Your Z Clear microfiber cleaning cloth is a precision tool designed to safely and effectively clean your lenses. With proper care, your cloth will last for hundreds of cleanings — keeping your glasses, goggles, and lenses spotlessly clean every time. A cloth that never gets washed eventually stops cleaning and starts smearing, because every oil, skin cell and speck of grit it lifted off your lenses is still sitting in the fibers.
Hand washing works just as well and is gentler: warm water, a drop of mild dish soap, work the suds through the cloth with your fingers, rinse until the water runs completely clear, then lay it flat to air dry. Rinsing matters more than scrubbing — leftover detergent is itself a film.
At a minimum, wash your glasses cleaning cloth about twice a month. Wash it weekly if you clean your lenses daily, if you wear makeup, sunscreen or moisturizer that transfers to the lens, or if you also use the cloth on larger surfaces like phone screens, monitors and face shields. The more surface area a cloth covers, the faster it loads up with oil.
Microfiber cloths are the safest material for cleaning optical lenses. Unlike paper towels, tissues, or shirt fabrics — which are coarse at the microscopic level and can cause micro-scratches — microfiber's ultra-fine fibers gently lift oils, dust, and smudges without abrasion. Reaching for the wrong fabric is one of the most common reasons glasses end up scratched, and unlike fog, a scratch doesn't wipe off.
Not every microfiber cloth is built for optics. A cloth intended for lenses should be a tight polyester/polyamide blend — roughly 80% polyester to 20% polyamide is the usual standard for lens work, because the polyamide is the component that actually absorbs oil instead of pushing it around the lens. Loose-weave cleaning rags, automotive towels and general-purpose “microfiber” cloths shed fibers and leave lint behind on glass.
Z Clear makes two. The 5"x5" microfiber eyeglass cleaning cloths are sized for glasses and sold in multi-packs, so you can keep a fresh one in every case, bag and desk drawer. The 6"x6" premium nanofiber cloth uses an even finer fiber for streak-free work on coated lenses and larger sunglasses. If you're deciding between the two, we broke down the difference between microfiber and nanofiber cloth in detail.
A dry cloth on a dry lens mostly relocates the oil. A cloth used with a proper lens cleaner lifts it off. Pair yours with Z Clear anti-fog lens cleaner spray or Z Clear anti-fog paste — both are water-based with no alcohol, ammonia, or abrasives, which is why they're safe on anti-reflective coatings. If you're still choosing a cleaner in the first place, start with our guide to the best eyeglass cleaner.
Machine wash it warm on a gentle cycle with a small amount of mild liquid detergent, or hand wash it in warm soapy water. Skip fabric softener, bleach and dryer sheets, rinse thoroughly, then air dry or tumble dry on low. High heat melts the fine fibers and ruins the cloth for good.
At least twice a month for normal use, and about once a week if you clean your lenses every day or also use the cloth on screens and other large surfaces.
No. Fabric softener leaves a coating on the fibers that stops them absorbing oil, so the cloth smears instead of cleaning. Softener particles left in the weave can also scratch a lens.
Only on a low-heat setting, and air drying is better. High dryer heat can melt the ultra-fine fibers, which permanently destroys the cloth's ability to clean.
Replace it when the weave looks worn or frayed, when it no longer absorbs, or when it still leaves streaks and lint after a proper wash.
Both are safe for lenses. Nanofiber uses an even finer fiber for a more streak-free finish, while microfiber tends to stay cleaner longer between washes. Our microfiber vs nanofiber comparison walks through both.