How to Keep Anti-Reflective Coatings from Peeling and Scratching

If you answered yes to any of these questions, your glasses will perform significantly better if you purchase anti-reflective coatings with your glasses.  Anti-reflective coatings prevent oncoming light from headlights or computer screens from causing sheets of glare across your glasses.  Light hits your lenses and instead of reflecting back across your eyes, it instead becomes absorbed or negated by the coatings in place.  The best performing anti-reflective coatings cover the full spectrum of visible wavelength light.  If you are a computer user or night driver, I highly recommend specific blue-wave length reducing AR coatings like Crizal's Prevencia or HOYA's Recharge that are designed to reduce that annoying LED screen glare off your electronic devices and reduce end of day fatigue.  Wouldn't you like to feel less eye strain at the end of your day?  If you answer yes, you need anti-reflective coating.

Tempted to clean your glasses on your coat or shirt?  Don't!  Yes glasses will smudge as you go through your day, especially if you frequently touch them or around your face.  Oils from your skin will easily collect and smear on the lenses.  For myself, I lean into a microscope multiple times a day, so my glasses always have the rubber microscope eyepiece smudges to remove.  But if you clean your glasses with the wrong materials, you will eventually scratch and wear away the surface coatings.  NEVER clean your glasses with tissue paper, rough washcloths, Kleenex, or paper towels.  These materials are much too rough and will wear away a surface coating fast.  Kleenex and paper towels are made from wood fibers, so if you reach for one, just imagine rubbing your glasses with a stick from outside.  That's basically what you are doing.  Your doctor's office will almost always provide free cleaning cloths and sprays for you to use so that you can keep a few in a purse or desk drawer.  If you don't have access to lens cleaning cloth, then the only at-home material you should use would be an old soft cotton t-shirt (something that is several years old and through multiple wash cycles works best) and just a small amount of diluted Dawn dishwashing detergent will work in a bind.  That's it -- don't try any other do it yourself options.  Never clean your glasses with alcohol or alcohol based soaps!  These will strip away the coatings very quickly if you use them consistently.

Many people will lead their sunglasses or driving glasses in their car, but be warned, extreme heat will break down your coatings with time and cause peeling and distortion.  If you have to leave your glasses in your car, make sure you have them in a case and try to park your car in a covered deck or under some shade to reduce high temperature exposure.   If you are consistently exposing your glasses to extreme temperatures, just expect that you may need to replace your glasses more consistently as well.  Professions like chefs or kitchen workers who expose their glasses to high temperatures and steam may have to replace their glasses more regularly as a result.

Take Home

The average AR coating should last about 2 years in my experience under moderate temperature and cleaning abuse,but if you are exposing your glasses to more extremes they could break down within a few months.  Invest in a lens warranty if your work environment is more demanding or you know that you aren't consistently good with cleaning your glasses the right way.  Most vision insurances provide benefits towards new lenses on a yearly or every 2 year basis, so replacing your glasses on that timeline should suffice for most.  If you want lenses to last for longer, then your best bet is to follow these guidelines carefully every day.  I have had AR coated lenses that have lasted for over 5 years now without signs of distortion, so with proper and diligent care it is possible!