You’ve got a decent smartphone, but your photos look soft and smudgy. There’s an easy fix for this problem—wipe off your phone’s camera lens before taking photos.

If you’ve ever used a “real” camera, like a point-and-shoot or a DSLR, you know that touching the glass lens is a big no-no. Your hands are always a little bit greasy or dirty, and this grime will impact photo quality if it gets on the lens. Cleaning the lens on a “real” camera may only make things worse, as a t-shirt or cloth can create abrasions as it pushes dirt or dust across the glass element.

Unfortunately, it’s hard to hold a smartphone without touching its cameras. Pick up your phone, and you’ll probably feel a cold camera lens under your pointer finger. And if you hold your phone under a light, you’ll find smudges, fingerprints, or cloudiness on each of its lenses.

Cleaning this crud off of your smartphone’s cameras will drastically improve image quality, sharpness, and autofocus performance. And, thankfully, there’s no harm in wiping down a smartphone camera. The lenses that you see on the outside of your smartphone aren’t actually lenses—they’re protective layers of glass, often with scratch-resistant coatings.

So, before you take family photos or pictures of your cats, wipe down your smartphone’s cameras. You can use a T-shirt, a microfiber cloth, a damp paper towel, or whatever you want. Just avoid using anything dirty or rough, especially if you plan to keep your smartphone for several years. Micro abrasions are negligible, but they are cumulative, and they may impact photo quality over time.

If you’re worried about micro abrasions, use a glasses cleaning cloth or buy a set of adhesive camera lens protectors for your phone. Personally, I just wipe my phone on my shirt before taking photos and give my phone an occasional “bath” with a damp rag and a tiny bit of soap.

I should reiterate that, while it’s okay to wipe down your smartphone cameras, you should avoid making contact with a DSLR, mirrorless, or point-and-shoot camera lens. Smartphone lenses have a protective glass covering, but “real” camera lenses do not.

And if you want to give your photos that smudgy, bloomy, Days of Our Lives soap opera effect, go ahead and schemer up your phone cameras. Moisturize your hands if you want to make the effect extra dramatic.