Cleaning eyeglass lenses

[Nikolay Angelov]

I made a handout with advice on eyeglasses care and maintenance for our clients.
To give the best advice i did some reading and testing of different cleaning methods and wanted to share the results.
I hope someone would find it useful .

What i was after:
A cleaning method that would Not scratch lenses even after a million cleaning cycles.
Produces very clean lenses (Camera lens "clean").
Does not require exotic tools and chemicals.
Is simple, cheap and fast.

I did my testing on:

1. Crown glass, no coating.
2. Crown glass with magnesium fluoride AR, no hydro/lipophobic layers.
3. Crown glass with broadband AR coating, no hydro/lipophobic layers.

Plastic (CR39 and MR8) lenses with:

1. Hoya HiVision Aqua,HiVision ViewProtect, Super HiVision.
2. Zeiss LotuTec
3. Rodenstock Solitaire TopCoat
4. OptiSwiss optiplas iMax+, optiplas MAX
5. some chinese AR coated lenses :)
6. and hard coated CR39 (ADC)

I got the lenses nice and oily and rubed the oil deep in the AR :)
Got the best results from the following:

1. Wash the lenses with cold/lukewarm water to remove the dust particles (with the dust removed there is nothing to scratch the lenses).
2. Drop a small drop of dish washing liquid on your wet fingers and gently rub the wet lenses.
3. Rinse with cold/lukewarm water.
4. Dry with a clean 100% cotton or microfiber cloth. Lenses with hydrophobic coating have just 1 or 2 drops of water to blot.

Added advantages: cleaning cloth remains clean and dust free, as it touches only clean lenses (and a few drops of clean water).
The eyeglasses receive some cleaning in the process :)

The cleaning sprays we sell are very convenient for lightly soiled lenses when you are out and about. Same for the pre-moistened lens cleaning cloths.

Disclaimer: I have not tried this on polycarbonate lenses, as we use trivex and MR8.

PS: Don't use soap, it is alkaline and leaves streaks and an oily layer.

PS2: 120 lumens flashlight illuminating the lens from the edge is great for assessing cleanliness (in a darkish room).

Best regards,
Nikolay Angelov

[oxmoon]

Why do you recommend only cold or lukewarm water? Is there something wrong with using hot water on AR?

[chip anderson]

Don't think hot tap water is hot enough to be a problem, but AR even the most wonderful of same doesn't like heat.
Unless you are trying to get oil or wax off there isn't much advantage to heat for this and I'm sure you aren't using enough heat to kill any germs..

Chip

[Uilleann]

Just throw them in the autoclave...an hour on high should do it. :)

[Nikolay Angelov]

The AR coating expands less than the plastic lens when heated.

When the lens is heated it expands and tears the thin AR coating (which does not expand as mutch).

Here is a video with lens tests by Hoya, skip to 5:58 minutes to see the effect of heat on the lens:



Why lukewarm?
Because the cold water will make the lens cold ... and the lens will fog up immediately.

Best regards,
Nikolay Angelov

[oxmoon]

Well great. Now I know what is wrong with my AR, and probably the AR of half the people I have fitted. It seemed like such a good idea at the time.

[AustinEyewear]

Lol- I've been using your method for years! I prefer to use the liquid hand soap that dispenses in a light foamy manner.

[Mactire]

I like this, I concur, clients should be well instructed on the cleaning of the lenses.
A lot of people think that paying €350,- for lenses will automaticly keep them scratch free...
I personally tutor every client on cleaning the lenses, even eyeglass vereteans usually say: "I didn't know that, good tip!"
It might be a good idea to make a leaflet on cleaning lenses, to give with new glasses.

[chip anderson]

Many liquid hand soaps contain Lanolin to keep them liquid and be "ladies skin" compatable. Not the best idea to clean lenses.
Does anyone realize that the purpose of soap (they did teach us this in elementary school in Texas) is to mix oil with water. Not to make you softer, sterilize you, make you smell better , disinfect you or anything other than mix oil with water. All other claims are just advertizing garbage and somewhat contrary to the purpose of soap.
For this reason I have never recommended anything but Ivory Bar Soap for cleaning hands prior to the insertion of contact lenses, even if Phyllis Rakow says: "Well people just expect antibacterial soap in a doctor's office."

Chip

[Mactire]

That is true. Years ago we made soap at elementary school.
Indeed, the sole purpose of soap is to dissolve oil to wash it away. Often ashes were added to make it scrub better, talk about abrasive.
Ah well, who needs AR coating when your lenses are matte. No reflections coming off matte lenses ^_~.

[cocoisland58]

Every patient that orders AR gets a bottle of spray and a microfiber cloth, I recommend rinsing first. For myself I have never used anything but warm tap water and a tissue with excellent results.

[chip anderson]

Normally I tell my AR patient's to use soap and water only if more than a rinse is needed. I refrain from giving any of them spray (although I do give it to non-AR patients). Most sprays are contra indicated for AR. Many say even the sprays that claim to be "safe for AR" are not really safe on it.

