How To Clean Binoculars : Step-by-Step!

Next, we are going to talk about how to clean binocular lenses. When cleaning binocular lenses, use a microfiber cloth because it's especially made for optics. You probably got a microfiber cloth with your binocular in the kit. If not, I suggest you to buy one, or better yet, buy a complete optics cleaning kit.

It's best not to use your shirt tail, your handkerchief, or a tissue to clean your optics and don't use any running water. If you clean your binoculars improperly, anything that’s on the lens will cause these micro-scratches and that’s going to degrade the light as it comes through.

Not only the lenses, but the coding on the lenses will be affected by these scratches as well, and that degrades your view because it breaks up the light waves that are coming through the lenses.

In most cases that’s all you need for a quick clean, but if have any stubborn stains like finger prints or water spots, just use a drop of the anti-fog lens cleaner solution (I recommend Vortex) on the lens, and then use the cloth to wipe them clean.

Rub down gently and in circular motion on the lenses in order to fully wipe them down and clean off any oil or grease as well. After you do that, use a dry corner of your cloth (microfiber) and once again hit the lenses the same way. You may have to repeat the whole process if your lenses are extremely dirty or greasy. Once you do that once or twice through, your lenses should be nice and pristine clean.

Use a cleaning solution that is meant for coated lenses. You don’t want to buy and use anything like Windex or just any other cleaning solution you find at the store because it might not be good for your lenses.

An alternative way to clean the dust and dirt off of your lenses is to use a can of compressed air. Make sure to hold the can upright and use short bursts of air as opposed to longer ones as the longer bursts can cause harm to your lenses.

There are some really amazing lens cleaning kits that you can buy that are a combination of a brush and air to kind of knock that dust out of the park. The best one that I have come across so far is the Carson C6 CS-10 Lens Cleaner, They use a dry cleaning compound that does not contain any alcohol so it is perfect for this kind of cleaning job.

A cleaning pen with retractable brush can also be used to wipe out the lenses and brush them off. On the other end, the pen has a handy little tip with a dry cleaning solution on there with which you can also clean up the lenses; it’s great for dusty conditions too.

Thirdly, How To Clean Binoculars Internal?

Sometimes you might notice that your lenses are cloudy and foggy on the inside so you need to learn how to clean binoculars inside. The cause for this could be a leak in the camera but most often it’s just condensation caused by an instant change of temperature.

For example, going from cool temperature to hot and sunny weather will create condensation on the glasses. You can wipe the condensation found on the outside of your lenses with a microfiber cloth. Once the microfiber cloth gets dirty, don’t try to wash it or reuse it, just throw it away.

The moisture found inside the lenses will gradually disappear as soon as the lenses get accustomed with the outside temperature. To completely get rid of the internal condensation, you should place the binoculars in a dry place for at least twelve hours. You need to do this if you want to avoid the formation of mold and fungus on the inside of your lenses.

If your binoculars are water-proofed then this problem would not occur due to the way this type of binoculars are created; if condensation still happens, that means there is a leak for sure, and you should contact your manufacturer as soon as possible for repairs.