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How To Prevent Glasses From Fogging

Why do glasses fog up? | How to prevent glasses from fogging up | How to prevent glasses from fogging up when wearing a face mask | Can I use anti-fogging solutions with prescription and safety glasses? | Is this an additional cost to wearing glasses? | Conclusion

Foggy glasses might seem unavoidable in certain situations, but everything will be clearer when you read this guide.
How to prevent glasses from fogging

Eyes are the windows to your soul…. but it would be nice seeing through those windows, wouldn’t it? As a glasses wearer, going from a cold to a hot place or drinking tea while wearing a mask, what do these have in common? Glasses fogging up.

Want to know how to prevent glasses from fogging up? Your prayers have been answered. In the following article, we will highlight why this common issue arises and what tricks you can adopt to help prevent it.

Read further and say no more to your glasses fogging up. You should enjoy a nice hot chocolate with some friends, who you can see.

Why do glasses fog up?

There are various reasons why your glasses may fog up.

Firstly, your glasses might fog up due to the lens coatings, which over time will degrade. The lens, in this case, can become partly cloudy as if they are fogged up. To help prevent lens damage that would cause foggy glasses we’d recommend investing in better-quality lens coatings that may last a lot longer.

Secondly, the way we take care of our glasses can cause further damage if we are not careful. This may result in having to spend extra money to get our glasses or lenses fixed and replaced. If scratches accumulate over time it may result in a hazier visual through the lenses.

How to prevent glasses from fogging
How to prevent glasses from fogging
DID YOU KNOW?

You may notice that you’re glasses fog up more often in winter. This is likely due to the lens temperature changing when passing from cold, outdoor enviornments to warm, indoor ones.

Thirdly, your glasses can condense due to “irregularities” between temperature gaps. Common scenarios can be when you pass from a cold to a hot environment, or you sip a hot beverage. Every time you enter a store and then exit, your glasses will fog up as you switch from a warm store to the cool weather outside. 

The temperature on your lenses is relatively colder than the “newly” encountered temperature. This causes your glasses to fog up and at times also produces tiny drops of water.

How to prevent glasses from fogging
How to prevent glasses from fogging

How to prevent glasses from fogging up

Unfortunately, we can not control the weather or the diverse temperature around us. There are, however, various ways for us to help prevent glasses from fogging up (or at least reduce the phenomenon).

Let’s dive into a few tricks to help prevent glasses from fogging up:

  1. Invest in anti fogging spray or wipes 
  2. Try to place and keep your frames a little further down your nose and away from your eyes
  3. Investing in anti-fog coatings
  4. You could use contact lenses instead of glasses if your eye doctor recommends them

To prevent glasses from fogging up, consider which could be the best solution for you, whether it’s a matter of cost, a matter of practicality, or even frequency. 

If you find yourself often driving, playing sports, or working and have issues with foggy glasses then you could consider an anti-fog solution. The anti-fog solutions will help prevent your glasses from fogging up before you begin with activities that may be dangerous if your glasses were to fog up.  

Anti-fog wipes are made from particular materials that will not damage the lens. They are lightweight, making them practical to carry around. The wipes are a fast and quick solution to use before the fogging begins. 

Anti-fog sprays are good if you want great clarity and are usually safe and hypoallergenic. It’s important to read the label before purchasing the spray to avoid any uncomfortable skin irritation. Anti-fog sprays are easy to apply and last for a long time.

An anti-fog gel is a good option as it is a bit stronger than anti-fog sprays and also helps fill in minor scratches on the lenses, which makes it a little clearer. An anti-fog gel is safe and natural, made with chemicals that will not harm the surface of the lens. Anti-fog gels are efficient on a clean pair of lenses and to be applied on the inside of the lenses.

How to prevent glasses from fogging
How to prevent glasses from fogging

How to prevent glasses from fogging up when wearing a face mask

In times of covid, many things have changed, and preventing glasses from fogging up has been a widely discussed topic.

The main reason why our glasses fog up with a mask is due to condensation. When warm air hits a cool surface, this will cause fogging. When your warm breath escapes from the top of your mask, therefore hitting the lens surface which is a lot cooler than your ‘breath’, your glasses will fog up.

All the anti-fogging solutions, mentioned above, are still valuable options to consider.

However, there are a few more steps you can try to help prevent glasses from fogging up while wearing a mask:

  1. Your glasses and mask need to be a correct fit, secure the mask over your nose bridge, as this will reduce the amount of air that may escape from the top.
  2. Use your glasses to help seal the top of your mask.
  3. Get a mask equipped with an adjustable nose clip, to tighten over your nose bridge.
  4. If the mask doesn’t have a nose clip try using adhesive silicone nose clips.
  5. Try distancing your glasses a little further away from your face, to allow more air to flow between the mask and glasses.
  6. Use a small amount of tissue paper under the nose clip of your mask, giving an extra layer to hopefully fill in the gaps.

