With masks now mandatory in most shops and public places, a new challenge has been presented to glasses wearers. Glasses fogging can be a real nuisance. Whether it's reduced vision, having to constantly wipe your lenses or the moisture causing your frames to slip down your nose, it can be frustrating. In this blog, we'll give you some tips on keeping your lenses and glasses fog-free.
Why Do Lenses Fog Up
The main reason that glasses fog up is due to limited airflow. The shape of the mask means that the large majority of the air you breathe out escapes through the top of the mask. When you breathe out, your warm breath comes in contact with your cooler lenses. This causes condensation and in turn causes your lenses to fog up. This moisture can also cause your glasses to slip down your nose, hampering vision and requiring constant adjustment.
Our 5 Tips To Stop Your Glasses Steaming Up
There's a variety of things you can do to decrease the effects of moisture and fog on your glasses/lenses. It is recommended to give these tips a try before you go out into the public so that you don't have to adjust your mask whilst in the presence of others.
1. Ensure Your Mask Fits Tightly and Snuggly
The most important thing is for your mask to fit tightly and snuggly around your nose and face. This will not only help to protect you from harmful airborne particles but it will also help reduce lens steam up. The tight fit will reduce the amount of breath escaping through the top of your mask. This in turn will reduce any moisture or fogging on your lenses.
Ideally, your mask should be snug against your cheeks and nose. Most masks come with a metal edge that can be pinched around your nose. If your mask is still not tight enough, tightening the straps can make for a more secure fit.
2. Pinch Your Mask Around Your Nose
It is best to fit the mask snuggly around your nose to help reduce the amount of breath escaping. Moving your mask further up your nose and resting your glasses on top of them will help to seal the mask. If this doesn't help or your mask can't be tightened, try surgical tape. The surgical tape will help secure the mask to the bridge of your nose, creating a seal to prevent air from escaping upwards.
3. Adjust Your Frames
Breathe escaping from your mask can create moisture on the nose bridge of your glasses, this can lead to them slipping down your nose. This can be an annoying and largely unnecessary distraction and having to constantly readjust your mask and glasses in public isn't ideal. A tightly fitting mask will help to reduce this build-up of moisture and help prevent your masks from slipping down your nose. In addition to the added moisture, your glasses may slip down as they don't fit you perfectly. This can happen with glasses, especially with frames that you have owned for a while. It is best to get your frames adjusted and tightened to help prevent this.
4. Breathe Down Into Your Mask
In addition to changing your mask, you could also change the way you breathe. Breathing down in the mask could help to prevent your lenses from fogging up. It may feel unnatural at first but it's certainly worth a try. It's a relatively small change that could make a big difference in keeping your lenses clear and improving the relationship between your glasses and masks.
5. Ensure Your Lenses Are Clean
Dirty lenses are more prone to fogging than clean ones. If it's been a while since you've given your glasses a good clean, we recommend doing so. We suggest using specialist lens cleaning spray and a microfibre cloth. This will not only help prevent fogging but it will also ensure greater clarity and a longer lifetime for your glasses.
Unfortunately, glasses and masks weren't necessarily designed to be worn together. Lenses fogging up is not something we can get rid of entirely. However, using these 5 helpful tips could help reduce the chances of it taking place and reduce the effects.
Looking to pick up your own pair of new glasses or sunglasses? At Spex4less we’re sure to have the perfect frames and lenses for you.