Ultrasonic Lens Cleaner
3:34 PM
I first heard about ultrasonic lens cleaners from a contact lens forum where people were raving about the amazing ability for these cleaners to extend the life of lenses. In the past, these cleaners were expensive machines used by professional opticians. Now, through online purchasing, a relatively inexpensive version can be found on Ebay and Amazon.com. As I wanted to have my lenses last as long as possible, I decided to buy a Codyson Ultrasonic Lens Cleaner from Ebay.
The ultrasonic lens cleaner is a system for cleaning any type of contact lens (including clear, colored, and RGP lenses) using ultrasonic vibrations that break up protein, dirt, and any buildup on the lens surface. An amazing thing about this machine is that you don't need any fancy lens solution, like Opti-free or Renu. All you use is saline solution to clean and store lenses. You can find this under the name "physiological solution" at the pharmacy or you can use store-brand saline solution for contact lenses, found next to other lens solutions. I bought mine at Target. Two bottles of saline solution cost about 1/3 the price of one Opti-free and it is much more gentle for your eyes because it doesn't contain any harsh chemicals that disintegrate protein and wear down your lenses over time. It's also fantastic for people with sensitive eyes since saline is very close to natural human tears.
For daily use, there is a two-minute setting called "Clean" that cleans the lens. Once a week, you use the 6-minute disinfecting setting called "Strengthen." It's really nice that it takes such a short amount of time to clean since other solutions need 6+ hours to really clean your lenses but if you are up late studying or happen to sleep in your contacts, you can pop these in for two minutes and wear them fresh as new! Apparently, this is the best cleaning solution for lenses. Here is a magnified image of a lens before and after cleaning. (Pictures from The Shining Image on Ebay)
My Codyson came with:
* Small, egg-shaped ultrasonic cleaner
* Lens basket
* Soft-end Tweezers
* Power cord and adapter
* Small, empty bottle for solution
First, place saline solution in the metal tub in the cleaner.
Next, wash your hands and carefully place the lenses into the basket. Close the lid.
Place the basket/lid onto the cleaner and press either "clean" or "strengthen." Don't do both in a row for the same lens right after, since you don't want to risk tearing the lens from overdoing it many times in a row. You should hear a hissing or high-pitched whistling sound if you listen closely, but it's pretty quiet.
Finally, when the light turns off the lens is done being cleaned. You can take it out of the basket and put them in your eyes. Most people say they feel very fresh, like you are putting in new lenses. You can see the water droplets from the condensation on the basket my picture.
To clean up after you are done, rinse the basket in water or Opti-free/Renu type of solutions and let it air dry. The Codyson can be cleaned by soaking up the remaining saline solution using a damp towel or tissue. You don't want to just pour it out since the outside is not waterproof and you don't want to mess up the inner workings. Just make sure the saline solution is washed off for both parts so that salt crystals don't form on anything.
I think the Codyson works really great. They sell for around 20-40 USD depending on where you buy it and since you will save money on solution, it pays for itself pretty quickly. Not to mention, it can extend the life of your annual lenses to at least 2+ years and other shorter-life lenses for at least twice their duration. I'm not an eyecare professional so don't take my word for it, but I highly recommend trying it out yourself to see. At the very least, you'll have fresher, more comfortable lenses that last longer. What more could you ask for in a lens cleaner?
17 comments
hello ^^
ReplyDeleteI first read your tutorials at soompi cause i'm addicted to that place then i found your blog which i have added to my favourites XD
You are gorgeous ^O^ *jealous*
I love your light and natural make up!!~~ I enjoy reading ur tutorials, hope you post sooon <3
Hi, I saw your contact lenses video from youtube, and I have a quick question!
ReplyDeletewhich lenses from solotica have the limbal ring? and in general, which lenses are the lightest grey color? (solotica? waicon? i dunno, it's so confusing, all these international brands...)
thanks a lot in advance!
p.s. i'm totally bookmarking you in my favorites! love the blog!
You posted your skinny jeans pictures on soompi.com and I was wondering what boots you were wearing in one of the pictures? It was the black one and I'd really like to know :) Thanks
ReplyDeletemikki: thanks so much! ^^
ReplyDeletetiff: in solotica, natural colors has a thin, greyish limbal ring and hidrocharmes have a thick limbal ring like circle lenses. Out of all lenses on the whole internet, I would say Elegance sultry grey are very light, true grey. Waicon grey is very, very light, but it can look zombie-like on some people because there isn't a strong limbal ring. Out of solotica, the greyest lens is grafite (looks bluish grey) and branca (light bluish grey). Hope that helps!
