Reasons Your Glasses Could Be Scratching

Imagine this: you're on your favorite hiking trail, enjoying the fresh air, the views, you're in your happy place. You start to notice that the sun is just a little brighter than you'd like and it's impeding your vision. No worries, you packed your favorite pair of sunglasses; all is good. You reach into your backpack and pull out the case, you open it and with a sigh of relief, you unfold and put on your glasses. Suddenly, you notice a scratch, right down the middle of your right lens. You have no idea how this could have happened, you clean your glasses regularly and always store them after taking them off, so what's the deal?

At Z Clear, we make sure that our anti-fog spray for glasses and products like the Z Clear microfiber cloth keep your lenses damage-free. This commitment has come from endless research on what to do and what not to do when it comes to lens cleaning.

Here are some reasons that your glasses could be scratching:

You're Not Using the Right Cloth

One of the main reasons that your glasses could be scratched is that you're using the wrong type of cloth or fabric to clean them. Things like tissue paper, paper towels and t-shirts are some of the worst things that you can use to clean lenses, and you'll almost always scratch your glasses. If you're going to use anti-fog spray for glasses, make sure that you have an accompanying microfiber cloth to go with it.

Your Lenses Weren't Cleared Off Before Starting

You could use all the right products and still end up with scratches if you didn't initially check for dirt or debris before you began wiping your glasses. Small dirt particles will scratch your lenses with ease, especially if you apply pressure and slide them across your lenses unintentionally. Before you begin wiping your glasses, make sure that there aren't any hard particles on the surface. You can blow or lightly push them off using your cloth before doing any deep cleaning.

You're Not Using a Case

This reason has little to do with cleaning habits and everything to do with storage. If you're sliding your glasses in and out of your pockets without using a case, they're going to be rubbing on the fabric of your pants constantly. To make sure this doesn't happen to you, we recommend always using a case to store your glasses. You could use the right anti-fog spray for glasses and the right microfiber cloth, but without proper storage, that won't matter.

These are the most common reasons people find those annoying scratches on their glasses. Already have a scratch? Our guide to the best lens scratch filler in 2026 covers what actually fills a surface scratch and what to avoid. And our Z Clear anti-fog spray plus a microfiber cloth will help you avoid scratches while cleaning, just make sure you're doing your part to keep them stored properly.