Chip

[harry a saake]

There are a number of reasons why we have sp much trouble cleaning our glasses. First you have to understand that grease is getting on them all the time just through the air alone. Just think about how much is in your own household. I.E. your frying chicken, guess whats in the air.

Second,even after cleaning grease is always accumulating in the eyewires and slowly leaching out on a constant basis. Thus we as opticians should have our patients come in at least twice a year, disassemble the lenses from the frame and give lens edges and eyewires a good cleaning, unfortunately a lot of opticians feel thats beneath them.

So we really become a bunch of grease spreaders, thus i am thinking about a new designation opticians could add to thier resumes, which would be NAGS, an acronym for the national association of grease spreaders.

Hot water from a tap i doubt is hot enought to any damage that i have ever been able to discern, the advantage is after they are as clean as possible, rinse them off with that hot water shake them for a few seconds , put them down and they will dry naturally, as hot water evaporates rather quickly, and then there is not much use for the obnoxius so called cleaning cloths, that in reality do more damage to lenses then any other method i can think of.

There are many good soaps to clean with ,but like Chip stated, i like ivory. spray cleaners that are alcohol free are fine as long as the lenses have been rinsed off first. The so called antibacterial soaps are loaded with ethyl alcohol, any wonder lenses are drying out, using this junk.

[Mactire]

I've had bad experience with hot tap water. Once had a customer returning a pair of glasses with cracked coating.
He used hot water to clean them. Well, they were clean, no doublt about that.

Anyway, I decided to test a lot of lenses on heat resistance. (I collect old lenses, I'd like to make a lamp out of it... don't ask ^_^)
In my experience especially 1.67 is prone to heat damage. That's why I always say hot water is a no-no. I'd say shower tempature (about 40C I guess?) is ok, but anything above is asking for trouble.
I also put the lenses in the heater (for frames) and discovered that the damage risk is less in hot air that in hot water.
But since I never checked how hot the water or the air was the test isn't representive.

I once put a 1.67 in hot tea and discovered that the AR won't damage as much in Earl Gray as in English Blend.... ^_~

[Happylady]

I had a rep tell me a story about a patient that had AR that kept crazing. He insisted he was careful with them and took good care of them. After the third time the optician really questioned the man about how he was caring for them and found out he was washing them in the dishwasher once a week! They didn't craze after the first time or two so he didn't realize that was doing it.

I tell people rinse and dry with a soft clean cloth or Bounty paper towel. If needed you can use mild dish soap or hand soap or a spray clean that is okay for AR lenses. With the better ARs just water is all you need most of the time.

[rickyforever]

Just throw them in the autoclave...an hour on high should do it. :)

good idea

[Chris Ryser]

Why do you recommend only cold or lukewarm water? Is there something wrong with using hot water on AR?

All plastic lenses do contract or expand at a different rate than the AR layer under heat and cold conditions, therefore you risk cracking or delamination of the AR layer

[scottster]

My go-to answer to how to clean lenses is along the lines of all the posters here. Mild dish soap, warm (not hot) water and a clean cloth to finish it off.

[icmor]

I recommend rinsing lenses under luke warm water, spray clean with the cleaner we provided the customer, and wiping dry with any soft cloth that is not treated with a fabric softener. I tell them to use the microfiber cloth only as an "emergency dry wipe" and not if the lenses are extremely dirty.
I've always been against rubbing lenses with fingers. I would rather they soak them in soapy water, if needed, them rinse and final clean with lens cleaner. I have seen many scratched lenses from people rubbing lenses over the years.
Years ago I used to recommend rubbing lenses with their fingers using bar soap until a customer returned with destroyed lenses because his bar soap was Lava brand (with pumice). Yikes!!

[Nikolay Angelov]

To all advising different forms of "soap":
Soap is alkaline and is BAD for the lens coatings.

Hey, don't take my word for it, here are the instructions on lens care from Seiko - Japan:

Ban
Alkaline detergent (soap, body soap and hand soap) Please do not use. The coating film is deteriorated, causing peel.

Original in Japan:
http://www.seiko-opt.co.jp/support/manual.html

English translation:
http://translate.google.com/translat...%2Fmanual.html

Proper respect goes to Seiko Japan, they have by far the the best (most detailed and useful) eyeglasses use and care instructions i have ever seen . Not long ago this page had an official English translation (i have a copy if somebody needs it).

PS: Use diluted mild detergent instead (like diluted dish washing liquid). It cleans better too.

Best regards,
Nikolay Angelov

[a1vo]

1. Wash lenses daily with a mild soap and warm water to remove dirt and oil. 2. Dry lenses with a lens cloth or nonabrasive cotton. Avoid using paper towels. 3. Purchase a professional lens-cleaning cloth and lens gel to remove fingerprints and dirt buildup.

That's right. All paper products (except Kimwipes and the like) have fiber which will cause hair-line scratches.

[chip anderson]

While I think a handout is overkill. If you are going to give written instructions (as if anyone ever reads them) why not have them printed on the microfiber cloth with your company name and address?
Chip