Easy Fixes for Glasses

You're lost without them, so when your eyeglasses break, you need a really quick fix. Since loose screws are usually the problem with broken glasses, it's worth investing in a set of tiny screwdrivers to tighten them up.

Make a temporary fix with fishing line.

The hinges on the arms of your spectacles are held together by tiny screws. If one gets lost, there is a chance that the lens may not be held tightly in the frame and could drop out and break.

Get a replacement as soon as possible, but in the meantime, make a temporary repair by cutting a short length of nylon fishing line.

• Put the glasses in their "open" position and thread the line through the screw hole with a pair of tweezers.
• Loop the line through several times and then trim both ends so that only two millimetres (1/8 inch) protrudes.
• Heat the tip of a knife over a flame, and touch it briefly to the free ends. This will melt them into small blobs, which will keep the line in place.

Check the ear pieces.

If your glasses sit askew, try bending their ear pieces to adjust their position. If you can't get a good grip with your fingers, use needle-nose pliers.

Most opticians will adjust frames free of charge, but if you want to try your own repair, heat the metal of the frame in the steam from a teakettle to make it more pliable, then carefully, and little by little, bend the arms until they are straight once more.

Soften the plastic and pin it back together.

• Carefully hold one snapped edge of the frame over the steam from a teakettle.
• When the plastic softens, insert a small needle into the broken edge so that half of it protrudes; allow the plastic to cool and harden around the needle.
• Now soften the other broken edge in the same way. Push the protruding pin fully into this softened section of the glasses, ensuring that the bridge is correctly aligned.
• Allow to cool before wearing.

Tiny screws, gemstones and pieces of metalwork in jewelry can get lost very easily. Always work over a sheet of white paper so you can quickly spot anything you drop.

Should a piece fall into the pile of your carpet, simply fetch your vacuum cleaner and stretch an old pair of nylon tights over the nozzle. Vacuum away, and the screw or stone will appear on the mesh of the nylon.

• Use both hands to put your glasses on and to take them off — this helps prevent bending their arms.
• Don't rest your glasses on their lenses, because they are likely to get scratched. Store them in a case that doesn't put pressure on the frames or arms, or else they will get scratched. Don't store them in a case that is too small.