A Cheat Sheet for Creating the Perfect Swimming Workout and Routine

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How to Clean Swimming Goggles- 3 Easy and Effective Steps

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Are your swimming goggles feeling a bit dirty? Maybe you’re struggling to see through those murky lenses while swimming? Or do you feel like your goggles might fall apart any second because you haven’t been taking care of them as you should? Whatever the reason is- don’t worry, because in today’s article we’ll be taking an in-depth look at how to clean swimming goggles as well as some useful tips for keeping them in good shape in the future.

What’s the point of swimming goggles when you only have blurry vision in the pool? Isn’t the idea of swimming goggles to provide you with a clear sight so that you can see what’s going on and become a master of your swimming?

If you don’t have good vision because of dirty swimming goggles, then there’s not much of a use of wearing them at all.

So with that said, let’s take a look at how we can fix this and make sure that you have clean swimming goggles that will provide you with crystal clear vision in the pool.

How to Clean Your Swimming Goggles

How to clean your swimming goggles-

  • Firstly rinse your swimming goggles in cold or lukewarm.
  • Secondly, wash your swimming goggle straps with soap.
  • After that, use 5 tablespoons of vinegar and water to create a mix that you can soak your goggle lenses in.
  • Lastly, rinse everything with cold water and allow it to air dry.

Step 1- Basic Cleaning and Preparation

Before we can whip out the chemicals (aka soap) we need to first do some basic cleaning and preparations to make sure that your goggles are ready for a thorough cleanse and that they won’t receive any damage when getting a nice new shine.

So what we’re going to want to do is to first make sure that we have everything ready before we start cleaning. This is going to make life easier and will speed up the process. So here is a list of things that you’ll need, most people already have these lying around, you just need to get them together in one area where you want to do your cleaning.

What you need-

  • A small bucket or bowl.
  • A tap to draw water from (preferably both cold and warm water).
  • Any mild soap you’ve got lying around.
  • 1 small old or new sponge.
  • A Towel.
  • Vinegar.
  • 1 tablespoon.

Okay, so once you’ve got everything together and ready, we can start cleaning your swimming goggles and get them looking all bright and shiny again. There’s just one golden rule that you have to abide by when cleaning your goggles: Don’t touch your goggle lenses with anything- especially on the inside, doing so degrades swimming goggle visibility.

So with that said, you can start out by thoroughly rinsing out your swimming goggles in cool or lukewarm tap water. 

Personally, I prefer using lukewarm water since I feel it just picks up little molecules like dust a bit better. 

When rinsing your goggles make sure to rinse off any dust, sand, or dirt that may be stuck on your swimming goggles and generally just give them a nice soak to make sure that any pool chemicals like chlorine gets washed off, these generally cause the goggle material to age faster.

Once you’ve done this we’re ready to move on to step 2-

Step 2- Cleaning the Straps

1. Wash Your Swimming Goggles Straps with Soap

The key when cleaning your goggle straps is going to be to make sure that no soap comes near the goggle lenses and gaskets. Luckily for you, most goggles actually allow you to disconnect the strap from the lenses and gaskets so that you can clean them without having to worry about the lenses and gaskets.

If it’s your first time removing the straps from your goggles I recommend maybe just taking a photo or two and making some mental notes to make sure that you can reconnect them properly so that your goggles can go back to their regular fit.

Once the lenses and gaskets are disconnected, you can fill your bucket or bowl with some cold or lukewarm water and add some soap.

After that, you can soak the straps in the soapy water for a couple of seconds and then give them a massage to remove all the dirt. If you wish you can also use the little sponge to wipe them off. I recommend washing them for at least 2-3 minutes to make sure that they are fully cleansed.

2. Rinse Off the Swimming Goggle Straps with Cold Water

Once you’re done washing the straps you can take them out of your bucket of soapy water and rinse them off with cold water. Make sure to remove all of the soap. 

If you weren’t able to remove the goggle lenses and gaskets before starting you should rinse away from them to make sure that none of the soapy solution gets on those parts of your goggles.

3. Air Dry Your Swimming Goggle Straps

After you’ve rinsed off the soap from your goggle straps, lay them down on your towel and allow them to air dry, just don’t rub them or manually dry them, this can cause them to stretch or even possibly snap which would be no good at all.

Once you’ve got all that done, you’re now ready to move onto the third and final step- cleaning the goggle lenses.

Step 3- Cleaning the Goggle Lenses and Any Excess Dirt

Please note: if you still feel like your goggle straps are a bit dirty after giving them a wash with soap, then you can also clean them using this step along with your goggle lenses.

1. Soak Your Swimming Goggle Lenses in This Special Vinegar Cleaning Mix

Before we can make our vinegar cleaning mix, you first need to clean out the bucket or bowl you used to wash the straps. Just get rid of the soapy water and give it a thorough rinse and you should be good to go.

Once you’ve done that we can make our cleaning mix- it’s honestly super-basic but also really effective. 

