Caring for Your Glasses

Proper lens and frame care ensures clear vision and comfortable wear. Good habits include proper handling, periodic maintenance, adequate cleaning and regular visits to the optician.

Handling
With gentle handling, your glasses will last longer and feel more comfortable. To avoid twisting the frame out of shape, use both hands to put on your glasses. Grasp the ear pieces (arms or temples) in the middle with equal pressure and push the glasses over your ears. To remove them, use the same grip and carefully slide the frames forward over your ears and off your face. This method puts the least amount of stress on your frame and prevents misalignment.

Close your frames before placing them on any surface, and never lay them lens-side down. To prevent accidental scratching, store your glasses in a case whenever they are not being worn. Never put them in a purse or bag without proper protection.

Do not wear your glasses on top of your head when you do not need them to see. This may misalign the frames.

Maintenance
Frames will last longer with proper maintenance. Check for loose screws and temple misalignment periodically. For emergency repairs, use a small eyeglass tool kit, which usually contains a screwdriver and various sizes of temple screws.

Avoid exposing your glasses to personal care products. Hairspray, perfume and other products can damage lens coatings, and cosmetics will dirty the lenses.

Your glasses will inevitably bend out of shape over time. To maintain proper fit, have your glasses adjusted by an optician regularly. How much you wear them, how active you are, and other personal variables will determine how frequently you need to have them adjusted. Ill-fitting glasses can strain your eyes, interfere with vision correction, and create dangerous situations. It is recommended that you do not try to bend your frames back into shape yourself. The service is usually complimentary at optical shops and eyecare offices where a trained professional can guarantee you a proper adjustment.

Cleaning
Keep your glasses clean. This ensures that you benefit fully from the corrective power of the prescription, and helps prevent scratching the lenses.

First, run your lenses under warm running water. Then dip them in soapy water and rub them gently with your fingers. Rinse them to wash away dirt and oil. A gentle dishwashing liquid makes a good cleanser. There are also special lens cleaners that can be sprayed on the lens (although some may damage lens coatings). Avoid using household cleaners, disinfectants, acetone or soaps with cream.

Wipe the lenses with a clean, soft, lint-free cloth. Do not use paper towels, silicone tissues, facial tissues, or old rags that may have embedded dirt. These materials may scratch your lenses. Many optical suppliers sell microfiber cleaning cloths. These efficient cloths are machine washable and very gentle on your lenses.

The same techniques apply toward cleaning the frames. The temples, in particular, need to be cleaned often because they are handled the most. Repeated contact with the skin causes oil to accumulate and can degrade the frame finish.