Maintaining your goggles properly is as important as goggle safety itself. No longer is it the simple "goggles on, goggles off" lecture.

• Keep your goggles separated from the rest of your gear. The goggles should have their own hard-sided, or semi-hard-sided, case. If you're driving and not using them, put them on the seat next to you, or on the lap of the person in that seat or in the glove box.

• Even if the goggles are in a case, you should cover the lenses. Some people wrap and tie a bandanna around the goggles, to cover the lenses. This is done so that the interior of the bag or case does not brush against the goggles and scratch the lenses.

• Follow all manufacturer's instructions on the care and cleaning of your lenses and goggles. Do not use any cleaner or anti-fog chemicals that are not specifically recommended by the manufacturer .

• Many recommend you change your lenses every time they crash to the ground or are hit by something. This is a good idea; however, it's expensive. You should check the lenses to see if they are still securely in the frame and that they have not been damaged. If you even think the lenses may not be up to the job they're intended to do, replace them.

Clean your goggles thoroughly as soon as you get home.

Keep the goggle bag clean and dry. Shake it out and make sure there are no small rocks/dirt/sand/twigs,etc. This will keep foreign objects from scratching your lenses while they are in your case.

The lens coating becomes, over time, a little bit temperamental.This is not true of a brand new lens, but after a week's wear, the anti-fog coating will become less effective, and wetting the lenses will be required more often, especially first thing in the morning.

• For this put them in a clean drinking glass and add distilled water to cover them, then let them soak overnight. After an overnight soak, the lenses behave better -- they don't need multiple wettings to get them going in the morning . Two nights of the treatment is even better. Then after a month or so, they may need the overnight soak again.

• For a quick mioisturising job, hold them with eyecups facing up, put distilled water in each eyecup, let soak for 15 seconds. Then tip the water out, give the goggles a shake dry, and put them on the face. Any water spots will soon smooth out. Don't let the water get in the eyes; even the cleanest looking water can carry microorganisms.

• Leave the goggles on the face at all times to keep the moisture in. If you remove the goggles for more than 30 seconds or so, you will usually have to rewet them. Normally, the moisture from the eyes and sweat inside the goggles should keep the lenses moist enough to be fogfree, but at times you do need to rewet them.

• If you do amateur optician work on the goggles (replacing the nosebridge, rotating the gaskets, replacing the lenses, etc.) be sure to wear disposable gloves to avoid smudging the lenses.

• Don't touch the lenses inside or out; finger oils will smudge the lenses and will deteriorate the anti-fog properties.

• Don't wet the lenses with oily or waxy water.

• Don't get suntan lotion on to the lenses.

• Don't try to clean the lenses with alcohol, which is said to remove the anti-fog coating.

• Don't use dishwashing liquid to clean lenses.

— Chetna Banerjee