Caring for your Eyeglasses
Eyeglasses are expensive. Here at Eyeballs, a lot of thought, care and craftsmanship go into making the best possible eyeglasses “for your viewing pleasure.”
In order to have your eyeglasses “stand the test of time,” they are going to require proper care from you.
Cleaning: Never clean your lenses when they are dry. Do not breathe on them and use your shirt tail or tie. Dust particles that are in the air collect on your lenses. When you wipe them dry…you are actually grinding those dust particles into your lenses.
Rinse your lenses under running water and then use a soft cloth, hand towel or eyeglass cloth to dry them off.
Pre-packaged, pre-moistened towels are also okay to use. The only time it would not be okay is if you where staying at a place with a lot of sand. All lenses should be run under water before cleaning if you are vacationing anywhere that has a lot of sand.
Eyeglass spray that you can get at our shop is also safe. This spray has been tested and deemed gentle enough to use on A/R coated lenses and mirrored lenses. If a spray is gentle enough for those coatings, it will work well on all lenses.
Do not use Windex, Glass Plus or any of the other assorted cleaners. Those cleaners have far too many chemicals in them that can and will shorten the life of your lenses.
By using those types of cleaners, warrantees on anti reflective coatings, mirror coatings and scratch coatings are voided by the manufacturers. This type of lens damage is easy to spot and the manufacturer will simply refuse to remake your lenses at no charge.
Storage: When you are not wearing your eyeglasses, you should put them in their case.
If you are not a “case” person, let me recommend putting your eyeglasses on the top shelf of a bookcase…away from cats who love to show their owner affection by chewing on your eyeglasses at night while you sleep…away from dogs who will probably chew…then swallow your specs…and away from small children who have to learn how to be an optician before they can bend eyeglass frames like I do.
Maintenance: Just like caring for your car, you also need to have your eyeglasses looked at every now and then.
Bring your eyeglasses in for a “free front end alignment.” No matter how good your eyeglasses are and no matter how careful you are with them…the little buggers can and will get out of alignment.
During your visit your eyeglasses will be bench aligned, screws checked and more lock tight added if necessary and your lenses will be checked for any possible problems.
By using this service, you will get the most out of your eyeglasses and I will be able to spot any potential problems.
Breakage: Eyeglasses do break…and screws do fall out…and lenses do get scratched. What you need to do first is to stay calm. Never use super glue to try to repair a frame; it will destroy your frame.
Many times, I can repair that frame or if I can’t, a new frame or part can be gotten under warrantee. However, if super glue is used, the manufacturers will void the frame warrantee.
If a screw falls out, a bent paper clip can hold the frame together or the lens in until you can get in to see me.
If a temple breaks, first aid tape (not paper tape) will hold that broken temple together.
But sometimes disaster strikes…it is then that having a back up pair of eyeglasses is priceless. Remember; back up eyeglasses do not have to be expensive. A discontinued frame can be used at a greatly reduced cost along with plain plastic lenses. Or an extra frame you have around the house can often be used.
Defective Materials: No matter how careful I am, no matter how good the materials I use are…defects do happen. And sometimes it will take months to show up!
All the frames I carry except for any discontinued frames have at least a year warrantee, while others will be two years. Unlike other optical shops…I use the warrantees.
I can’t tell you how many times a customer of another optical shop has come in with a broken frame, under a year old with an obvious defect, where their original optical shop has refused to use the manufacturers warrantee. That is an unethical business practice.
I hope I have given you all the information you will need so that you may enjoy your new eyeglasses for a long time. Here at Eyeballs we give you the best possible customer service that we can…customer service that is truly lacking in many eyeglass chains and at many department store optical shops in our area. We appreciate your confidence and enjoy your many referrals.
Optically yours,
Lyn Verna, CEO (Chief Eyeball Officer)
