After cleaning and your mirror is drying...

Anyone ever used a hair dryer on their mirror after cleaning it to dry up the
little bit of excess water stains that remain after rinsing?

I was just thinking of trying this after cleaning my mirror and watching a few
tiny water stains start to develop.

One would think that the hair dryer would just make everything evaporate quite
quickly and easily and voila---no residual water marks (no matter how tiny and
minimal they normally are).


Todd

http://www.backyardastronomy.com
http://www.skynewsmagazine.com
http://www.simpleastrophotography.com

Hi,

Tdcarls wrote:
Anyone ever used a hair dryer on their mirror after cleaning it to dry up the
little bit of excess water stains that remain after rinsing?

I was just thinking of trying this after cleaning my mirror and watching a few
tiny water stains start to develop.

One would think that the hair dryer would just make everything evaporate quite
quickly and easily and voila---no residual water marks (no matter how tiny and
minimal they normally are).

I've done this in the past and it works well except that all it really
does is hasten the water marks... Drying more quickly doesn't really
stop them from happening, at least not in my experience.

Clear skies,
Greg


--
Greg Crinklaw
Astronomical Software Developer
Cloudcroft, New Mexico, USA (33N, 106W, 2700m)

SkyTools Software for the Observer:
http://www.skyhound.com/cs.html

Skyhound Observing Pages:
http://www.skyhound.com/sh/skyhound.html

Hi,

Tdcarls wrote:
Anyone ever used a hair dryer on their mirror after cleaning it to dry up the
little bit of excess water stains that remain after rinsing?

I was just thinking of trying this after cleaning my mirror and watching a few
tiny water stains start to develop.

One would think that the hair dryer would just make everything evaporate quite
quickly and easily and voila---no residual water marks (no matter how tiny and
minimal they normally are).

I've done this in the past and it works well except that all it really
does is hasten the water marks... Drying more quickly doesn't really
stop them from happening, at least not in my experience.

Clear skies,
Greg


--
Greg Crinklaw
Astronomical Software Developer
Cloudcroft, New Mexico, USA (33N, 106W, 2700m)

SkyTools Software for the Observer:
http://www.skyhound.com/cs.html

Skyhound Observing Pages:
http://www.skyhound.com/sh/skyhound.html

Thanks all. I've not seen it recommended or heard of anyone doing it before.

I usually just let the water run off but there's always a few small lingering
stains afterwards and even though I know that they really won't make much
difference optically, it was just a thought that came to me as I rinsed the
mirror and watched it begin to dry.


Todd

http://www.backyardastronomy.com
http://www.skynewsmagazine.com
http://www.simpleastrophotography.com

Thanks all. I've not seen it recommended or heard of anyone doing it before.

I usually just let the water run off but there's always a few small lingering
stains afterwards and even though I know that they really won't make much
difference optically, it was just a thought that came to me as I rinsed the
mirror and watched it begin to dry.


Todd

http://www.backyardastronomy.com
http://www.skynewsmagazine.com
http://www.simpleastrophotography.com

Ah, no, don't use a hair dryer on a mirror to dry up the water!
Any water carries some solids with it and you want to work the water off of
the mirror while it is still water. Dragging a paper towel across the
mirror without pressure and making sure that the water follows the towel is
the better way.
There are several good articles on cleaning optical surfaces on the web so
go find them and read about what you should do.

--
Bob May
Losing weight is easy! If you ever want to lose weight, eat and drink less.
Works evevery time it is tried!

Ah, no, don't use a hair dryer on a mirror to dry up the water!
Any water carries some solids with it and you want to work the water off of
the mirror while it is still water. Dragging a paper towel across the
mirror without pressure and making sure that the water follows the towel is
the better way.
There are several good articles on cleaning optical surfaces on the web so
go find them and read about what you should do.

--
Bob May
Losing weight is easy! If you ever want to lose weight, eat and drink less.
Works evevery time it is tried!

I was reading in the bathroom when I ran across an item written by
"Starlord" on Sat, 23 Aug 2003 23:53:46
-0700, which said:

I only use cotten pads I buy from the drug store to do all parts of my mirror
cleaning.

Umm... Excuse me, but this thread has sort of amazed me. Whatever
happened to "NEVER clean your mirror!"?


---------------
Beady's Corollary to Occam's Razor: "The likeliest explanation of any phenomenon is almost always the most boring."

I was reading in the bathroom when I ran across an item written by
"Starlord" on Sat, 23 Aug 2003 23:53:46
-0700, which said:

I only use cotten pads I buy from the drug store to do all parts of my mirror
cleaning.

Umm... Excuse me, but this thread has sort of amazed me. Whatever
happened to "NEVER clean your mirror!"?


---------------
Beady's Corollary to Occam's Razor: "The likeliest explanation of any phenomenon is almost always the most boring."

You'd be amazed at how often my big, clumsy fingers mark up the mirror on my
Portaball when I'm putting the cover back on.

Of course if there are fingerprints, mud, etc on the mirror, it will need to
be cleaned. But that shouldn't happen!

Todd

http://www.backyardastronomy.com
http://www.skynewsmagazine.com
http://www.simpleastrophotography.com