Where's a cheap place to buy cloths for cleaning spectables.

emc

A bit mundane, but does anyone know of a source for the clothes for cleaning glasses, or the cheapest opticians for these?

Thanks.

madnis7

If you go into Specsavers they'll usually give you one for free wether you're a customer or not. Otherwise i believe they're £1.

mssjab

It's not exactly clear to me emc what you're after, so here are the probable alternatives

1. Aldi sell a box of 50 moist cleaning wipes for around 70 pence. It says on the box that you should clean very dirty glasses with water first (I've found a solution of water and washing up liquid works best), and once you've used the wipes do not rub the glasses dry.

2. Lidl, and lots of other places, sell small microfibre (dry) cloths to which you either apply a cleaning fluid directly to the lens or onto the cloth. A pack should cost around £1, but if you can get one from Specsavers FOC, then so much the better.

I personally prefer method (2) using one cloth to apply a cleaner (which in my case is an alcohol based window cleaner bought in France) and another to remove any smears.

If Lidl ever sell their jewellery cleaning machine again, you might want to consider buying one. They work really well on jewellery and glasses and the only cleaning solution is good old washing up liquid mixed with warm water.

Snugster

Why do you need special clothes to clean your specs?
Are they that dirty you need some sort of protective garment?

oxters

Snugster wrote:

Why do you need special clothes to clean your specs?
Are they that dirty you need some sort of protective garment?

There's a special dual purpose dress for ladies for this job. It's a bi-frockal

emc

Snugster wrote:

Why do you need special clothes to clean your specs?
Are they that dirty you need some sort of protective garment?

I noticed the misspellings but at the risk of making a spectacle of myself left them in for pedants to spot. Some people were helpful, after seeing through the misspellings or politely overlooking them!

HankMcSpank

Spectabular question.

acc

emc wrote:

Snugster wrote:

Why do you need special clothes to clean your specs?
Are they that dirty you need some sort of protective garment?

I noticed the misspellings but at the risk of making a spectacle of myself left them in for pedants to spot. Some people were helpful, after seeing through the misspellings or politely overlooking them!

Did you go to Specsavers, and did they see their way to giving you a glasses cleaning cloth?

emc

acc wrote:

Did you go to Specsavers, and did they see their way to giving you a glasses cleaning cloth?

Yes. As madnis7 suggested, they have a far sighted approach to customer relations, and their supervisor clearly viewed my request in a good light.

I'll also follow up mssjab's suggestions as regards getting replacement cleaning cloths in the future.

dbonbon

So, let me get this right - you want us to lens you a hand and come up with ideas.

I really can't see what all the fuss is about. Though on this sight there'll be plenty of people with an eye for a bargain.

spinybif_2

The advice to use washing up liquid to clean specs is out of date. Many modern lenses have anti-reflecton coatings which are sealed with a silicon compound for easy cleaning. The harshness of the washing up liquid will remove the protective layer and eventually lead to a break up of the coating. As an optometrist we always recommend a correctly formulated cleaning solution - Solution 30 is very good (check frame material first as some budget frames will melt) and a pentax cloth. When the cloth ceases to work rinse out in the washing up bowl before washing greasy pots and allow to dry. Avoid putting in the washing machine if you use fabric softeners as this will prevents the microfibres absorbing grease off the lenses.