Don’t let your swimming goggles go mouldy!

Mould isn’t just unsightly, it might be doing you harm, says Simon Griffiths

Over the past few months, I’ve suffered repeated cases of red and angry eyes. I then rubbed my eyes so much that I damaged the skin around them. I’ve put it down to various causes, including:

• Hay fever – yes, even in September
• Too much work and screen time
• Allergens on my pillow or bed sheets
• Unknown allergens in my house
• Chlorine from pool swimming

I never suspected my goggles could be the cause, although the signs were there.

I treated my eyes with anti-allergy eye drops, antibiotic eye drops and saline eye baths.
Typically, my eyes were worse after pool swimming. I started to worry I was developing a reaction to chlorine. But interestingly, they were not so bad after playing water polo, when I didn’t wear goggles – but I still didn’t twig.

Sea cure

Then, when I travelled to some swims overseas, my eyes cleared up completely. Perhaps the British climate was the problem? My eyes soon reddened again on my return. I didn’t link the fact that I wore different goggles on these open water overseas swims to the improvement in my eye condition. I thought, perhaps, it was the seawater doing them good. Maybe I needed to emigrate?

I’d been aware that my regular pool goggles had spots of mould on the strap for a while. However, I didn’t recognise it as a problem. It was only recently that I ran a cloth around the silicon eye-piece seal and noticed that the mould was inside the goggles too – the seal was the same colour black as the mould, so I hadn’t seen it previously.

I didn’t have spare goggles with me that day, so I wore the mouldy ones, and my eyes went wild. I must have disturbed the mould and caused it to release spores or something. But this was the signal that helped me make the connection. An internet search suggested this was a likely scenario.

Also, after switching to different goggles, my eyes cleared up quickly.

Good goggle care

Interestingly, as the mouldy goggles were a pair I liked a lot, I had tried to take good care of them by always returning them to their protective plastic case after use (rather than carelessly dropping them in the bottom of my bag). However, that was likely the cause of the problem as they never dried properly. What I should have done, and what I will do from now on, is:

• Rinse my goggles with fresh water after use
• Air dry them outside my bag
• Only return them to their case when they are fully dry
• ChatGPT also recommends a once-per-week soak in a diluted vinegar solution (1-part vinegar to 3-parts water) and rinsing thoroughly after.

Easy to avoid

Mouldy goggles should be easy to avoid. But once the mould sets in, it’s hard to shift. I’ve been unable to fully clean the offending pair and have reluctantly binned them. Even if you’ve never been troubled by mouldy goggles or sore eyes, it’s worth taking a few extra seconds to minimise the risk of sore eyes.

And check your goggles today for any signs of mould! Wipe black surfaces with a light-coloured cloth. If it picks up any black spots, you might have mouldy goggles.