There are almost 170 million US adults who wear prescription glasses. That’s over 60% of the population. In 2021, Americans spent close to US$50 billion on prescription eyewear – accounting for approximately 30% of global corrective eyewear sales.
Picking up your brand-spanking new prescription glasses is an exciting time, especially after spending all that time and money to ensure you get the perfect pair. As much as they help you to see either near, far, or both – you need to help them too.
If you take care of your glasses, they will serve you well until you need to get a new pair. Taking care of your glasses can be easy if you know what to do. Below are five tips for looking after your glasses so they keep that brand-new feel for longer:
1. Care Tips When Not in Use
If you don’t need to wear your glasses every waking hour of the day, you can get complacent with where you put them when not in use. Just because you aren’t wearing them doesn’t mean you can place them haphazardly around the house. Glasses are essential to see, for some people; if you lose them and can’t wear them, then you may damage your eyes.
Instead of putting them down wherever you are, get into the habit of only ever keeping them in their case. That will keep dust and dirt away from them, and it also helps to stop the lenses from getting scratched.
2. Use The Right Cloth
Your lenses will get debris on them, it’s just a fact of glasses’ life. Always be careful with what material you use to wipe down your lenses. Never use paper towels or your shirt – no matter how soft these may seem; the textured surface of these materials can easily scratch your lenses.
Use the microfiber cloth that came with your glasses. If you lose that one, you can find a suitable replacement from your nearest drugstore. Even the most fashionable glasses can be fragile, so you must take good care of them.
3. Grip The Nose When Cleaning
When cleaning glasses with titanium eyeglass frames, use both hands to remove them from your face. Frequently using one hand only can cause the frame to misalign by weakening the screws.
Hold the frames by gripping the nosepiece. That will prevent you from accidentally bending the frames into an unnatural position. If your glasses do bend out of shape by accident, visit your eyeglass specialist as soon as possible – they can fix it if you take them in before they break completely.
4. Rinse First
Always rinse your glasses with warm water before cleaning or wiping them. Dust and tiny particles of debris can settle on your lenses and if you just wipe them without rinsing first, you run the risk of damaging them.
If possible, allow your glasses to air dry after cleaning. After they have dried, you can wipe them down with a soft, lint-free glasses cloth.
5. Wash Daily
Washing your carefully selected glasses at least once daily (depending on how dirty they get) will keep them in an optimal state. The cleaner your glasses are, the longer they will last and the less your eyes will strain to see through smudged lenses.
Wash, air dry, and then wipe down with a clean microfiber glasses cloth – that is the perfect trio of steps for that job.
Follow these helpful tips to keep your glasses looking their best.
