How Do You Get Water Out Of Binoculars?
Binoculars are incredibly popular with people who enjoy hunting, birdwatching, sightseeing, and much more. For good reason, too! These optics are great for magnifying things far away in the distance, allowing you to see them as easily as if they were right in front of you.
Well, that is if they are kept correctly and looked after. However, sometimes binoculars are less effective when kept in subpar conditions. One of the biggest enemies of binoculars is water and moisture.
When moisture gets inside your binoculars, it can lead to fogging up the lenses, rusting, or promoting mold growth. So, if you’re using your binoculars around water, it’s incredibly important to remove any that has made its way into the binoculars as quickly as possible.
Below we’ll be looking at how to remove this water in the best way possible, as well as why it’s so important to do so. Time is of the essence, so let’s get right into it!
Why do you need to remove moisture from your binoculars?
When moisture gets inside your binoculars, it can limit what you can see through the lenses and even damage the internal structure of the binoculars. This can reduce their lifespan and effectiveness, forcing you to purchase new binoculars and waste money on a new set.
You might be thinking – how much damage can some moisture really do to a pair of binoculars? The answer is more than you think.
Moisture is detrimental to binoculars because there are so many different parts that work together to allow you to see the magnified image through the binoculars. There are metal pieces as well as glass prisms that bounce light off of one another so that you can see the image through the lens.
Moisture will rust these metal pieces and make it harder for light to bounce off of them, obstructing your view or preventing as much light from coming in so that the image is much darker.
Not only this, but moisture can also fog up the glass prisms which prevents the image from bouncing off of them and reaching your eye. This can stop you from seeing the image altogether, or it might create dark spots that obstruct your view massively.
Water can also fog up the lenses which will leave the image looking blurry. Any of these issues can ruin your experience using your binoculars, which is why it’s so important to remove any moisture from the binoculars as soon as you get home.
Removing moisture from your binoculars
Removing water from your binoculars is relatively easy and simple, so don’t worry too much. You won’t need too much equipment either, so it’s not an expensive fix.
Just make sure that you address the issue as soon as possible to avoid the water being able to leave any lasting damage. The quicker you remove the water, the better the results will be.
If the water is only on the outside of the binoculars, you can simply wipe it away with a clean, dry microfiber cloth. House cleaners of Anchorage will dust your room from top to bottom. That’s it, but be sure that no moisture has made its way into the binoculars themselves.
It only takes a small amount of water to create a build-up of humidity that will lessen the effectiveness of your binoculars.
If you’re certain that no water has gone inside of the binoculars, you can pack them away until your next need for them. But if you’re not completely sure and want to be safe, here are the options that you can take to remove the moisture from inside your binoculars.
Option One: Dry them out naturally
The easiest thing to do when you find that your binoculars have water in them is to store them in a warm and dry place for a few days. The warmth will hopefully absorb all of the moisture so that you don’t have to take any extra steps.
Good options for where to keep your binoculars are in a storage cupboard or near a furnace. Just make sure that it isn’t too hot so that it compromises your binocular’s plastic or glass parts.
Remove the binoculars from this warm place after a few days and inspect the insides to see if they are still foggy or difficult to see through. If all of the moisture seems to have gone, you can now store the binoculars away.
However, if the binoculars are still fogged up and containing water, you’ll need to move onto option two.
Option Two: Use a desiccant
Desiccants are great moisture absorbers for a number of things, particularly optical devices such as scopes and binoculars. So, if you’re still experiencing moisture within your binoculars you can place them in an airtight container with a few commercial desiccants.
Seal the airtight container and leave the binoculars alone for a few days. The desiccants should be able to absorb all of the moisture within this time. You might choose to store this container in your warm cupboard so that your binoculars can benefit from both of the options together.
After a few days, take the binoculars out of the container and see if there’s any moisture left within them. Once all of the moisture has been removed and absorbed, you can store your binoculars back in their case until you need to use them again.
Preventing water from getting into your binoculars
To avoid having to remove moisture from your binoculars again, you can follow some advice to prevent it from getting into the lenses in the first place.
There are anti-fog products on the market, such as sprays, creams, wipes, and drops that cover the lenses and prevent them from fogging up due to moisture. Cleaning your optics often will also prevent fog from building up due to moisture, which can prevent it from getting into the binoculars altogether.
Alternatively, you can use sealants suitable for binoculars to prevent anything from being able to get in. This is particularly helpful when your binoculars are older.