If your glasses are anything like mine, they’re a perpetual water-dropped, finger-printed, fogged up hot mess. No longer! You know we love a good DIY around here, so check out these sustainable and simple homemade eyeglass cleaner recipes for all kinds of glasses.
Sure, you could buy eyeglass cleaner in a spray bottle, or even those individually wrapped packets marketed just for this task, but in the interest of eco-friendly living, we prefer to make our own. Keep it in a reusable bottle, and use ingredients you already have at home. Better on your wallet, and on the planet.
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What is the Best Homemade Eyeglass Cleaner?
The best homemade eyeglass cleaner is plain old gentle dish detergent and water. In a bowl, mix a couple drops of gentle dish detergent with lukewarm water, and swirl. Many people’s go-to is Dawn, but I use Dr. Bronner’s Castile Soap. Swish your glasses around, rinse clean, and dry with a clean cotton or microfiber cloth.
Here is why this is the best: it’s safe for all glasses. These days, if you have prescription glasses, you likely have some sort of coating on the lenses, whether it’s a blue-light blocking coating, anti-reflective, UV protection, or something else. Constantly applying harsh chemicals to those lenses will wear that protective coating down faster. And let’s face it: that shit ain’t cheap! Protect your investment.
The clean cotton or microfiber cloth is key as well. When we give our glasses the hot breath and t-shirt wipe treatment, we’re very likely just rubbing the dust that’s on our glasses or shirt into the lenses. This will increase the chances of scratching, not to mention they end up more streaky than when you started.
Here is my typical before, during, and after. It takes maybe two minutes, tops.
I started doing the Castile Soap and water soak every most mornings after reading about harsh cleaners on my fancy lenses. I also noticed my skin between my eyebrows and on the bridge of my nose was less breakout-prone, which was the lesson I didn’t even know I needed. That is to say, when you clean your glasses, clean the whole pair.
How Do You Make Alcohol Free Eyeglass Cleaner Spray?
If you like the idea of a simple soap and water soak, but know you’re not going to take the time to do this regularly, you can put the same two ingredients in a spray bottle to have on the go.
In a small spray bottle, combine:
- Water
- 2 drops gentle dish soap (I use Castile)
Swish around, and spray onto a clean microfiber cloth or your lenses, and wipe dry.
The small amount of soap should not leave streaks, although if you’re finding this not to be the case, just dilute with water and use less soap next time. Also, distilled water is best for a spray, as the minerals in tap or filtered water will affect how clean your glasses stay. With that being said, I usually use the water from my refrigerator filter, which works fine for me.
Homemade Eyeglass Cleaner Spray
So, maybe keeping alcohol out of your eyeglass cleaner doesn’t matter to you. I get it. Despite the caution against regularly cleaning coated lenses with harsh chemicals, many eyeglass specialists agree that once in a while using an alcohol-based cleaner should be safe. After all, that’s usually what the optician hands you on your way out. Additionally, if you have simple readers, or non-coated lenses, you may prefer the hard stuff all the time.
In a small spray bottle, combine:
- 1 part rubbing alcohol
- 1 part water
- 1-2 drops gentle dish soap (I use Castile)
Swirl gently (no need to make it too sudsy) and spray onto a clean microfiber cloth or directly onto the lenses and clean.
There are D.I.Y. eyeglass cleaner recipes that call for as much as four parts rubbing alcohol to one part water, so clearly there’s room for tinkering here. I’ve found a 1:1 ratio works just fine, so that’s where I keep it, but I have a lens coating, so I’m cautious against causing them any damage. Again, distilled water is best for a spray, as the minerals in tap or filtered water will affect how clean your glasses stay. With that being said, I usually use the water from my refrigerator filter, which works fine for me.
Need more DIY green cleaning tips? Learn how to make your own washing soda!
Anti-Fogging D.I.Y. Eyeglass Cleaner
Are you about to go nuts with the new-to-most problem of your mask fogging your glasses? For many of us, we’re just out of luck. But if your glasses do not have a protective coating on the lenses, you can try the following concoction:
In a small spray bottle, combine:
- Equal parts water, rubbing alcohol, and vinegar
- 1-2 drops gentle dish soap
Swirl gently (no need to make it too sudsy) and spray onto a clean microfiber cloth or directly onto the lenses and clean.
The vinegar addition will help to de-fog your lenses, but will damage protective coating. Obviously, this recipe should be used only on glasses where you’re sure there’s nothing on the lenses.
Mix it up!
There you have it! Homemade eyeglass cleaners are not hard to make, and are much less wasteful than buying anything individually wrapped. Keep in mind the various cautions against using harsh chemicals on certain lenses. When in doubt, gentle dish soap and water will let the light in!
Well, that was easy! Want more simple steps for an eco-friendly home? Here’s how to get started.
