8 Great Tips to Properly Care for Your Prescription Glasses

Do you remember the day you picked up your brand-new pair of eyeglasses? After investing time and money in finding the perfect pair for your face shape, fashion sense, and lifestyle, when you can finally pick them up, they feel so special.

However, once you start wearing them, you may forget to take care of them properly after a while. As your eyeglasses go everywhere with you, they face the same adventures that you do. Therefore, just like you, at the end of the day they deserve the equivalent of a long, hot shower. Just by taking good care of your eyeglasses and keeping a few simple steps in mind, you can ensure that your glasses will last longer and that you won’t have to change them in a year or two, unless your prescription changes.

Pay Attention to Proper Storage

You take off your glasses and put them on the entryway table, the couch, your nightstand, or on the bathroom sink. Sounds familiar? Try getting into the habit of always storing your glasses in their case. This isn’t just a great way to keep dust and dirt away from them, but it also protects your glasses from getting scratched, bent, or broken. Rugged or rigid cases or even microfiber pouches serve the purpose of keeping your glasses intact.

Place Them Carefully

If you really do just put your glasses down for a minute, so you don’t want to put them in their case, try to avoid laying them lens down. The best way is to close the frame and let the glasses rest on their side arms. This can prevent the top of your glasses from chipping or deteriorating.

Use a Suitable Cloth

Carefully consider the material of the cloth you use to wipe your glasses down. Never use paper towels, tissues, napkins, or your shirttail. Regardless of how soft they are, these materials have a textured surface and can easily scratch your lenses. There might also be some debris on the surface of your lenses and wiping them around on a dry lens may be abrasive. If you still need to just quickly wipe down your glasses, use a microfiber cloth that usually comes with the glasses or is available at most drug stores and pharmacies.

Rinse

Use lukewarm water to rinse off your glasses to properly clean them. You can use a gentle cleaning solution as well, but only a few drops to avoid leaving any soap residue on the lenses. Use a clean, soft, and lint-free cloth to wipe away most of the water and allow your glasses to air dry. Alternatively, you can use alcohol free sprays or cleansers that are available at drug stores and are specifically made to clean eyeglass lenses. We don’t recommend using pre-moistened lens wipes.

Have a Firm Grip

When cleaning your glasses, hold the frames by gripping the nose piece. This way you can avoid accidentally bending the frame. If the glasses are bent out of shape, they will start to look funny and might also feel uncomfortable.

Use Both Hands

Frequently using one hand to remove your glasses can cause a misalignment of the frame, weakens the screws, and can eventually break your glasses. Simply use both arms to put on and remove your glasses from the temple, or if you can’t do that, try taking them off from the center of the frame rather than from one arm.

Avoid Putting Your Glasses on Your Head

Wearing your glasses on the top of your head may seem like the easiest way to keep track of them and take them on and off quickly. This habit however can stretch the arms of your frames, making them loose on your face because the top of the head is generally wider. Eventually, your glasses can lose their shape and strength. If you just can’t get into the habit of storing them in their case, consider getting a strap to wear them around your neck during the day.

Re-adjust

Opening and closing your glasses can cause the screws to become loose over time. This could cause your glasses to become uncomfortable to wear or slip off your face. If you find that your glasses become ill-fitting over time, you can always visit an optometrist at your local eyewear shop to get your glasses readjusted.

If you need to see an optometrist, you can find us at eight different locations in and around Chicago, for your convenience. See which store is closest to you!