Best way to clean CD's and DVD's?

WiltonParmenter · 14-08-2005

I've just been using water and paper towels and cleaning from the inner edge to the outer edge. Is alcohol recommended for cleaning (and don't say for medicinal purposes only!

).

When you want to get dust or stuck on dirt, what's the best solution?

*rdgrimes* · 14-08-2005

Paper is bad, too abrasive. Soft cotton, preferably lint-free cotton, is the thing.

NOT geting your discs dirty in the first place is better.

*Wizzu* · 14-08-2005

"NOT geting your discs dirty in the first place is better"

Sure

, but er... what about these discs borrowed from friends, or rented movies ..? Most of the time = HEWW!

===>
Because of this I actually have to clean discs very often... I use isopropyl alcohol and cotton.

As RDgrimes states, paper is too abrasive. If you look closely and with the proper light, you'll see you're creating scratches (very very thin but numerous) with paper towels.

Deer Slayer · 14-08-2005

I have a chamois cloth I use to wipe them if it's just dusty. But if it's actually got some fingerprints, or other stuff on there, I use a little alcohol and DISTILLED water mixed in a spray bottle. Then I use another chamois to dry it with, works wonders. I keep the chamois cloths, and the spray bottle in a glass jar so they don't get full of dust. I have them sitting on the shelf behind me, It's my CD reconditioning kit. Another NEAT way I use to fix BADLY scratched CDs is to clean them as best you can. Then I have a portable CD player that I have just the motor working in on a little toggle switch on the side. I have the rest of the guts taken out of it. I put the CD on the spindle upside down, (it has to be the type where the CD will stay on the spindle with the lid open) and I put a few drops of the runniest super glue I can find around the middle of the disc. Then I close the lid and turn on the motor. It slings a nice even coat of super glue across the surface of the disc filling in all the scratches, and slinging the excess off the edge. I turn it off after about 20 seconds, and give it like 20 minutes to dry before I open the lid. Then I take out a disc that looks BRAND SPANKING NEW, you'd never know it was scratched!! It only works IF the reflective layer is OK, and I've had LIMITED success doing DVDs like this. BEWARE, some super glue clouds the discs, so TEST IT FIRST. Take a CD-R and put some on it, and see if it turns cloudy after a few days. If it doesn't, it will work. I had this really cheap super glue that clouded after a couple months. I noticed it happening, so I copied all the victim discs I had done that to before they got completely hosed. I find the closest to the pure cyano???? it is works the best (not sure what the name of the chemical is). So, there you have it, my secrets for fixing screwed up CDs.

1machine · 14-08-2005

By far the best way I have is to use either water and one of those microfiber eye glass cleaning cloths. Wiping from the center of the disc out.

WiltonParmenter · 15-08-2005

Now that I have a good idea as to how to go about cleaning the media, what's the best solution for cleaning the hardware. Aside from dusting the tray, do any of you use the laser cleaning products for cleaning the inside of the unit?

Sliztzan · 15-08-2005

I just use windex and a soft cloth like a old soft dishtowel for those tough stains on DVD from Block buster, soaking it with the spray wiping from center to outer edge. I've had some pretty nasty ones from them, finding that out after I'm watching the movie and it starts skipping or stops playing. I check them all now before I ever play. Fingerprints just my breath and the front of my clean teeshirt. Main thing is that you don't want to scratch them.

Deer Slayer · 15-08-2005

Windex IS NOT a good idea! It will CLOUD THE PLASTIC after a while. Maybe NOT on the first cleaning, but after a few times it WILL cloud. You should use a WEAK alcohol solution, and a SOFT cloth, like a chamois. Any kind of ammonia is NOT good.

*Wizzu* · 15-08-2005

"Fingerprints just my breath and the front of my clean teeshirt. Main thing is that you don't want to scratch them."

Actually you ARE scratching them by doing that. Look closely... under a strong light...

Sliztzan · 16-08-2005

Ok, thanks for the pointers. I very seldom need to clean any of my discs. If anything, its a hair or piece of lint on the surface which i just blow off. I use a old soft undershirt or hand towel. I wouldn't think that very minor scratches which are hard to see would effect the playback. They have always played fine afterwards. Actually sometimes I just use water unless it is something that is tough. What would be the ratio of alcohol to water if I want to get a spray bottle to put it in?

*Wizzu* · 16-08-2005

"I wouldn't think that very minor scratches which are hard to see would effect the playback"

And you are probably right, at least with good medias. Maybe on the long term, though... who knows.

