You got a brand-new pair of shades for Christmas. Well, Merry Christmas to you. Whoever gave them to you is your new favorite friend. Now, how are you going to treat that gift that was given with so much love and care? Hopefully, you will treat your new sunglasses with the utmost respect.
As awesome as designer sunglasses are, they are also easily damaged. To prove the point, below is a list of five ways to completely sabotage your sunglasses. Avoid all of them and you should be good to go. Your new sunglasses will look just as good a year from now.
1. Storing Them in the Glove Box
How many people do you know who store their sunglasses in the glove box of the car? It is not a bad idea in theory. In practice, however, glove box storage is a recipe for disaster. Why? Because the glove box is the automotive equivalent of the kitchen junk drawer.
When your car was new, the glove box was clean and tidy. The only thing it held was the owner’s manual and a few service coupons from the dealer. But over time, it accumulated a ton of junk. Storing your sunglasses in the glove box exposes them to the weight of all of that junk. Not good.
2. Leaving Them on the Dashboard
Leaving your sunglasses sitting on the dashboard is yet another no-no. Doing so is a good way to melt the frames by way of a hot sun shining through a windshield that effectively acts as a magnifying glass. Just a few hours in the sun could prove too much for your designer shades.
This particular practice is especially dangerous in states like California, Arizona, Nevada, and Florida. If you live anywhere that sees plenty of sunshine and excessively high summer temperatures, just say no to the dashboard.
3. Cleaning Them with Paper Tissues
Did you know you could completely sabotage your sunglasses by cleaning the lenses with paper tissues? It’s true. Paper is a wood product. So even though tissues are made to be soft and gentle, they can still contain small particles of solid wood. Ditto for a paper towel. Cleaning your sunglasses with any paper product increases the chances of scratching the lenses. Don’t do it. Use a clean, cotton cloth instead.
4. Not Utilizing a Case
Getting back to storage for a minute, the best way to store any pair of sunglasses is in a protective case. Olympic Eyewear, a Salt Lake City manufacturer, distributor, and importer, says a hard-shell case is the best way to go. If you cannot afford one, at least invest in a soft-sided case. Any case is better than none at all.
Storing sunglasses without a case exposes them to all sorts of risks. Unprotected sunglasses scratch more easily. Their lenses are more easily cracked, their frames more easily snapped, and their hinges more prone to bending. If you are not wearing your shades, put them in a case.
5. Giving Them the Toddlers
Over the years, it is entirely possible that millions of well-intentioned parents have sabotaged their sunglasses by giving them to their toddlers to play with. Parents do this all the time. They want to keep Junior occupied and quiet. Keys are too noisy, so out come the shades. Too bad toddlers have this amazing ability to break sunglasses in mere minutes. It’s an ugly picture.
Congratulations on that new pair of shades. Now, take care of them. Do not sabotage what was undoubtedly intended to be a gift you will appreciate for a long time.
