You finally bought that pair of fancy eyeglasses you desired so much. You spent a lot of money to purchase the best pair you could afford to deal with your eye health condition, and now the last thing you want to happen is to ruin them by carelessly using them. However, since you should wear them for a lot of time every day (if not always), you cannot protect and nurture them like a newborn either. What you can do?
Here is a list of useful tips to take care of your glasses and extend their life as much as possible. Our tricks will go a long way to keep them in mint condition for many years.
Stop wearing them on top of your head
Wearing your sunshades on top of your head may look cool, or you may inadvertently let them sit on your hair if you wear two types of glasses at the same time (one for short-sightedness and the other for the opposite reason). Regardless of how stylish or comfortable this habit may be, it is detrimental since natural oils from your scalp and hair can act as a solvent, smudging the lenses and staining the frame. If your hair is full of volume, it can also damage the frame because it will stretch out the earpieces.
Be careful when you clean them…
There are a lot of products available to clean your glasses, however, if you’re not careful when using them you can damage and ruin the lenses instead of taking care of them. First, try to avoid buying cleaners that contain alcohol or ammonia that may melt the lenses’ coating. Rinse your glasses with some water before applying the lotion to remove any speck of dust that may scratch them. Even when using the gentlest cleaning solution, always use a tiny amount since they’re all very concentrated. Also, do not just clean the lenses, but make sure you clean even the temples and nose pads, since skin oils, debris and oil often accumulate there.
Steer clear of glasses cleaner with ammonia or alcohol in it, because the harsh chemicals can damage the coating on your lenses. Instead, gently wash your eyeglasses or sunglasses using a solution of diluted dish soap and your fingers.
…And even more careful when you dry them
Rinse your lenses thoroughly to prevent any trace of soap from smearing the lenses when you dry them. Use only a specifically designed cloth such as a microfiber one to perform this operation. Paper towels, napkins, or ordinary rough cloth (such as your shirttail) may cause microscopic scratches which will deteriorate your lenses quite quickly. Make sure the towel or cloth is perfectly clean though! Even a drip of skin lotion or cooking oil may smear your lenses.
Use both hands to take your glasses off
If you use just one hand to take your glasses off you risk misaligning the earpieces or loosening the screws that keep them in place. Eventually, your frame will stop fitting your face correctly, causing you great discomfort and other annoying issues. For example, the temples may dig into the side of your head or become too loose and start falling off. And it’s useless to explain how much damage eyewear may suffer if they fall on a walkway during a busy day.
Conclusion
As you can see, taking proper care of your eyewear is not as hard as you thought (although it’s probably a little annoying). If you follow our advice, you will be able to use your glasses for a lot of time!