*bigmike7* · 16-08-2005

Yo-

If you are near a Costco - they have these great microfiber large cloths (16 x 16) in the auto section - 20 for $9 or so - great on discs with a little alocohol/distilled water solution (1:20)-

Mike

Darth Laser · 16-08-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deer Slayer

Windex IS NOT a good idea! It will CLOUD THE PLASTIC after a while.

I've been using Windex or a Windex-knockoff on my CDs, DVDs, and CD-Rs for 15 years, I think, and I've never seen this happen, and I've never heard of it before. Have you actually seen this yourself? Does the clouding actually interfere with reading the disc?

I have seen situations where the coating on coated optics (like binoculars or fancy eyeglasses) appeared to break down under a Windex barrage. But I didn't think CDs and DVDs have any fancy coatings on the business side to break down.

It's not that I don't believe it's possible, but I'd definitely like to know more, for the sake of my data.

ZzBloopzZ · 24-08-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigmike7

Yo-

If you are near a Costco - they have these great microfiber large cloths (16 x 16) in the auto section - 20 for $9 or so - great on discs with a little alocohol/distilled water solution (1:20)-

Mike

Are these cloths blue by any chance?

When you guys say Alcohol.. do you mean rubbing alcohol?

teflonmyk · 24-08-2005

lol... yeah... 50-50 isopropyl alcohol and water...

Achant · 26-08-2005

You have convinced me.
I just went out and got some distilled water and 99% isopropyl alcohol.
I thought I had remembered it as 20% alcohol.
I mixed it 200ml with 50ml alcohol. I hope that's not too strong.

I assume you can use this on antiglare coated eyeglasses too?

tdshore · 14-08-2008

eyeglass cleaner spray and eyeglass wipes are the best for cleaning cd/dvd's. There are kits from staples,b-buy or any of these stores for sealing scratches on the disks. Never had a failure using these techniques.

*negritude* · 14-08-2008

For commercially-pressed CDs and DVDs, 70% isopropyl alcohol is best.

For consumer-burned CDs and DVDs, plain water is best.

In both cases, use soft cotton or other non-scratching cloth material.

For getting rid of dust or lint, use tall-size canned air. Do not use the compact air cans, as they tend to spray liquid. Also, always make sure to keep the can upright, do not tilt more than a little.

For example, I'm currently using 3M 10oz Dust Remover canned air. I intentionally avoid the OfficeMax brand canned air, as their tiny cans spray liquid and cause damage. Not all canned air is created equal.

SeanW · 14-08-2008

Where I am, the water is medium-hard, limestone area. So water is out of the question for me.

A few years ago, I got a disc cleaning and scratch repair kit in my local supermarket. It came with a rotating applicator hand-cranked thingy, a fine cloth, 3 or 4 replacement pads and some scratch repair/cleaner fluid.

After a while I found that the applicator caused more damage (in the form of circular scratches) than it fixed but I still use the rest of the kit whenever a disc needs attention. The repair/cleaner fluid does a good job getting rid of dirt, not so much fixing scratches.

*negritude* · 14-08-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by SeanW

Where I am, the water is medium-hard, limestone area. So water is out of the question for me.

Even the bottled water, or is that a U.S.-only phenomenon (everyone drinking water out of plastic bottles)?

I don't even remember what tap water tastes like.

*coolcolors* · 14-08-2008

Hey everyone it's post dating back to 2005??? They probably found what solution they were looking for. Back to iterate this post was last active in 2005, so everyone including me look at the post date so it won't confuse other users when they respond.

FaeGiN · 14-08-2008

No harm in us adding to the post is there...I mean, perhaps some of us have some better ideas nowadays about how to best clean the media we use!
Erm...I thought just a rub on the T-shirt was fine until I read this. Hmm
Maybe I will use that bottle of isopropyl alcohol I have for clearing out my printer heads fro now on...
Some good advice here though, cheers

*negritude* · 14-08-2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by coolcolors

Hey everyone it's post dating back to 2005??? They probably found what solution they were looking for. Back to iterate this post was last active in 2005, so everyone including me look at the post date so it won't confuse other users when they respond.

Yes, it's an old thread, but in the case of this issue, the subject never gets old.

It's OK to update an old thread if the advice is universal and relevant to a lot of people.