Continue reading our article on how to wear a face mask with glasses for an even better fit.

Can I use anti-fogging solutions with prescription and safety glasses?

Various kinds of glasses can benefit from anti-fogging solutions that will help prevent, or reduce, glasses from fogging up. The same goes for prescription and safety glasses.

If you wear prescription glasses daily, then investing in various protective coatings and additional solutions will help protect, not only your glasses, but also your eyes.

How to prevent safety glasses from fogging up? If you work or do sports that may endanger your vision if something were not to go well, you are probably familiar with wearing safety glasses.

These do need to conform to higher standards compared to regular eyeglasses. Safety glasses can have both prescription or plano lenses (prescription-free) which can also benefit from various coatings.

With regular glasses, we have highlighted that fogging up can be quite annoying. With safety glasses, it can also be annoying but also quite dangerous. If you work with hazardous liquids or love swimming with sharks, the last thing you’d want is for your safety glasses to fog up and blur your vision.

The procedure to help prevent glasses from fogging up are the same as the ones mentioned previously in the article. For prescription glasses, you can use anti-fogging solutions and see what works best with or without a mask.

How to prevent glasses from fogging
How to prevent glasses from fogging
How to prevent glasses from fogging
How to prevent glasses from fogging

For safety glasses, the recommendation is to assure the lenses have a permanent anti-fog coating. The coating is safe to use in any weather condition and prevents fogging. The coating is chemically bonded to both sides of the lenses that are usually combined with a hard anti-scratch coating.

The anti-fog coating works on a molecular level which keeps water molecules from bunching together and therefore preventing fog. The coating can work on both prescription and prescription-free safety glasses and has been tested to assure that fog will never be an issue.

Or for swimming goggles, you could try the old spit and rub on your lenses.

Is this an additional cost to wearing glasses?

If you are a glasses wearer then you know that the expense of being one can add up after time.

Nevertheless, when you are buying a new pair of prescription glasses it is worth upgrading your lenses with protective filters and coatings, this may be a little pricey at first but can ensure a longer-lasting pair of eyeglasses and the cost balances out through time.

You can upgrade to additional coatings to avoid extra costs along the way. These protective filters and coatings don’t only protect your lenses but also your eyes. For example, would you buy a pair of sunglasses without a UV filter?

Preventing your glasses from fogging up shouldn’t burn a hole in your pocket. Begin with fitting your glasses and mask correctly on your face. If you’d prefer one of the anti-fogging solutions then make sure you invest in something that is of good quality and practical.

You want to consider anti-fog sprays or wipes that have a lasting effect, that are optical grade, so they do not damage any other coatings on your lens.

Also, pay attention to the type of lens material that would work best with an anti-fog solution. The best-suited lens material, for diverse anti-fog solutions, will be indicated on the bottles. Experts recommend avoiding anti-fog spray for plastic or polycarbonate lenses.

Prices can range from affordable to more expensive high-quality anti-fog solutions, so do not jump into the most expensive solution at first but try all the various methods and non-cost effective home remedies and see what works best for you.

How to prevent glasses from fogging
How to prevent glasses from fogging

Conclusion

Do not fear glasses wearers, there are many affordable solutions for you to prevent glasses from fogging up with or without a mask. At SmartBuyGlasses you can find a variety of prescription glasses and safety glasses to ensure the best quality and clear vision for everyone.

When you are investing in a new anti-fog solution remember to consider certain factors to avoid that hole in your pocket:

  • It’s all about trying out and finding the best solution for you, so don’t buy infinite quantities of anti-fogging sprays, gels, or wipes.
  • Easy usage. Finding an easy and simple way to help prevent glasses from fogging up will help you save time.
  • Duration. Consider investing in anti-fog coatings or solutions that will assure a long-lasting effect.
  • Practicality. If you work or do any sports that require anti-fog solutions consider what would be the most practical accessory to have. Usually, spray bottles come in diverse sizes.
  • Cleaning cloths. Remember that when cleaning your glasses the type of materials you use can damage the lens so make sure to use microfiber or low lint cloths.

If you’d like to find out more about how to care for your glasses and eyes with the best solutions, coatings, and lens materials make sure to visit our Optical Center.

Now share your new findings with friends and family who find themselves in the same conundrum. Help them see clearly through their windows for a clear crispy view into your souls.

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