Wait! Don’t touch your spectacles after eating all those Chinese New Year goodies!

Although this Covid-19 pandemic brought about lots of changes, including how we socialize, shop, and eat. However, it will not dampen the Chinese New Year’s spirits and our love for the Chinese new year goodies! While we are happily indulging in the flavours of the Love Letters, Kueh Bangkit, and Pineapple tarts, we should also remember that oil and grease are a big no-no when it comes to handling our spectacle lenses.

Oil and grease reduce the clarity in our spectacles, and over time, it can permanently damage the lenses. The greasy ‘film’ that builds up on the lenses, if not properly taken care of, leaves thick smudge that can be increasingly harder to clean each day it is unattended to. As most people realise it a few minutes after touching their lenses with oily hands, they end up resorting to wiping them on their shirttails. As much as this method is super convenient, it may end up leaving your lenses even worse than it was before, as the micro-fabric residue left on the lenses may stick to the layer of grease on your spectacle lenses, or even worse, it ends up scratching the protective coating of your lenses.

So, how exactly should we clean the lenses after a frenzy of CNY snacks? We do recommend washing your hands thoroughly when handling your spectacles. It may seem ridiculous to go to the washroom each time you eat a snack and want to handle your glasses, this is the most practical way. Otherwise, we suggest always bring along your lens solution cleaner and cleaning cloth along with you. Keeping a spare cloth in your bag is also a healthy spectacle habit. Nonetheless, it is important to ensure that your cleaning cloth is clean as well, if not, it would just end up smearing the greasy marks round. Another way is to purchase the handy and one-time use only lens wipes, it is easy to keep, even in a small clutch bag. Most one-time use lens wipes are able to clean your spectacle lens thoroughly, and it not only works on spectacle lens, it also serves as a very good wipe for your smartphones, tablets, etc.