How to take care of your sunglasses?

Breath + t-shirt combination

With almost every pair of sunglasses, you can find a soft cleaning cloth and we suggest to also buy a special lens cleaning fluid. We don’t recommend to clean the lenses with so to say t-shirt plus breath combination for two reasons: firstly, certain fabrics like lycra and polyester can be very abrasive. Rough fabric can rub off the anti-reflective coating and damage the lenses and their quality.
Secondly, your clothes may have dirt and specks not visible to the eye on them. For example, rubbing the lenses with a cloth that has sand on it will seriously scratch and damage them. In order to offer the best protection, the sunglasses need to be intact, lenses clean and without visible damages. Scratched and damaged lenses have to be exchanged because they are preventing clear vision and are not protecting the eyes.

But why do I need a special lens cleaning fluid when I have a whole bottle of window cleaner at home?

None of the optical lenses should be cleaned with a corrosive agent. This includes saliva, window cleaner, solvents, lemon juice, alcohol, acetone, isopropanol (found in many window cleaners), hydrogen peroxide, washing gel, dishwashing liquid, facial cleanser, vinegar etc.
Firstly, the unsuitable agent will damage the coatings of the lens and secondly, the frame itself.
There are special cleaning fluids for all purposes and type of lenses are inexpensive and last long.
Some manufacturers recommend to clean the lenses with a mild soap water solution but it’s still not the safest option as it is not always known what the soap in question might consist. So let’s just use the right means.

Sunbathing and sunglasses…

Surprise-surprise, even sunglasses have their heat tolerance limit, which is generally max. +35 degrees. UV-protection and other coatings are added to the lenses through different chemical processes and very high temperatures may damage these features.
So please don’t leave your sunglasses lying in the sun or also in the car, where the temperatures on a hot summer day can rise very high.
The lowest temperature limit for general use glasses is -10 degrees. For winter sports and mountaineering there is a special type of glasses.
If you don’t need to use sunglasses, keep them in a box and at room temperature, out of direct sunlight. Then you can wear them for a long long time.

Welding with sunglasses?

Normal sunglasses aren’t meant to protect the eyes at hard labor like construction, welding, or metal work. The lenses don’t tolerate strong force, heat or flying particles like metal or wood. The lenses may break and injure the eyes. For every purpose, there are special protective glasses and devices. For sporting or on the sea pick sports glasses that have light, durable and shockproof lenses, for building and welding choose work glasses and devices etc.

What about the beach?

As we mentioned before, the lenses of the sunglasses don’t tolerate high heat. Also, the sand and salt water aren’t the best environment for them. The sand can scratch the lenses or get stuck between the frame and it is very hard to clean it out. On the other side, salty water is the biggest enemy of metal and anti-reflecting coating.
When you take your sunglasses to the beach, avoid contact with sand and salt water. If you do sea sports, use special glasses that are normally sold at sports or camping shops.

If you want your glasses to offer optimal protection and joy for many years, follow our advice on how to keep them clean and intact. If you are missing the special lens cleaning fluid, soft cloth or box, come to find them at VIUU.

See VIUU’s selection of eyewear HERE and come to try some on at VIUUshop, Telliskivi 60!

Cover photo: Dick Moby Amsterdam