Removing Fungus from a Camera Lens with Soap and Vinegar

Photographer Mathieu Stern made this 2-minute video walkthrough on how you can remove fungus on the glass elements of a camera lens.

Stern recommends removing the affected glass element, cleaning it with dishwasher soap, pouring white vinegar on it, drying everything off, and reassembling.

A few months ago, we also shared a much more detailed article by photographer Tom Leonard showing how he removed fungus from his old lens using hydrogen peroxide and ammonia instead of dish soap and vinegar.

Keep in mind that these are simply examples of do-it-yourself routes that some photographers take — techniques that may not be very safe or friendly to your lens — if you have a precious and/or pricey camera lens you need restored, it’d probably be wiser for you to hand it over to a professional repair service.