In the ophthalmic industry the goop that builds up around the frame is often referred to as "face cheese."

I use single-use Zeiss lens wipes, have done for two years and haven't looked back. I clean all my displays, lenses, and the family's glasses and sunglasses with them. The coatings on the glasses seem to last indefinitely as a result.

Previously, we all just wiped our glasses on our shirts or with microfiber cloths.

I've ruined several pairs of glasses with ultrasonic baths, it seems to strip the somewhat expensive lens coatings. YMMV! Just be cautious.

Stay well!

@Hammy, you do have to be careful with ultrasonic baths. One of their purposes in an ophthalmic factory is to strip coatings. If you're going to use them to clean glasses you shouldn't have to leave them in for more than 30 seconds. Use warm water and some dishwashing liquid which is a surfactant and they'll get clean really quickly.

If the coating is damaged after just then that means there was a fault in the manufacturing process.

I've found that anything that touches the lens will leave something on it. What I do is: 1-Use compressed air to blow dust off the lens 2-Wash the lens with clean water - distilled is best, but not always available - and Neutrogena clear soap. 3 - blow the water off the lens with compressed air.

I definitely think this is overkill. Last I asked the optometrist that was there told me to use warm water and a microfiber cloth to wipe it off. But honestly, I've only used cold water and with my fingers rub soap onto it, then rinse it off and wipe it off with the microfiber cloth.

I've also bought the Costco lens cleaning kit (available at the glasses kiosk) which seems to work well enough for me. You just spray this liquid that just looks like water but definitely isn't and wipe it with the microfiber cloth.

What my optometrist told me (after a lifetime in the field):

Anything that you reuse, such as a cleaning cloth, is likely to pick up dust particles or pieces of dirt and scratch the lens. So, even if the cloth itself is soft, reusing cloths is likely to causes scratches. He's seen this often.

His recommendation is just to use a small amount of plain liquid hand soap and your fingers, rinse, shake dry, dab lightly with a piece of toilet paper and discard.

I've been doing this for several decades, and it's worked great!

I wash my glasses at least once a day, often more, as I can't stand smudged lenses.

I found that most people need to change the lenses every few years, sometimes even more often.

I usually buy cheap reading glasses and clean them only perfunctorily as I will undoubtedly lose or break them in less than a year.

Generally glasses come with a variety of coatings: UV cut, blue light reduction, scratch protection, etc. Have you ever had an issue with the ultrasonic cleaner damaging the coatings on your eyeglasses?

The most efficient and effective technique I've found to regularly clean glasses at home is at the kitchen sink:

1. Put a small amount of washing up liquid on a fingertip, then dab it - without rubbing! - on each side of both lenses, leaving a small amount each time.

2. Run the cold tap gently, ideally the smallest stream with laminar flow. For each side of each lens, hold it under the stream then gently rub the entire lens surface with your fingertip. Initially it will feel slippery as the washing up liquid is spread across the whole surface, but after several seconds it should transition to feeling 'squeaky' clean as all the oils and dust are washed off into the sink. It's vital to clean until the 'squeaky' stage.

3. Shake off any excess water, then use a microfibre cloth to gently pat and absorb any remaining droplets - without rubbing the lenses!

This approach specifically avoids any rubbing of the lenses with cloths or wipes to minimise any damage or scratches from abrasions. There is virtually zero residue from tap water after drying so distilled water is not required. A microfibre cloth is preferred for drying as it is more absorbent and usually dust-free. As the cloth is only used for drying, it doesn't require regular cleaning.

Fairy Original washing up liquid (or Dawn Original dish soap) works particularly well. It's very effective at removing oils and dirt, is gentle on any lens coatings, and has minimal additives such as antibacterials, moisturisers, perfume etc. that might be in other cleaning products like hand soap.

Hope this helps!

The wash and dab method is perfectly fine. And clean tap water is also fine, distilled water is really overkill for all but the most sensitive optics, which glasses are probably not! :-) Just don't wipe it. I use compressed air because I happen to have it readily at hand most days.

While I think this is a little overkill, you know what? I'm going to try it anyway, so thanks for sharing. No matter what, I just can't seem to completely eliminate the "smear" on my glasses. For whatever reason, this is even worse on my sunglasses.

I rinse them (which will get rid of the dust), then use liquid soap to get the oils off, then dry it with an air compressor (cheaper than canned air, no residue).

I’m with Richard—tap water, hand soap, fingers, pat dry. Now if you can tell me how to avoid sitting on them from time to time, or worse, dropping them and then standing on them during the search (yes, this has happened), I’d be set. Scratch that: I also want to know how to stop them falling off while wearing a mask.

Typo: 1st sentence of final paragraph: "classes" instead of 'glasses'. There are grammatical errors, but it's a blog ;o)

"The Right Way to Clean Your Glasses" from Crizal:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0pk_FbLxbk

I use only clean hands, hot water, and a lint-free towel. I have never needed to replace my lenses because they're scratched.

https://lifehacks.stackexchange.com/a/21038

I mix 1/3 window cleaning solvent with 2/3 of water in a spray bottle and then just use that to spray on the lenses and wipe it off with kitchen paper towels. Seems to be working pretty good.

@Walter

Typo: 1st sentence of final paragraph: "classes" instead of 'glasses'.

Oops, that's what happens when you let programmers like me write about something that isn't programming. Fixed with thanks!

This may work well but I think it is too much effort while the same result can be found with way less effort, time and costs. What I do since years : I rince my glasses under a thin stream of water so the dust is wiped and my hands are wet, I take a drop of dishwashing liquid, I make it foam between my fingers and then I gently rub the lenses surface and all over the frame. Now I rince the soap while rubbing a little more and finish by rincing under a thin stream of water in a way it leaves no drop of water on the lenses (you have to adjust the steam thickness). I put my glasses over a clean absorbant cloth and after drying my hands, I dry the frame. That's it for the daily routine. Once in a while, I use an ultrasonic cleaner with tap water and dishwashing soap for deep cleaning. Efficient, fast and cheap!

Dishwasher and a t-shirt (lint free)

In the morning,I rinse my glasses in warm water before I touch them with anything, then I add a tiny drop of dish soap to my hands and lather and rinse to get the oil off my hands

Then I use what's left of the soap on my hands to softly wash the lenses with my finger tips under running water.

Then I add lens cleaner and dry with a new microfiber cloth.

For the rest of the day, I use a dry microfiber.

And in the end, my lenses last years, and the frames never accumulate face cheese.