Cleaning Eyeglasses Saves on Replacement Costs

Properly cleaning eyeglasses helps reduce scratches. Fewer scratches means less frequent need to replace lenses and lower costs associated with eyeglasses. That certainly is consistent with my plan for frugal living. How about yours?

If you wear eyeglasses, you know they are expensive and subject to damage through everyday use.

Take care to properly clean plastic eyeglass lenses and they will last much longer and save you money over the long haul.

Let me tell you how I keep my glasses clean without scratching them. I wash my glasses every time I take a shower. You can use a similar technique in the sink, but I find the shower so much more convenient for clean eyeglasses.

Here is the drill for cleaning eyeglasses:

• Wear your glasses into the shower. (Be sure to take everything else off.)
• Wash your hands to be certain they are clean.
• Rinse both sides of the lenses in the shower spray to remove loose grit. This is important to reduce the chance of scratches.

  

  

• Set the glasses aside until the end of your shower.
• Before leaving the shower, lather your hands well with liquid soap or shampoo. Do not use bar soap or shampoo that has a conditioner in it as these leave a film on the lenses.
• Hold the glasses in the palm of your hand with the inside of the lenses facing toward your palm and the temples draped over either side of your palm.
• Lather up the outside surfaces of the lenses with your other palm that is well lathered with soap. If your plastic lenses are especially dirty, then do this and the next step very lightly, then rinse and repeat.

  

• Turn the glasses over and use your thumbs to lather up the inside of the lenses. If your plastic lenses are especially dirty, then do this and the previous step very lightly, then rinse and repeat.

  

• Use thumb and index finger to lather up the nose support pieces that have accumulated oil from your face.
• Lather the temples with a loose grip of your fingers sliding back and forth across that portion of the frame.
• Run your fingers over the top and bottom edges of the lenses to remove oil accumulated from your face.

  

• Hold the glasses up into the warm water shower spray and move them back and forth to rinse off both sides of the lenses and frame. The temples can be crossed and used as a handle for rinsing the front of the lenses, and the nose bridge piece can be used as a handle when rinsing the inside of the lenses. Rinse each side twice.

  

  

• Exit the shower with clean eyeglasses.
• Dry your glasses first thing. Dry both sides of the lenses at the same time with a clean towel by very lightly wiping across the lenses. If you blot the lenses, there is even less chance of scratching.

Once when I was at the optometrist to get an eye exam, she commented that my glasses didn’t have any scratches and they looked like they have never been worn. She then noted that they were four years old. This frugal living tip limits normal wear from cleaning eyeglasses that would otherwise require replacement of lenses due to scratches.

Note: I don't even let the optometrist staff clean my lenses. I take them home and do it myself.

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