We’ve all seen warnings about avoiding touching your face during these troubling times. This, obviously, is difficult when you wear glasses! Eyeglasses (both lenses and frames) can potentially transfer viruses and bacteria, such as COVID-19, to your eyes, nose and mouth. Research has shown that the coronavirus can last on glass surfaces for as long as nine days. So even taking plenty of care and following handwashing guidelines, you might easily touch your glasses then your eyes, nose or mouth, thereby continuing the cycle of contamination. Well, the team at OpticalRooms is here to tell you that cleaning your glasses is actually quite straightforward! Here’s what you should (and shouldn’t) do to disinfect your lenses at home…
Chemicals to Avoid
Over the years, many of our patients have asked us if they should use household rubbing-alcohol to clean their glasses. This may seem like a good idea, but we don’t recommend it. The alcohol may be too harsh for your eyeglasses and could damage or compromise any special coatings on your lenses. While we’re covering the topic of products to avoid, we also recommend staying away from ammonia, bleach or anything with high concentrations of acid. Even natural products like lemon juice or vinegar can damage lens coatings and some eyewear materials.
So, now that we’ve highlighted which substances you should avoid, let’s look at what we feel is safe to clean and disinfect your eyewear:
Washing-Up Liquid & Water
The easiest and most efficient way to clean and disinfect your lenses is to use lukewarm water with washing-up liquid. Hold the lenses under running tap water first to remove any loose particles that may scratch as you clean them. Put a drop of washing-up liquid on both lenses and massage the soap onto both sides, the nose pads, along the frame and finally, the earpieces. Dry your glasses using a microfibre cloth (avoid using paper towels, as they may contain fibres that could scratch your lenses).
Lens Cleaning Wipes or Spray
Pre-moistened lens wipes or lens cleaning sprays are excellent for cleaning your glasses. They can also be used to clean your mobile phone, tablet and computer screen. They remove bacteria, dust, dirt and germs from your glasses and the inbuilt formula restores shine to glass surfaces without leaving any streaks or residue. The durable material in the wipes removes stains, while being gentle enough not to scratch your screens or lenses. They come individually packaged so you can carry them with you when you’re out and about.
OpticalRooms are offering Irish Life Health members an online discount plus home delivery during lockdown. Find out more here.
