For anyone who likes to spend time outdoors, a pair of binoculars is one of the most important types of equipment to have. The whole experience of hunting, bird watching, or anything else in the outdoors will be transformed with the vision through clean binoculars.
This is why investing in a good pair of binoculars is essential, really for any experience that you will be at distance. (If you have and use a pair of binoculars, you might be a social distancing expert!) Once you own a pair of binoculars, it is crucial to know how to look after the binoculars and keep it clean so you can increase its lifespan.
Even when you try your best to be careful and take great care of your binoculars, you are still going to need to clean them from time to time. Fingerprints are going to get on them. So will dust and dirt. So what do you do about it?
People tend to blow or breathe on the lenses and rub it with a handkerchief or part of a shirt. Don’t do this! You may just damage the lens. Read the instruction manual before attempting to clean the binoculars. It’s important to follow the manufacturer’s advice to prevent damaging the coatings and leaving scratch marks on the lens.
Scratch marks and imperfect coatings will diminish your experience while using the binoculars. Clean binoculars make all the difference. Protecting them and cleaning the right way is important to keep the binoculars in good condition.
Tips To Clean Binoculars
Use A Brush
Removing dust particles from the lens can be done by using a blower brush or lens cleaning brush. The fine hair of the brush will remove every fine particle of dust from the surface of the lens. This method prevents peeling off the coating or putting scratches on the lens.
Chances are, your binoculars came with a cleaning brush. That is what you should be using. Remember that it is important to take great care of that brush — just like you do with your clean binoculars.
Use A Cleaning Solution
Your fine hair lens brush may not be perfect when it comes to having clean binoculars. In that case, you can use a Q-tip that is moistened with water or a lens cleaning solution to float off the remaining dirt and dust.
If you have waterproof binoculars, you can also put them under a water tap. Just make sure that you don’t squirt onto the binoculars. Also, avoid using cleaners that are designed for windows or eyeglasses. This could also cause damage to the coatings. Something like KleerVu™ Anti Fog Anti Static Liquid Cleaner would be a great option.
Wipe It Clean
Your final step will be to wipe the lens clean with a cloth — once you are sure that all of the dust has been removed from the lens. The best option for this is a microfiber cloth that is specially made for cleaning binocular lenses. Again, your binoculars likely came with a cleaning cloth. As long as that cloth is in good shape, continue to use it. Once the cloth has worn out, you can find a good quality lens wiping tissues or clothes online at a fairly reasonable or cheap price.
Don’t Forget The Body
To have clean binoculars, you’ll need to clean the body just like you do with the lens. You should clean the body in a similar way to cleaning the lens.
- Remove the dust — Use a blower to remove any dust particles from your binoculars.
- Use a cloth — Use a lint-free or microfiber tissue to clean the body. You’ll always want to use a dry cloth. During cleaning, always hold your binoculars upside down to prevent having any dust fall on the lens.
- The cleaner — Continue to clean binoculars with warm water by mixing it with a mild cleaner and wipe it dry with a soft cloth. Don’t get any on the lens though!
One More Thing
Clean binoculars mean a clean lens and a clean body. Don’t worry about trying to clean the insides. That is just asking for trouble. Opening the binoculars to clean the inside is a good way to damage your binoculars. Contacting the manufacturer is the best option if you want to clean it from the inside or for any expert advice or repairs.
