Why Do Glasses Fog Up?
Glasses fog up due to condensation.
Eyeglass lenses can fog up when water vapor from sweat, breath, and humidity comes into contact with a cold surface, cooling and transforming into tiny droplets that create a visible film.
Your lenses will be cooler than your breath, especially when it's cold outside. When vapor meets a surface that is cooler, some of the energy is transferred to it. Condensation happens when the vapor doesn't have enough energy to stay in gas form, so it changes back to liquid. Liquids have more energy than solids but less energy than gases.
Foggy lenses can be a problem anytime, especially during humid summers and winter activities. The best option for preventing foggy lenses is to get an anti-fog coating from your eyeglass provider. If you don't have this coating, there are some creative ways to prevent foggy lenses. Reapplying these remedies regularly can help ensure the clearer vision and fog-free lenses.
How to Prevent Your Glasses From Fogging Up
- Select anti-fog materials to keep your lenses fog-free
- Anti-reflective treatments can be a beneficial choice, as they not only diminish glare, but can also incorporate a hydrophobic coating that prevents water, smudging, and fogging on lenses
- Invest in anti-fog treatment for your eyewear, especially if you're participating in snow sports. Anti-fog lenses can help ensure that your vision remains clear, increasing safety and comfort. For an alternative to eyewear, consider contact lenses, which can help prevent fogging in winter.
- Clean the lenses using soapy water
- To prevent condensation, it is important to keep your lenses clean, avoid leaving fingerprints, and handle them gently so that there is no dirt, smudges, or scratches for them to cling to
- A lens cleaner or anti-fog wipe specifically designed to prevent foggy lenses is the safest choice for your lenses. Rubbing alcohol and other treatments not made for glasses may damage anti-glare or photochromic coatings and void any warranties your lenses may have, so they should be avoided.
- If your glasses keep fogging up, allowing more airflow around the lenses can help reduce the issue. You can adjust the nose pads or arms slightly to keep your glasses in the right place. If your glasses are too close to your face, your optometrist may be able to adjust them, but there may be limitations to this. If fogging is a frequent occurrence, it may be due to the frame size not being correct. Consider getting a new frame with more space between the lenses and your face.
