Cleaning Your Eyeglasses

   Next time you pick up your new pair of glasses, notice how clear everything looks.  Even if there was little or no prescription change, you'll see better.  The reason for this is that the lenses are crystal clean, no scratches, crazed coatings, or dirt and smudges on the lenses.  You want to try to keep them this way for as long as possible.  I'd like to give you a few tips.
    1) Use the microfiber cloth that your eyecare provider gives you.  They really work, some better than others.  You can use these dry on your lenses, provided your are just removing smudges and fingerprints.
    2) Use an alcohol free lens cleaner to remove dirt from the lens or if you've been told not to wipe the lens dry.  Also, a quick rinse under warm tap water or mild dishwashing liquid works well.  Still, use the microfiber cloth to wipe the lens off.
If your cloth gets dirty, either hand wash it and put it in your dryer (without a dryer sheet) or get a new one.

Lens cleaner from Carl Zeiss.

     The microfiber cloth protects scratch resistant coatings and anti reflective coatings.  Avoid paper towels, tissues, etc. because paper is either too abrasive or contains lotions to soften it.
     This is at minimum, daily maintenance.  As the glasses get older, more maintenance is needed to preserve your investment.  Nose pads on metal frames may begin to oxidize, or turn green.  This can be easily fixed by a visit to your optician and have him replace the nose pads with new.  If they are attached with screws, make sure that they get replaced as well.  The screws are usually what turns the pads green in the first place (even on most titanium frames).  There may be a small charge to do this depending on where you go.  Our company will replace them for free.  Something that you can do at home, if needed, is to use a soft bristle toothbrush and a few drops of liquid soap and gently scrub around the nose pads and edge of the lenses.  This is something I do at work frequently.
      If your glasses are getting old and crusty looking and need more of an overhaul, your optician can remove the lenses and clean them, replace screws and nosepads and even the plastic pieces that go around the ear. They also put the frame in an ultrasonic cleaner, just like a jeweler would clean your rings.   There may be a nominal charge for all of this, as well, since it requires more parts and time.
      At any rate, this will hopefully prevent the dreaded, Nose Cheese, the disgusting oil and dirt buildup I see on a regular basis and keep your glasses looking good!