How to clean prescription glasses without damaging the anti-glare coating

Anti-glare (anti-reflective) coatings are tough in daily use but wear out fast if you wipe dusty lenses dry, use hot water or reach for household cleaners. This routine follows lens makers' own care advice and takes about two minutes.

Hold the glasses by the frame, rinse both lenses under lukewarm running water, then rub a single drop of mild, lotion-free washing-up liquid over them with your fingertips. Rinse again and pat dry with a clean microfibre cloth. Skip shirts, tissues, hot water, sanitiser and household glass cleaners, and keep the glasses in a hard case when they are off your face.

• 1. Hold the glasses by the frame: Grip the side of the frame you are cleaning, not the lens itself and not one arm alone. Holding a single arm while you rub puts strain on the hinge and can bend the frame out of shape over time.
• 2. Rinse away grit first: Run both lenses under lukewarm tap water for a few seconds. This washes off dust and sand before anything touches the surface. Rubbing a dusty lens, even with a good cloth, drags those tiny particles across the coating and leaves fine scratches.
• 3. Add one drop of mild soap: Put a single drop of mild, pH-neutral washing-up liquid on your fingertip and rub it into a light lather. Gently spread it over both sides of each lens, the nose pads and the frame front. Your fingertips are softer than any brush, so there is no need for anything else.
• 4. Rinse thoroughly: Hold the glasses under lukewarm running water again until every trace of soap is gone. Leftover soap dries into streaks that look like smudges on the coating. Keep the water warm, not hot, because high heat can weaken the bond between the coating and the lens.
• 5. Shake, then pat dry with microfibre: Give the glasses a gentle shake to drop off most of the water. Then lightly press a clean microfibre cloth against each lens so it soaks up the remaining drops. There is no need to scrub hard. Finish with a light circular wipe if any spots remain.
• 6. For quick cleans outside, use lens products: When you cannot reach a tap, dry wiping is the risky part. Use a lens cleaning wipe made for spectacles, or spray a lens cleaner onto your microfibre cloth (not straight onto the lens) and then wipe. Spraying the cloth keeps liquid out of the screw holes and drill holes in the frame.
• 7. Store them in a hard case: Whenever the glasses are off, put them in a hard case. If there is no case nearby, set them down with the lenses facing up, never lens side down on a table. Keep them away from a car dashboard, a hot window sill or the kitchen stove, especially in Indian summers.
• 8. Wash your cloth every few days: A microfibre cloth collects skin oil and grit, which it then spreads back onto the lenses. Hand wash or machine wash it in water no warmer than about 40 °C, with no fabric softener, and let it air dry. Softener leaves a film that causes streaks.