I have worn glasses since I was 11, and every year since my eyes have gotten slightly worse - last time my optician told me my eyes were "minus twenty five out of a hundred" - which is worrying, to say the least. However, with glasses, I see perfectly normally, but I can't really take them off else everything is a blur.

A few years ago I traded in my pretty average, cat-eye shaped wire-rimmed glasses for some thick Woody Allen type ones, as I found them quite attractive, plus they were on offer at the optician's at the time. What I hadn't factored in was that bigger glasses have bigger lenses - pretty obvious I suppose, if you have bigger lenses you can see more, but they also become a total chore to clean, picking up all sorts of dirt.

Dust, pollen, fingerprints, smears from handcream or food, flecks of who-knows-what from people just anxious to try on my new glasses - going about my life was suddenly like trying to make my way through a dust-storm. Of course, the obvious solution was to clean them. The little silk rag they often put in glasses cases just wasn't cutting it, so I bought myself these: IBA 039 Optical Lens Wipes.

IBA 039 Optical Lens Wipes come in a thin cardboard box pictured above, with little sachets of alcoholic wipes inside. I bought my box from Home Bargains for 40p, but I have seen them between £1.50 and £1.99 in other stores for a pack of 24. I don't think the RRP is fabulous value, but 40p certainly seems great.

The first thing noticable about these wipes is the smell - of alcohol, not like beer fumes but more like an industrial, clinical smell. The wipes are wet (as is the inside of the sachet) and the alcohol evaporates quite quickly, within a few minutes in my experience, leaving behind a parched crinkled wipe very much like a crepe. These wipes remind me of those KFC hand wipes - but they are not recommended for use on skin (e.g. to replace a hand gel) and it's a good idea to wash your hands after using them. I have noticed they do dry-out my fingertips a little bit and leave a residual smell of alcohol.

The cleaning action of these wipes is good on cutting through grease (from fingerprints, emollients) but it's terrible at picking up little bits of dust. I think it's a good idea, if you're going to use these wipes, to use a Swiffer-like duster first, and then to use these wipes, as more often than not these wipes simply move dirt around instead of picking it up and removing it.

I was less than impressed with the cleaning action of these wipes - it can take 10 minutes to clean my admittedly large lenses, by which time the wipe is completely dried-out, my fingers are pink and numb, and my glasses aren't really that much cleaner. The grease and fingerprints left as the wipe dries out get smeared around and the result is like looking through frosted glass or a light fog - it simply isn't good enough for a pair of glasses you have to look through 24/7. Safe to say it doesn't remove dust or other bits of dirt either.

Personally, I've found the best way to clean my glasses is to just run them under the shower when necessary - and then rub generously with a nice clean towel. My friend also washes hers with Fairy Liquid in the sink, but I have a UV filter on my glasses and I wouldn't want to compromise it with detergent.

Though I gave up the ghost on using them on my glasses, I still use these wipes on TV, tablet and computer screens. I like to go over the screen first with a Swiffer, then with a wipe, and then very quickly with another cloth to avoid streaks. This does bring up my screens lovely and bright.

IBA 039 Optical Lens Wipes aren't a total regretful purchase, but there are better ways to clean your glasses in my opinion. However, for such a small investment they might be just what the optician ordered if you have small-lensed glasses.