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Since the pandemic began I've been asked on several occasions if I advise buying a UVC light sanitising machine for glasses, and I often see them advertised on social media', says Daniel.
Alcohol is an aggressive chemical which with repeated use will erode both the lens coatings and the frames of your glasses. Some wipes are also alcohol-based and are advertised for use on your phone or laptop screen as well, but the alcohol in those wipes is too aggressive for your glasses and will end up causing damage. Liquid or hand soap is fine for carefully cleaning stubborn dirt or oil from the frames of your glasses, but are best avoided for cleaning the lenses. You could be rubbing dirt - which may not always be visible to the naked eye - into your glasses. This will not only fail to clean your glasses properly but could add lots of tiny scratches to the surface of your lenses, too,' according to Daniel.Even if UVC light is an effective sanitiser for your glasses, it won't remove any grease or dirt from them, so they're still limited in their usefulness.' Household glass cleaners tend to smear when used to clean spectacles, and some of the chemical ingredients will also wear away the varnish on your frames, so they're not recommended,' advises Daniel. Sometimes it can be all too tempting to just give your glasses a scrub with a bit of your t-shirt, but it should be avoided if you can help it. With repeated use the grease-busting chemicals in washing up liquid, known as surfactants, will craze the lens coating on your glasses.
Some clothing materials, especially wool, are just too abrasive for cleaning glasses. Even if the clothes are clean they could still scratch the surface of the lenses. 5) Saliva They're delicate and aren't designed to cope with high temperatures. Boiling water will be especially damaging.' 7) Soap It might sound rather obvious, but if you're using a spray of any kind you must also remember to take your glasses off first. I've seen plenty of people who've hurt themselves because they forgot to take their glasses off before spraying them.' 4) The corner of your clothes This is because plenty of shop-bought soaps contain similar surfactants to those present in washing up liquid, and it's difficult to tell which ones contain them. Best to play it safe and steer clear altogether.
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The ingredients in household cleaners aren't designed with reading glasses and sunglasses in mind, and they're as damaging as they are ineffective at cleaning them. There's a huge variety of single-use microfibre lens wipes that are purpose-built for cleaning glasses, and they can be very effective at doing it. If you do want to clean your frames using soap, make a lather with the soap in your hands and apply that to the frames before rinsing them off with lukewarm water and drying them carefully afterwards. 8) UV light Alcohol-free liquid lens cleaners are gentle on the delicate lens coatings of glasses, and the microfibre cloth removes grease and smears without the risk of scratching, making this the optimum choice for keeping your glasses clean and free from damage.
This is the best option,' advises Daniel. 'Most optometrists will supply you with a bottle of lens cleaner and a microfibre cloth when you first get your glasses, so most people start off with the best option to hand already.' While there are some studies that say UVC light can be effective at viral cleaning, the College of Optometrists and the Scottish Government conducted an evidence review on this topic and weren't convinced. The cloths are cheap or sometimes free to replace, but the most sustainable route is to buy a microfibre cloth that's machine-washable.' Rinsing your glasses is recommended as it helps to remove bits of dirt and grit that could otherwise scratch your lenses, but if the water is too hot it will also cause damage. A lot of optometrists also offer free refills of the cleaning liquid, which can help to reduce the cost of cleaning your glasses. 2) Compostable soft microfibre lens wipes
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They're also quite expensive as there's an ongoing cost for them,' says Daniel. 'When used sparingly, however, they are handy for scenarios such as travelling, where it's more convenient to have something you won't have to keep with you once you've used it.' Window and glass cleaner sprays are the go-to for cleaning glass and mirrored surfaces around your home, so why not the glass that you wear? Daniel says, 'Eventually people will be able to spot that crazing damage on the surface of your lenses, but from afar it'll just look like your glasses are dirty.' 2) Hand sanitiser
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