Beating the Blur: Understanding Why Swimming Goggles Fog Up

Being a professional or a beginner swimmer, you understand this feeling. As you move off the wall, you are ready to set a great stroke, and half-way over the pool, all is a blaring, infuriating mess. Yes, right, your swimming goggles are fogged up. It irritates, it distorts your rhythm and frankly speaking it may make a good swim horrifying.

But why then does this continue to happen? It is as though it were a sort of cruel physics trick, you know? It is a very common, very simple scientific principle to work, though. And you can put an end to struggling with it as soon as possible. The core issue here is, that it condenses.

The Science of the Smudge: What Causes Swimming Goggles to fog

Consider the goggles when you use them. The air in the lens is very pleasant and warm, as it is on your skin, and eyes. Then, you jump into the pool. Although the water is heated, the external part of the goggle lens is now considerably colder than the air inside it.

This is the key. The moisture in that warm air must go somewhere when it interacts with a cold surface (the inner part of the goggle lens) when the warm air is moist. It reverts into minute, microscopic water droplets. That’s condensation.

And those little dots, which adhered to the inside of the lens? That’s fog. It is the same cause of a fogging of a mirror in a bathroom after a hot shower. The heat is given by your face and the cool surface is given by the pool. Simple as that. That is where the source of the problem, with why swimming goggles fog up.

It is Not Just Temperature, Though

Although temperature is the primary offender, other things which increase the problem are few:

 Your body and sweat: When you swim and make an effort, your temperature goes up. This puts further heat and moisture to the air locked up in your goggles, and therefore the condensation process will occur even more quickly and heavily.

 The Scratches and Tears on Lenses: The inner lens surface becomes scratched or even worn out in the course of time. The imperfections further provide the water droplets with additional surfaces to stick to which intensifies the fog and complicates its dissolution.

 Washing Them Wrong: It is what we all do. When you have a swim you rinse your goggles. However, when you rub the inside of the lens, particularly, using a towel or even any kind of fingers, you find that you have scratched the invisible protective layer that the manufacturer placed. This causes the lens to get easily fogged.

The Solution: Fighting Physics with Preparation

The first thing is knowing the reason why swimming goggles mist up. Now we shall speak about the means of preventing it. Luckily, there are some good choices, both very simple and very technological.

The Pro-Tip (The Spit Trick)

This may be disgusting, but it has been happening with the swimmers all along. Put a small portion of saliva and rub it in circles around the inside of the dry lens. Then rinse them very quickly and lightly with pool water and put them on. Saliva contains surfactants, which in effect are an extremely mild and temporary anti-fog. It modifies the surface tension in such a way that the water crystals into a thin sheet rather than a multitude of tiny and sightless droplets. Don’t knock it until you try it!

The Commercial Fix (Anti-Fog Sprays)

In case you are more comfortable with a cleaner and more dependable way of doing things, don’t worry.  There are plenty of anti-fog spray for glasses and goggles. These sprays are effective because they put a long lasting transparent and chemical finish on the lens.

This is once again a surfactant coating. It makes the condensing water to be distributed across the surface in an even, transparent film rather than opaque drops. Usually you apply it, dry off and even get to have a few sessions in the water having no fog. All you need to do is to ensure that you have a swim-safe formula. Swans is a brand that is a good choice under this category.

The Preventive Maintenance

You should maintain your equipment. Run your goggles under non-detergent cold running water after your swim. After that, they are too dry in the air. Most importantly, it is important not to wipe the inner side of the lens. Keep them in a storage case. When you handle that fine inner coating well, then it will take long therefore fewer disappointments on your part.

The Long-Term Solution (New Goggles)

In fact, occasionally the anti-fog coating simply wears off, and there is no resurrection. When you have been wearing the same pair of glasses just over the years and they fog a minute after, then it is time to replace them. New goggles are available with great, long lasting anti-fog finish. Consider it an insignificant investment in your tranquility and your swimming performance.

The fogging problem is indeed nothing but science. Warm air meets cold plastic. However, it is easily defeated with a bit of preparation, be it a lightning-fast spit, blow of special spray, or simply no wiping of the lenses. Not the blur, but what you are stroking. Now you understand why swimming goggles fog up, thus you can beat the fog every time.

Next Steps to Crystal Clear Vision

In the end, it is irrelevant to have fun in the water instead of fighting with your gears when swimming. Do not allow a physics problem to spoil your exercise. It is important to make it a habit to treat your face with anti-fog solution prior to every swim in which you use a specific solution or a natural one.

Never forget to check the seals either, ill-fitting goggles can allow in warm water, and this causes the outside fog to develop faster. Invest in good brands of goggles with long lasting coatings. These straightforward maintenance measures will require the least amount of time on wiping and more time on your focus area which is your personal best. Clarity of vision counts through enormous difference in focus and inspiration.

Conclusion

So, the mystery is solved. Fog is mere vaporization-hot air coming in contact with cold lens. You can keep your eyes open by taking care of the delicate anti-fog covering, spraying it with a sure spray or simply attempting the old swimmer gesture. No more fighting in the fog and begin to swim!