The only way to safely clean your sunglasses — or any eye glasses — is gently with warm water and a lint-free cloth. You can use a drop of soap or glass cleaner as well.
Sunglasses offer relief from the sun and glare, and let’s not forget: they make us look darn good! Most importantly, however, they protect your eyes from dangerous UV rays, so it pays to keep them in good shape. • Store with care — Keep your sunglasses in a sturdy case when they aren’t on your face. Sure, it’s easier to toss them in your purse or on the passenger seat, but a sturdy case protects them from the contents of your purse and the bottom of your next passenger. • Keep ’em cool — Even in a sturdy case, leaving your eye glasses in the car puts them at risk of heat damage. Heat adversely affects the lens coating and can weaken the frames, not to mention the discomfort when you pick them up to put on! • Keep ‘em clean — As you take them off and put them on throughout the day, sunglasses get dirty, dusty and smudged. While it’s a good idea to clean them as soon as possible, but stop before breathing on the lenses and wiping them on your shirt. Not only does this not clean your glasses, it could scratch the lenses. So does wiping them with a towel, napkin or paper towel. Always use a lint-free cloth and lotion-free dish soap at a sink. Run warm water on the lenses, arms and frames. Add a drop or two of soap and gently rub with your thumb and forefinger. Rinse the glasses in warm water and dry them with the lint-free cloth. If you substitute a lens cleaner spray, make sure it’s safe for anti-reflective and coated lenses. • Fix those scratches — All it takes to clean a scratch on your sunglasses is a little toothpaste. Be sure to use regular toothpaste without any abrasives or whiteners. Also, gels won’t work for this procedure either. Using a cotton ball, rub the white paste around the scratch in a circular motion for about 10 seconds. Rinse in cool water and remove any excess with a lint-free cloth. Repeat until the scratch is gone. If you don’t have any plain toothpaste, you can use baking soda instead. Mix about one part water with two parts baking soda into a thick paste, then follow the same steps as with the toothpaste. • Keep them tight. Loose sunglasses are easy to fix if you have the right size screwdriver. A nice jeweler’s set works well. With a proper tiny tool, gently tighten the screw until the piece is no longer loose. Glasses can be delicate, so be careful not to over tighten, because it’s easy to snap or strip the screw. Glasses repair kits are easily available with the correct size screwdriver, spare screws and additional pieces.
