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How I clean my glasses

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Re: How I clean my glasses

#71

Post by jefftk »

bryanlarsen wrote: post #18

As a farm kid who spent time in a dusty barn every day, my glasses were often so dirty that they looked opaque to others. I didn't notice and didn't care. How the brain processes visual information is really weird. I'm not surprised that a slight speck of dirt would really bother some people but not others.

Dust is fine, you adapt, but with grease it gets blurry and there isn't much ability to correct. I really noticed this when I switched to new glasses with a hydrophobic coating that handled grease very differently.

Re: How I clean my glasses

#72

Post by ihateolives »

ama5322 wrote: post #42

Seems overkill. I use pure dish detergent under the tap directly with my fingers (you can feel the dirt, do not press against the lens). Dry with a new/clean paper towel by pressing (buffering? do not drag the paper across the lens). Dirt cheap, perfect result in seconds, can be done everywhere. Normal hand soap contains moisturizer, so this is not indicated (but generally works too although might leave stains). If y…

> If your lens is being scratched by this try spending a bit more on better glass. There's no point in skimping on something you hold on your eyes the entire day.

Doesn't always work that way. I never skimp on glasses, atm I'm looking through 500+€ Zeiss lenses (that's just for lenses, frame price not included), I've had them for a year and have one visible scratch. I always take care of my specs, always carefult when cleaning or putting on table but still have one pretty big and annoying scratch. How did it get there, I have no idea.

Re: How I clean my glasses

#74

Post by nayuki »

> The ultrasonic cleaner and distilled water are more expensive and have greater ongoing costs, although it looks like £13 of distilled water will last for about 3 years

Weird complaint, because distilled water is $1 CAD for 4 litres here at any supermarket.

Re: How I clean my glasses

#75

Post by ama5322 »

ihateolives wrote: post #72
ama5322 wrote: post #42

Seems overkill. I use pure dish detergent under the tap directly with my fingers (you can feel the dirt, do not press against the lens). Dry with a new/clean paper towel by pressing (buffering? do not drag the paper across the lens). Dirt cheap, perfect result in seconds, can be done everywhere. Normal hand soap contains moisturizer, so this is not indicated (but generally works too although might leave stains). If y…

> If your lens is being scratched by this try spending a bit more on better glass. There's no point in skimping on something you hold on your eyes the entire day. Doesn't always work that way. I never skimp on glasses, atm I'm looking through 500+€ Zeiss lenses (that's just for lenses, frame price not included), I've had them for a year and have one visible scratch. I always take care of my specs, always carefult whe…

A single solid scratch might be caused by an accident of sorts, this can always happen.

The kind of damage the OP is speaking about seem to match the description of very light superficial scratches causing diffused softening. Could be damaged coating, or just the glass being too soft.

I've only seen this happen on cheap (and normally polymer) lenses.

Re: How I clean my glasses

#76

Post by browningstreet »

thedracle wrote: post #69
cornstalks wrote: post #24

The best method I’ve found so far: 1. Get your glasses wet with warm water. 2. Apply dish soap to both lenses. 3. Gently rub the soapy water over the lenses. For some stubborn things (like sunscreen) in the edges I sometimes gently use a Q-tip. 4. Rinse under warm water. Gently rub with your fingers to agitate the soapy water and help rinse it off. 5. (This is the important step) Adjust the faucet’s flow to a low lam…

The dish soap method worked best for me. But the best method was getting lasik, now my old glasses are in a drawer gathering dust.

I had RK in my 20s. No I'm in my 50s, so I'm back to glasses.

Re: How I clean my glasses

#77

Post by tecleandor »

jefftk wrote: post #65
hammyhavoc wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, I spend £300+ per pair on not having coke bottle thick glasses that are thin and light, and made out of polycarb.

At least in the US that would be much cheaper: I can get high index (1.74) lenses for +$75: https://www.zennioptical.com/glasses-lenses (so the overall glasses are ~$100)

I have a Zenni pair, I think they are 1.74 and around -6 correction in each eye. They are really cheap compared to other places, but they have very high chromatic aberration on the sides and I don't thing they are perfectly centered.

I think it's something that's more noticeable when you need relatively high power lenses.

Re: How I clean my glasses

#79

Post by spike021 »

likpok wrote: post #37
planarhobbit wrote: post #12

Any reason you can’t use pure methanol to clean glasses? I don’t wear glasses so I don’t know the specifics, but that’s what we use to clean industrial laser lenses and any tiny speck or smudge or oil would immediately burn the protective coating. We also don’t touch the lens tissue when we clean it, rather we put methanol on the lens tissue and slide it across. Curved lenses are a bit more interesting but same metho…

Pure methanol is a little annoying to source. It seems like you can only buy it from lab supply shops -- not impossible to get but not exactly at the local Walgreens. All of this feels a little overkill for eyeglasses. Dish soap works very well (it's concentrated so don't use too much or you'll be rinsing a while) and most people have it in their kitchen. I personally mostly use hand soap in the bathroom -- works les…

+1 I just use warm water and hand soap, followed by rinsing and then a gentle wipe with a soft microfiber towel (the kind you'd buy for washing a car actually).

Re: How I clean my glasses

#80

Post by justusthane »

hammyhavoc wrote: post #46
chmod775 wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A good chunk of people require glasses that need to be custom-made. Once you also add amenities like photochromic lenses, it quickly adds up.

Yeah, I spend £300+ per pair on not having coke bottle thick glasses that are thin and light, and made out of polycarb.

Paying more can get you thinner lenses? This is of interest to me as I do have coke bottle-thick glasses.
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