It's not OK to update an old thread if the advice was specific to someone's particular troubles.

bobguerra · 31-08-2009

THE VERY BEST WAY IF YOU DONT HAVE COTTEN FREE CLOTH BUT YOU HAVE BANANAS IS SIMPLY TAKE A BANANA PEAL IT THEN RUB YOUR BANANA ALL OVER YOUR ENTIRE DISK THEN SIMPLY RUN YOUR DISC UNDER A FAUCET UNTIL THE BANANA SCRAPAGE IS ALL GONE,SIMPLY SHAKE DRY OR LET IT SIT OUT AND DRY and TA DA!

zackery · 02-05-2010

this may seem unorthidox but......... try covering it with tooth paste (any kind) spead it around with ur finger so that it coats it ........ and put it in ur toilet reflective side down....(make shure its clean toilet!!!) and flush it a few timesand itf theres a little bit of toothpaste on itrinse it in bottled or tap water......... TRUST ME!!! IT WORX!!!!!!!!!

14-08-2005	#1
WiltonParmenter MyCE Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: In front of a computer Posts: 463	Best way to clean CD's and DVD's? I've just been using water and paper towels and cleaning from the inner edge to the outer edge. Is alcohol recommended for cleaning (and don't say for medicinal purposes only! ). When you want to get dust or stuck on dirt, what's the best solution?

14-08-2005	#2
rdgrimes Retired Moderator Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Deadwood Posts: 11,533	Re: Best way to clean CD's and DVD's? Paper is bad, too abrasive. Soft cotton, preferably lint-free cotton, is the thing. NOT geting your discs dirty in the first place is better.

14-08-2005	#3
Wizzu MyCE Resident Join Date: May 2005 Location: Belgium & Switzerland Posts: 6,576	Re: Best way to clean CD's and DVD's? "NOT geting your discs dirty in the first place is better" Sure , but er... what about these discs borrowed from friends, or rented movies ..? Most of the time = HEWW! ===> Because of this I actually have to clean discs very often... I use isopropyl alcohol and cotton. As RDgrimes states, paper is too abrasive. If you look closely and with the proper light, you'll see you're creating scratches (very very thin but numerous) with paper towels. __________________ François "Wizzu" Marchand, the artist formerly known as Francksoy I won't reply to technical help requests by PM, but ask you question in the forum and notify me, I'll be glad to help if I can!

14-08-2005	#4
Deer Slayer CD Freaks Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Michigan USA Posts: 385	Re: Best way to clean CD's and DVD's? I have a chamois cloth I use to wipe them if it's just dusty. But if it's actually got some fingerprints, or other stuff on there, I use a little alcohol and DISTILLED water mixed in a spray bottle. Then I use another chamois to dry it with, works wonders. I keep the chamois cloths, and the spray bottle in a glass jar so they don't get full of dust. I have them sitting on the shelf behind me, It's my CD reconditioning kit. Another NEAT way I use to fix BADLY scratched CDs is to clean them as best you can. Then I have a portable CD player that I have just the motor working in on a little toggle switch on the side. I have the rest of the guts taken out of it. I put the CD on the spindle upside down, (it has to be the type where the CD will stay on the spindle with the lid open) and I put a few drops of the runniest super glue I can find around the middle of the disc. Then I close the lid and turn on the motor. It slings a nice even coat of super glue across the surface of the disc filling in all the scratches, and slinging the excess off the edge. I turn it off after about 20 seconds, and give it like 20 minutes to dry before I open the lid. Then I take out a disc that looks BRAND SPANKING NEW, you'd never know it was scratched!! It only works IF the reflective layer is OK, and I've had LIMITED success doing DVDs like this. BEWARE, some super glue clouds the discs, so TEST IT FIRST. Take a CD-R and put some on it, and see if it turns cloudy after a few days. If it doesn't, it will work. I had this really cheap super glue that clouded after a couple months. I noticed it happening, so I copied all the victim discs I had done that to before they got completely hosed. I find the closest to the pure cyano???? it is works the best (not sure what the name of the chemical is). So, there you have it, my secrets for fixing screwed up CDs. __________________ My System: P4 2.8b @ 3.44 (165x21), GA-8INXP, XFX 6600GT @ 580MHZ GPU & 1.18GHZ MEM, HYUNDAI L90D+, SBLIVE, 500W FORTRON BLUE STORM, MAXTOR120GB 8MB CACHE, MAXTOR300GB 16MB CACHE, 4x KVR400X64C25/256 @ 330 (2-2-2-5 2.7v), NEC3500A, SOHD-16P9S, LTR-52246S, CHIEFTECH CASE.

