There’s no good way to maintain clean binoculars, but there are better ways than constantly cleaning them. Regularly cleaning the lenses may actually do more harm than good, because you’re basically just rubbing away the anti-reflective coatings.
As binoculars are designed to be used for long periods of time, it’s important to use care and attention when cleaning them to avoid damaging your investment. We have assembled this comprehensive guide so that binocular users can clean their lenses and body properly for ultimate use.
Make sure you have the correct equipment. A lens pen or canned air to clean, a cotton cleaning cloth, a lens cleaning solution, water, or a lens cleaning kit. Never clean binoculars with clothing items.
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Toilet paper or paper towel. Windex or other household cleaners. Dish soap and detergent. Once the tools are ready, it’s time to begin the cleaning process. Here’s our advice on how to extend the life of binoculars for future use.
How to Clean the Binocular Body?
The binocular body components go through a lot of turmoil. Some are affected by sticky fingers and unpredictable weather, some others get dirty over time.
Must Read: How To Use Your Binoculars Properly?
How to Clean the Exterior of Binoculars?
A binocular is a great outdoor tool for birds. You’ll enjoy watching them more if they’re kept in their best condition. For example, dust off the exterior to remove any excess dirt and dust, and wipe down the body to remove any residue that may accumulate.
How to Clean the Inside of Binoculars?
It’s not worth taking the time to do this yourself, as disassembly will ruin your optics and your ability to make adjustments. You’re better off leaving the process to a pro.
It may be necessary to clean the binoculars to keep them in top condition. They should not be handled with bare hands.
Must Read: How to wash binoculars?
When dismantling binoculars, start by unscrewing the cap to reveal the focus mechanism, removing the eyepieces, and taking off the cover plate to expose the prisms. Remove the bottom plate to clean the inside of the objective lenses.
You don’t have to buy new binoculars or install any screws. All you have to do is carefully remove the screws on the previous binoculars, and then put the new binoculars in place.
How to Clean the Rubber Eyecups on Binoculars?
How to Clean the Rubber Eyecups on Binoculars. Over time, the rubber of binoculars may become sticky or rough due to general use. However, this material can be easily cleaned or scraped away depending on the damage.
This method will clean the skin from the outside without damaging it.
Try to Use Lens Caps
Always keep your binoculars or glasses clean and protected. Always use lens caps when you’re not using your glasses. These are called “lens caps.” Rain guards work for many lenses and I recommend using one every time you go outside.
Cleaning with Solutions
Binoculars are great for bird-watching and nature viewing. You need to put them on and take them off when storing them away, when eating and drinking, and when you’re storing them away. If your binoculars get soiled while in your possession, you should wash them as soon as possible.
When you look at it that way, it’s a glass protector. You don’t see many caps with different names, but they all serve the same purpose – protecting the glass.
You don’t have to clean your lenses with the dirtiest water in the world; just fill a spray bottle with lukewarm tap water and squirt it on the spot with the water ring or lens hood attached. That should do the trick.
If your binoculars have plastic lenses, you should use something soft, like tissue or cloth, to wipe them down. Do not use alcohol because it will damage the plastic lenses. You can also clean hard spots and smudges off with a q-tip soaked in a water and lens cleaning solution.
Most sports optics manufacturers have their own products for this type of cleaning. They may come in the form of lens pens, liquid solutions, and wet lens papers and tissues. Some dry-cleaning compounds without alcohol are also included in lens cleaning kits.
Make sure to read the instructions that come with the product carefully before using it.
Bonus tip: Don’t spray a cleaning solution directly onto the lenses. It can damage the seals around the lens assembly.
Cleaning Fungus
Waterproof binoculars should be cleaned on a regular basis to ensure that they perform their best.
Fungi will often grow and thrive in the dark and moist conditions found inside a binocular. It can etch away at the lens coatings, and rust parts, and eat up the lubricants inside binoculars. It thrives in dark places like inside the storage case, so be mindful of your fingerprints, oils, and your fingers as you put and take binoculars out of storage.
If there are indications of fungal spores, such as tendrils, you’ll need a little more than just water or a lens pen. Alcohol, vinegar, dry air, and UV light are the typical remedies to cleaning off fungus.
Unfortunately, as the binoculars are used over the course of months and years, the fungus will eventually make its way through the entire inner assemblies of the binoculars and into the eyepieces.
It’s going to take a few minutes to disassemble and clean the optics. Once you’re finished, you’ll want to reassemble and test them. This will also void your warranty – period. Secondly, when cleaning the optics, you may find you’re inadvertently smearing some of the inner lubricants over the glass.
Once you remove an objective lens or prism assembly, you must now reassemble it. This can be tricky at first, but with a little practice, you’ll be done in no time. Also, you’ll want to make sure you wipe down any areas of your telescope where lenses are mounted.
It’s a big and daunting task. Unless you have a cheap pair lying around that doesn’t have a warranty and you are pretty handy on the technical side, do it at your own risk. So, what can you do? Let’s talk about prevention.
Store the binoculars in a low humidity environment (below 60% via hygrometer). Keep the binoculars clean and free of dust. Use a good vacuum to clean the lenses and keep them free of any dirt. Don’t use compressed/canned dust blowers. Put the binoculars in a well-ventilated area. Make sure not to touch the lenses. Clean binoculars as frequently as necessary.