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How to Clean and Care for Your Glasses the Right Way

Written by Alvin · Manh Long Optical, 147A Le Duan, Cua Nam, Hanoi · Updated 11 September 2026

Most scratches, loose hinges and dulled coatings trace back to four or five very ordinary habits. Change those habits and a frame lasts years instead of a season, since the lens is both the expensive part and the part habits actually damage.

Rinse before you wipe

Wiping dry straightaway just grinds dust into the coating, and that's the main cause of the fine hairline scratches people notice over time. Rinse with warm water first, every time, even when the lens looks only lightly dusty.

A little mild dish soap, a thorough rinse, then a clean microfiber cloth is enough for daily use. Hot water and alcohol-based sprays, on the other hand, damage the coating.

Don't wipe with your shirt or a tissue

Cotton fibers and paper fibers sit at exactly the microscopic scale where the coating lives. That's why lenses wiped on a shirt hem go cloudy before the year is out.

Keep the cloth that came with your glasses and wash it occasionally. A dirty microfiber cloth just redistributes the same dust.

How you set your glasses down matters

When you're not wearing them, fold the arms and put them in a hard case. Setting a lens face-down on a table scratches exactly the center of the lens, the part you actually look through.

Pushing glasses up onto your head spreads the arms apart over time. This is the most common reason a frame stops sitting level, and a crooked frame means the optical center drifts away from your pupil.

Heat, sweat and seawater

A car dashboard in the middle of a Hanoi summer gets hot enough to warp acetate and crack a coating. Leaving glasses by a stove or in a steamy bathroom does the same.

Sweat and seawater leave salt behind, which pits metal parts and dulls coatings. Rinse the frame with clean water after a swim or a long run.

Check in every few months

Screws loosening is a normal part of use. A one-minute tightening keeps a frame sitting correctly, and a frame sitting correctly means the optical center stays in front of your pupil the way it was when you were fitted.

If you're passing by, drop in. Adjustment and cleaning are free for frames bought here, and we'd always rather re-adjust a frame than re-cut a lens.

Common questions

Can I wash glasses with soap and water?

Dish soap without added moisturizer works fine occasionally, as long as you rinse thoroughly and dry with a microfiber cloth. Avoid soaps with added oils or lotion.

Why do my glasses feel loose after a few months?

Hinges loosen naturally from daily opening and closing. Retightening at an optical shop takes a few minutes and is usually free.

Does wearing glasses on top of your head damage them?

It stretches the arms out of shape over time and makes glasses easier to drop and scratch. A case is a safer place to keep them when you're not wearing them.

What's a good way to store glasses overnight?

Fold the arms and place them lens-side up in a hard case, away from heat sources like a car dashboard or direct sun.

Can I use alcohol wipes on coated lenses?

Only if labeled safe for coated lenses. Strong alcohol or ammonia-based solutions can strip anti-reflective and blue-light coatings over time.

Is drugstore lens spray okay to use?

Most alcohol-free sprays made for coated lenses work fine. Water with a touch of mild dish soap does the same job for free.

Can a scratched lens be repolished?

No. Polishing removes the coating and changes the surface, and the optical quality goes with it. A scratch across the center of your field of view means a new lens.

How long should a frame last?

Two to four years with daily wear for acetate or titanium, longer with occasional adjustment. Lenses usually need replacing sooner, whenever your prescription changes.