14-08-2005	#5
1machine New on Forum Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 9	Re: Best way to clean CD's and DVD's? By far the best way I have is to use either water and one of those microfiber eye glass cleaning cloths. Wiping from the center of the disc out.

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15-08-2005	#6
WiltonParmenter MyCE Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: In front of a computer Posts: 463	Re: Best way to clean CD's and DVD's? Now that I have a good idea as to how to go about cleaning the media, what's the best solution for cleaning the hardware. Aside from dusting the tray, do any of you use the laser cleaning products for cleaning the inside of the unit?

15-08-2005	#7
Sliztzan CD Freaks Rookie Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 41	Re: Best way to clean CD's and DVD's? I just use windex and a soft cloth like a old soft dishtowel for those tough stains on DVD from Block buster, soaking it with the spray wiping from center to outer edge. I've had some pretty nasty ones from them, finding that out after I'm watching the movie and it starts skipping or stops playing. I check them all now before I ever play. Fingerprints just my breath and the front of my clean teeshirt. Main thing is that you don't want to scratch them.

16-08-2005	#10
Sliztzan CD Freaks Rookie Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 41	Re: Best way to clean CD's and DVD's? Ok, thanks for the pointers. I very seldom need to clean any of my discs. If anything, its a hair or piece of lint on the surface which i just blow off. I use a old soft undershirt or hand towel. I wouldn't think that very minor scratches which are hard to see would effect the playback. They have always played fine afterwards. Actually sometimes I just use water unless it is something that is tough. What would be the ratio of alcohol to water if I want to get a spray bottle to put it in?

16-08-2005	#12
bigmike7 MyCE Resident Old Fart Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Diehard Old CDFreak Lurking In The Back Of Your Mind Posts: 10,039	Re: Best way to clean CD's and DVD's? Yo- If you are near a Costco - they have these great microfiber large cloths (16 x 16) in the auto section - 20 for $9 or so - great on discs with a little alocohol/distilled water solution (1:20)- Mike __________________ Mike (Y) <- - - (a tribute to someone) Brayden & Lil Burnits Proud Cyber Grampie - 'CERCA, TROVA' - 'NOVUS ORDO SECLORUM' Work Computer = ZT Systems i7-2600 CPU w/16GB DDR3-1333 RAM/ Win7 Pro-sp1 /Intel 510 120GB SSD @ SATA3 /Western Digital VelociRaptor 500GB Workstation HDD @ SATA3 /Corsair 650 watt PSU /Pioneer BDR-2207 as BD burner /Lite-On iHBS-112-04 as Reader/Ripper and BD Disc Quality Tester /AOC i2757fh 27 inch S-IPS monitor w/LED backlight /XFX Radeon HD6870 w/2GB GDDR5RAM /Ashampoo Burning Studio 2012 /DVDFab 8QT Burning Computer = HP xw8400 workstation w/ Two Xeon 5160, dual core, 3.0 mhz CPU's w/ 16gb PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM /Win7 Pro-sp1 /Intel X25-M G2 160GB SSD /Western Digital Caviar Black 640gb w/64mb cache HDD /Corsair 850 watt psu / Optiarc AD-5280S-CB-PLUS w/v1.Z7 fw as Disc Burner and Disc Quality Tester /Optiarc AD-5280S-CB-PLUS w/v1.Z7 fw as Disc Reader/Ripper /ATi Radeon HD 5770 w/1gb GDDR5 Ram Videocard /HP 24" LCD /Ashampoo Burning Studio 6 /DVDFab 8QT On The Shelf: (1) Benq 1640, (1)BenQ 1640 @EW168, Pioneer (2) 115D, (3) Optiarc 7200A, Optiarc 7260A, Asus DRW-24b1ST

24-08-2005	#15
teflonmyk MyCE Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: Antarctica Posts: 238	Re: Best way to clean CD's and DVD's? lol... yeah... 50-50 isopropyl alcohol and water... __________________ Dropbox: http://db.tt/p5P9bH1d

26-08-2005	#16
Achant CD Freaks Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 68	Re: Best way to clean CD's and DVD's? You have convinced me. I just went out and got some distilled water and 99% isopropyl alcohol. I thought I had remembered it as 20% alcohol. I mixed it 200ml with 50ml alcohol. I hope that's not too strong. I assume you can use this on antiglare coated eyeglasses too?