Start by filling the bowl or bucket with hot tap water. Once it’s full add 5 tablespoons of vinegar and give it a few stirs to make sure it’s nicely mixed in.

After the mix is prepared, you can add your swimming goggles and possibly also your goggle straps to the mix- make sure that everything is fully submerged and then allow it to sit for 2 hours.

2. Rinse Your Swimming Goggles Out with Cold Water

Once your swimming goggles have been in the cleaning mix for 2 hours you can take them out. It’s important to immediately rinse them off with cold freshwater to achieve maximum cleaning results.

3. Shake and Air Dry Your Swimming Goggle Lenses

After your goggles have been rinsed off you can shake off any excess water and place them on your towel, allowing them to completely air dry before putting them back together and readjusting them for a good and secure fit.

And that’s it– you cleaned your swimming goggles- voilà, you’re all done and ready to go. I, have, however, also put together a little piece of information below on goggle care and maintenance so that you can maximize the lifespan of your swimming goggles and keep them in good care all year round.

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Goggle Care and Maintenance: The 5 Golden Rules

1. Never Touch or Wipe Your Swimming Goggle Lenses with Your Hands

This is the number one rule when it comes to long-lasting and durable swimming goggles. There are a couple of reasons for this-

Dirt: when you touch your swimming goggle lenses it can pick up dirt and oil from your fingers which will reduce vision and clarity while swimming.

Scratches: when touching your goggle lenses with your fingers, fingernails, rough cloths or towels you can scratch the lenses. Not only will this make your goggles look ugly and old, but it’ll also make it hard for you to see and may even distract you when training or racing.

Anti-fog coating damage: many swimming goggles come with an anti-fog coating on the inside. When you rub the insides of your lenses, you also rub off this coating and thus your goggles can fog up and reduce your vision. (Consider checking out my article on the best anti-fog swimming goggles, though!)

2. Keep the Anti-Fog Coating on Your Swimming Goggles Fresh

Unfortunately, a lot of the time the anti-fog coating on your swimming goggles will wear off with time- regardless of whether you touch it or not. Luckily, there is an easy solution to this- you can pick up an anti-fog spray that will recreate this coating, it won’t last as long, but it’ll get you through practice which is more than enough. 

Personally, I like the Arena Anti-Fog Spray, it’s cheap and works really well, you can check it out on SwimOutlet:

Alternatively, you can consider making your own little DIY anti-fog spray, I’ll tell you exactly how to do so in my article on how to stop swimming goggles from fogging up, which you can check out if you want to.

3. Store Your Swimming Goggles in a Protective Case

Another simple and easy way to keep your swimming goggles in good condition is by storing them in a protective case.

Sometimes your goggles will come with a basic plastic one, but if you’d like something a bit more high-quality that also guarantees better results, I recommend checking out the Arena Goggle Case on SwimOutlet:

Personally, I use this goggle case for all of my more expensive goggles and you can easily fit 2 pairs in there at once, and an additional third pair if you push its limits.

4. Try Not to Expose Your Swimming Goggles to Extreme Heat or Sunlight

This is one of the worst things you can do for your swimming goggles’ health.

If your swimming goggles get exposed to sunlight it can cause little degradations in the silicone which will age your goggles and cause it to fall apart much sooner.

And if your goggles get exposed to extreme heat the gaskets have a high possibility of melting and making your goggles completely useless. An example includes leaving your goggles in the cab of your car on a hot day.

Fun story: I was once on my way to a swimming meet abroad, and one of my buddies decided to put his goggles in his travel case, which goes under in the plane where temperatures aren’t regulated. When we unpacked at the hotel later that day, we were greeted by a smudgy bowl of melted goggle gaskets in his bag, which was both funny and disappointing.

5. Don’t Store Wet Swimming Goggles

This isn’t such a detrimental mistake to make, but nevertheless, I recommend allowing your goggles to air-dry before packing them away. If you put them in your goggle case while they are still wet they might have a slightly higher likelihood of degrading faster or even possibly growing something like mold. 

Clean Your Swimming Goggles and Keep Them Fresh with These Tips

Swimming goggles are one of the most essential pieces of equipment swimmers use in the modern world and keeping them in good condition should be high up on your swim priority list. If you fail to keep your swimming goggles clean, your vision will suffer in the water and this can then result in a bad swimming workout or worst case- a bad race.

Furthermore, taking good care of your swimming goggles will save you money in the long run by increasing their durability.

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I am Benjamin, a competitive swimmer with over a decande of experience in the sport of swimming. I also hold certifications in Exercise Science and Nutrition. I am very passionate about competitive swimming and love sharing everything I have learned about the sport. I specialize in swimming butterfly and my favorite event is the 100m butterfly with the 50m and 200m fly closely following.

A Cheat Sheet for Creating the Perfect Swimming Workout and Routine

Download this FREE cheat sheet to create the perfect swimming workout and routine. Learn how to structure your swim workout and enjoy 9 example workouts, ranging from beginner to advanced.

Swim Workout Cheat Sheet
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