Anonymous: my boots are from Off Broadway Shoes and they are style "Nunu" from the brand Diba. :)
hii i'm from soompi : ) under the username moonyah. : ) i was wondering for the ultrasonic contact lens cleaner..for the period do you leave it in the normal solution or can you leave it in the salien solution over night ? :D and i love your new solotica contacts :) if possible to answer my queston plesae pm me ^^
ReplyDeleteWow, thanks for blogging about this. I was contemplating on getting the Clear Care, but this sounds way cooler! Did you buy yours from "the_shining_image" on eBay?
ReplyDeleteKeep up the good job on this blog! I'm glad I randomly checked Soompi today, lol.
Moonya: Which solution you leave it in is up to you. It won't hurt to soak it in Opti-free but after the ultrasonic cleanse, it's clean so you don't really need any other solution than the saline. Just make sure you use clean saline, not the liquid that was poured into the cleaner. ^^
ReplyDeleteAquadisia: I still recommend clear care just because it really disinfects the lens and it feels really nice to pop them in after clear care. If I could only choose one, I'd choose the ultrasonic though because of the convenience. After doing these, its hard to imagine just putting lenses in without any super cleaning! It feels a lot better.
Oh, and I got mine from vital*spirit on ebay. It's nice because it shipped from within the US so it didn't take long for me to get it.
hello -- i just wanted to know what brand of saline solution you use for this little awesome gadget?
ReplyDeletewould regular contact solution (renu, optifree) work anyways?
thanks you very much ! you give out very good advice!
jadee: I used Target brand saline solution. It came in a two-pack for around 3 bucks and change. You are NOT supposed to use regular solution, only saline solution. You can still use renu and opti-free to store it between wearings/cleanings if you'd like, just not in the machine. Hope that helps!
ReplyDeletethanks ! you're a lifesaver !
ReplyDeleteHey! I'm consider buying this for my contact lenses
ReplyDeleteI just got them recently and they're the acuvue oasys kind. I was wondering if they would work with this cleaner?!!? =o
thanks
Hi jen,
ReplyDeleteim interested in getting the cleaner for my hard contacts but i was wondering does the saline heat up when its turned on and doing its washing job? i cant use it if the cleaner gets too hot b/c the heat warps the hard contacts.
Hi Jen,
ReplyDeleteLove your blogs!!! And you are a doll! I just ordered my first pair of Solotica lenses and I wanted to ask you if you think I should clean the Solotica lenses the first time in the ultrasonic cleaner? What would you sugguest for when I first get them.
Thanks so much!
Hi, I bought a pair of Soloticas and I love the color but after the 5th wear they became very uncomfortable even though I use Clear Care each time to clean them. I asked the company I bought them from (same as you) if it's safe to use an Ultrasonic Cleaner and they did not recommend it. Have you had any problems cleaning your Soloticas w/the ultrasonic? I have read of one person saying their lens ripped. Also do you think it works better than Clear Care? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI found this scientific article on using regular contact solution (Solocare, optifree) with devices like Ultrasonic Lens Cleaner and it compares the results to using just saline. Results show that the regular contact solution makes a big difference in disinfecting the lenses, >6 log reduction in just 2-3 min depending on which solution u use. 6 log reduction means the number of germs is 1,000,000 times smaller (count the zeros) . On the other hand, saline only achieves a 2.3-2.5 log reduction.
ReplyDeleteI don't own this machine, but does the instructions for this machine say that one cannot use any solution other than saline? Because according to this article, the machine enhances the effects of regular solutions and kills more germs than using saline for the wash.
Maybe this article doesnt appl to this specific brand of automatic conctact lens cleaner.
Hope this was somehow helpful!
Mandy-
I first heard about ultrasonic lens cleaners from a contact lens forum where people were raving about the amazing ability for these cleaners to extend the life of lenses. DM5E
ReplyDeleteHi, I do hope you'll respond to this. I have a few questions.
ReplyDelete1) If you let the basket (place where you put the lense) air dry, won't that expose it to dust and other unwanted particles?
2) Same with the lense cleaning thingy. While the basket thing is air drying, won't the device be exposed?
3) Basically, can I have detailed instructions on how you clean the device.
4) Where do you store your lense? For example I take my lense off for the night. I clean it using the device, I take it out, store it in a normal lense case filled with lense solution, wake up tomorrow, put it on. Is it like that? Detailed instructions please.
5) Do you still use the device? How long did/have you used it? Did you encounter any problems?
Thank you in advance ^_^