14-08-2008	#17
tdshore New on Forum Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: massachusetts, usa Posts: 1	Re: Best way to clean CD's and DVD's? eyeglass cleaner spray and eyeglass wipes are the best for cleaning cd/dvd's. There are kits from staples,b-buy or any of these stores for sealing scratches on the disks. Never had a failure using these techniques.

14-08-2008	#18
negritude MyCE Resident Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 4,766	Re: Best way to clean CD's and DVD's? For commercially-pressed CDs and DVDs, 70% isopropyl alcohol is best. For consumer-burned CDs and DVDs, plain water is best. In both cases, use soft cotton or other non-scratching cloth material. For getting rid of dust or lint, use tall-size canned air. Do not use the compact air cans, as they tend to spray liquid. Also, always make sure to keep the can upright, do not tilt more than a little. For example, I'm currently using 3M 10oz Dust Remover canned air. I intentionally avoid the OfficeMax brand canned air, as their tiny cans spray liquid and cause damage. Not all canned air is created equal.

14-08-2008	#19
SeanW MyCE Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 464	Re: Best way to clean CD's and DVD's? Where I am, the water is medium-hard, limestone area. So water is out of the question for me. A few years ago, I got a disc cleaning and scratch repair kit in my local supermarket. It came with a rotating applicator hand-cranked thingy, a fine cloth, 3 or 4 replacement pads and some scratch repair/cleaner fluid. After a while I found that the applicator caused more damage (in the form of circular scratches) than it fixed but I still use the rest of the kit whenever a disc needs attention. The repair/cleaner fluid does a good job getting rid of dirt, not so much fixing scratches. __________________ Favourite CD MIDs: Tayio Yuden Prodisc (R.I.P) Least favourite CD MIDs: CMC MAG Favourite DVDs: All 8x Taiyo Yuden, +R -R and -R DL. Verbatim 16x DVD+R MCC 004, 8x-R 8x MCC 02RG20 (Made In Taiwan) & 2.4x +R DL MKM 001 (Made in Singapore) Honourable mention: MJC 003, CMC MAG E01 Avoiding: "Philips" branded DVDRs, all MBI, all TDK and Ritek G04/G05. My DVD RW drives: LG GGW-H20L Blu Ray (NEC) Optiarc 7203A "BenQ DW1640" (crossflash) Jitter and PO reporting FTW! Retired: Samsung SH-W163A, NEC ND "4551"A & Optiarc 7191S. Now with their own Japanese website: Premium quality Japanese media!

14-08-2008	#21
coolcolors MyCE Resident Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 6,486	Re: Best way to clean CD's and DVD's? Hey everyone it's post dating back to 2005??? They probably found what solution they were looking for. Back to iterate this post was last active in 2005, so everyone including me look at the post date so it won't confuse other users when they respond.

14-08-2008	#22
FaeGiN New on Forum Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 9	Re: Best way to clean CD's and DVD's? No harm in us adding to the post is there...I mean, perhaps some of us have some better ideas nowadays about how to best clean the media we use! Erm...I thought just a rub on the T-shirt was fine until I read this. Hmm Maybe I will use that bottle of isopropyl alcohol I have for clearing out my printer heads fro now on... Some good advice here though, cheers

31-08-2009	#24
bobguerra New on Forum Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 1	Re: Best way to clean CD's and DVD's? THE VERY BEST WAY IF YOU DONT HAVE COTTEN FREE CLOTH BUT YOU HAVE BANANAS IS SIMPLY TAKE A BANANA PEAL IT THEN RUB YOUR BANANA ALL OVER YOUR ENTIRE DISK THEN SIMPLY RUN YOUR DISC UNDER A FAUCET UNTIL THE BANANA SCRAPAGE IS ALL GONE,SIMPLY SHAKE DRY OR LET IT SIT OUT AND DRY and TA DA! Last edited by bobguerra; 31-08-2009 at 00:11. Reason: misspelling

02-05-2010	#25
zackery New Member Join Date: May 2010 Posts: 1	this may seem unorthidox but......... try covering it with tooth paste (any kind) spead it around with ur finger so that it coats it ........ and put it in ur toilet reflective side down....(make shure its clean toilet!!!) and flush it a few timesand itf theres a little bit of toothpaste on itrinse it in bottled or tap water......... TRUST ME!!! IT WORX!!!!!!!!!

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