenses, using your finger to scrub, rinse them ,repeat and then while you are dressing apply a defog to the inside of the lenses. You can pick some up from your local dive store. Just before you hit the court rinse the defog off and you should have no problems. You only need to do the toothpaste trick once but use the defog each time before you play and make sure the lenses are dry when you apply it or it won’t work. This is a common practice when a person buys a new mask for scuba diving or snorkeling. Let me know if it works with your goggles. ---
**Author:** ![sishoch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3e96dc/32.png) [@sishoch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sishoch)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2003, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foggy-goggles/177993/11 "2003-05-28T21:45:32Z")
Go check a display of swimmng goggles at a decent sporting goods store. I got an antifog spray from Speedo, but I’m sure there are other brands. ---
**Author:** ![lightingtool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/57b2e6/32.png) [@lightingtool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lightingtool)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2003, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foggy-goggles/177993/12 "2003-05-28T21:55:00Z")
I have a nifty little “no fog” cloth that I use while skiing. Just wipe down my goggles in the morning, and I’m good to go all day. Don’t know if it would work for you, but I think they’re pretty common in ski shops.