6 Ways Swimmers Can Stop Goggles From Fogging Up

For swimmers, there are few things more frustrating than having your goggles steam up in the middle of a swim.

In training, it can completely disrupt the rhythm and flow of your session as you stop everything to try and clear them.

Even worse, it could happen in the middle of a race and severely restrict your vision, making it more difficult to get your turns spot on and jeapardising your chances of finishing in the top positions.

We certainly can't do without our swimming goggles, so is there an easy way to stop goggles from fogging up?

The short answer is, yes! There are a number of methods and specialist products to use that will stop your goggles steaming up.

We take a look at six simple ways to prevent your swim goggles fogging up.

Choose anti fog swimming goggles

Modern racing goggles have been manufactured using the most advanced technology, and are designed with anti-fog measures in mind.

Many top competition goggles will have a special anti-fog coating that will help to prevent them from steaming up midway through your swim.

Among the most popular racing goggles available are the Arena Cobra, Speedo Fastskin and MP Michael Phelps XCEED ranges, but plenty of other top swim brands produce racing and training goggles with anti-fog coating.

The key thing to remember is that you care for your goggles properly. The coating can easily be damaged if the lenses are bumped or scratched.

We recommend storing them in a swimming goggles carry case when not in use. Alternatively, you could choose a specialist swim bag. These bags have special padded compartments that will keep items such as goggles safe.

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Use an anti fog spray for goggles

If you don't fancy splashing out on a new pair of racing goggles just yet, you can always buy your own anti-fog coating.

There are a number of specialist anti fog sprays for use with swimming goggles, which have been specially formulated to ensure clear vision for the duration of your swim session.

Goggles steaming up is a huge problem for swimmers so there are a number of top brands now manufacturing anti-fog products.

You could try Arena Anti Fog Spray & Swim or TYR Anti Fog Spray and Lens Cleaner, among many others currently available.

To use the spray, you just need to spray it into your goggles and then rinse it out before you put them on.

It's necessary to rinse the spray out so that it doesn’t get in your eyes while you’re swimming.

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Spit in them

Ok, so this may sound gross, but you will be surprised to hear that it really does work wonders!

Plus, it is completely free, so swimmers of all budgets will be able to stop their goggles from misting up using their own saliva. It's also a far more natural alternative to anti-fog spray!

By adding a layer of moisture to the lenses in the goggles, saliva is a very quick and cheap option that all swimmers can take advantage of.

Use toothpaste

This is another very surprising way to stop your goggles from steaming up, but lots of professional swimmers like to carry a small tube of toothpaste around with them.

Rubbing a thick layer of toothpaste onto the lense of the goggles will effectively prevent any condensation from forming on them.

Just remember to be very gentle with your fingers when you do rub something onto your goggle lenses. Most lenses these days come with an anti-fog coating, but this can get rubbed off very easily if you rub too hard!

Use baby shampoo

Baby shampoo or hair conditioner is another method you may not have thought of. Adding a tiny drop of this shampoo or conditioner into each lens and rubbing it around will leave a tiny layer of film that will prevent the goggles from misting up.

Around 10 or 15 minutes after applying the baby shampoo, give the goggles a thorough rinse as you won't want any leftover shampoo getting in your eye. Again, don't rub too hard because you'll remove the layer of film that the shampoo has left.

Splash your face

Many people believe that swimming goggles steaming up is caused by the heat of your face meeting the cool outer temperature of the water.

To combat this, they advise swimmers to splash their face a few times with cold water before putting their goggles on.

The theory is that you'll be cooling your face down, so there's not so much of a reaction when the hot and cold air meet.

Do you have any other useful tips on how to prevent swim goggles fogging up? We'd love to hear from you. Feel free to get in touch on Twitter or Facebook with your preferred methods.