April 26, 2020

As we venture out to perform our essential duties, we follow the CDC guidelines and always wear our face mask while in public. And because of this we are finding out about a problem that is all too common among people in our age group. Our breath fogs up our glasses.

Fortunately, AARP has some answers for us. The following are quotes from their article.

“The Annals of the Royal College of Surgeons of England published an article in 2011 that offered a simple method to prevent fogging, suggesting that, just before wearing a face mask, people wash their spectacles with soapy water, shake off the excess and then allow the lenses to air-dry.

“Washing the spectacles with soapy water leaves behind a thin surfactant film that reduces this surface tension and causes the water molecules to spread out evenly into a transparent layer,” the article reveals. “This ‘surfactant effect’ is widely utilized to prevent misting of surfaces in many everyday situations.” Anti-fogging solutions used for scuba masks or ski goggles also accomplish this.

Another tactic is to consider the fit of your face mask, to prevent your exhaled breath from reaching your glasses. An easy hack is to place a folded tissue between your mouth and the mask. The tissue will absorb the warm, moist air, preventing it from reaching your glasses. Also, make sure the top of your mask is tight and the bottom looser, to help direct your exhaled breath away from your eyes.”

Hope this helps someone.  Me, I think I’m going to try fitting a snorkel under my mask.

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