Foggy Goggles?

I’m sure that most of us have used the spit trick to de-fog our swim goggles, but if you want a less bacteria laden, and loger lasting result there are alternatives. Scuba divers may be familiar with products such as Sea Drops, which are commercial anti-fogs that you can find at pretty much any dive shop. They work really well, but warn against use on swim goggles b/c of concentration levels and the close proximity to your eyeballs. Though one little bottle lasts forever, they are a bit expensive and can be a pain to get a hold of (esp. for time sensitive triathletes who don’t do special trips to town). Sea drops are essentially glorified soap, and simple, cheap, dish soap or Johnson’s baby shampoo work just as well. Put a couple of small drops on the inner lens of the goggle spread evenly with your finger and rinse WELL (especially if you opt for the dish soap). Avoid touching the lenses with your fingers after rinsing and keep them well sealed. You will have nice clear vision for your swim.

WHY the fog and WHY the soap? – extra info from Heather the science geek – Oils from your fingers and dirt particles (e.x. on eyelashes) provide nuclei for moisture to condense on the inner surface of your goggles. You may notice that your goggles fog easier when you are working hard and this is b/c your warm face heats the air inside your goggles and when it contacts the relatively colder surface of the lens it looses its capacity to hold water vapour. Soaps remove grease and dirt because some of their components are surfactants (surface-active agents) and emulsifiers (things that cover fat with a water soluble coating) and have a molecular structure that acts as a link between water and the dirt particles. One end of the molecule is hydrophilic (attracted to water), and the other is hydrophobic (attracted to substances that are not water soluble). This peculiar structure allows soap to adhere to substances that are otherwise insoluble in water. The dirt is then washed away with the soap and there are no more condensation/fog promoting bits in your goggles.