The Best Way to Clean Prescription Glasses (Without Wrecking the Coatings)
Jason PineIf you know me, you know I don’t take shortcuts—unless I’m driving. One of the quality products I stand behind to keep my eyes safe on the shop floor and on the range is Wiley X Prescription Eyewear. My eyesight isn’t what it used to be, but thanks to my safety-rated prescription glasses, I can see clearly while keeping my eyes protected.
The biggest challenge I’ve found with wearing glasses is keeping them clean to my standards. The smallest smudge or dust particle drives me crazy—so I set out to find a cleaning routine that actually works and doesn’t damage coatings or lenses.
What Most People Recommend
When researching how others clean their glasses, here’s what most optometrists, eyewear brands, and lens manufacturers suggest:
- Rinse with lukewarm water to remove dust and debris before wiping.
- Use a drop of lotion-free dish soap on each lens to break down oils.
- Gently rub both sides and rinse thoroughly.
- Dry with a clean microfiber cloth, not your shirt or paper towels.
- Avoid hot water, household glass cleaners, vinegar, or acetone-based products.
- For coated lenses, use only lens-safe sprays or wipes designed for anti-reflective coatings.
- Wash microfiber cloths regularly to prevent trapped oils or grit from scratching lenses.
Those are good general rules, but here’s what actually works best for me.
My Proven Routine
After years of daily wear and experimenting with every cleaner imaginable, this is the process that consistently delivers streak-free results while keeping coatings intact.
1. Start with a Warm Water Rinse
Always rinse your lenses under warm—not hot—water before applying soap. This removes dust and debris that could otherwise scratch the surface, even if your lenses have an anti-scratch coating (ask me how I know).
2. Use Dawn Dishwashing Detergent
Apply a tiny drop of Dawn dishwashing detergent to both sides of the lenses. Using your fingers, gently rub in circular motions, adding small amounts of warm water as needed.
Dawn cuts through facial oils better than other brands I’ve tried and helps keep nose pads and temple areas spotless.
3. Rinse Thoroughly and Dry the Frames
Rinse everything with warm water to remove all traces of soap, then dry the frames with a soft towel. This keeps water from dripping onto your clean lenses during the next step.
4. Polish with ZEISS Streak-Free Lens Spray
After drying, spray both lenses with ZEISS Streak-Free Lens Spray and Microfiber Cloths.
Wipe gently with a Crizal microfiber cloth, which I’ve found to be superior in texture and performance for anti-reflective lenses. Crizal Microfiber Cleaning Cloths.
5. Maintain Several Clean Microfiber cloths.
I keep multiple clean microfiber towels on standby. I hand-wash them using Dawn dishwashing detergent and then rinse them thoroughly. I then let them air dry overnight.
A clean microfiber cloth is critical. Dirty cloths are one of the biggest reasons lenses don't get clean.
On-the-Go Cleaning
When I’m out and don’t have access to water and soap, I rely on ZEISS Pre-Moistened Lens Cleaning Wipes. They’re effective, but there’s one important rule: never use them before rinsing off dust and debris.
Even a few particles can cause micro-scratches, so if possible, rinse with bottled or tap water first, then wipe.
Clear Vision, Every Time
There’s no shortage of cleaning methods online, but the combination of warm-water rinse → Dawn detergent → towel-dry → Zeiss spray + Crizal microfiber polish has been the most reliable and repeatable system I’ve found for keeping my Wiley X prescription lenses spotless and streak-free.
