DVD CD disc cleaners

[Bob Rufener]

My wife and I have used Netflix for several years. Excellent service. We occasionally run into problems with unclean discs that make the movie pixilate in places or skip. I sometimes use dish soap and water to clean them before using but I am wondering if anyone has used a simple disc cleaner before using discs. If so, what model do you use and how happy are you with it? Looking for suggestions. Thanks a bunch.

[Todd Willhoit]

I haven't used a formal cleaner since the days of the LP. Even then, what I really needed was the brush to lift the dust from the grooves rather than the cleaning solution.

For CDs and DVDs I usually use a soft cloth dampened with water (or my humid breath and my undershirt) for cleaning. As you mentioned, a little liquid dish soap can help too. Both are convenient and FREE!

I have also successfully buffed out small scratches using 3M Imperial Hand Glaze or Meguiars #81 Hand Glaze. Although I haven't tried it, I have heard that toothpaste works too. I would stay away from the baking soda variety, as I think it might be too abrasive.

I'm sure you know this already, but for those who may not, make sure you wipe radially from the center to the outer edge or vice-versa. Wiping in a circular pattern opens you to the possibility that a small abrasive particle on your cloth can create a scratch that follows the arc of a data track on the disc, obscuring a lot of information and making the situation worse.

Todd

[Jeff Monson]

I've used toothpaste on some of the kids dvd's that get scratched, I've had limited succes with it, has worked on some, not on others. I like the idea of a light car wax also, that may work ok. If the discs are not scratched and just full of prints, I'll use dishsoap and rinse them good, just make sure to use a soft cloth to dry them with.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

409 and a paper towel

Get revenge by smearing the DVD with peanut butter.
You won't get the rat who got you, but you will sleep better knowing that you paid it forward.

[Bill LaPointe]

+2 on humid breath and T shirt!

[Joe Pelonio]

With 3 people using glasses to see, we bought a big box of individually packaged lens cleaners at Costco, they are much like baby wipes but made for lenses. Those work great on CDs/DVDs.

[Mike Langford]

I use soap & water....

I also make sure to rewind them before I return them to avoid the rewinding fee....

....Takes less than a minute with one of these:
Rewinder.jpg
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[John Shuk]

I take the disc rinse it under water and rub my finger around the top of my dish soap bottle. I work the soap into my fingers a bit and then clean the entire surface. After just rinse it making sure there are no "clumps" of soap and to dry I sandwich it in a paper towel and don't rub as much as pat it dry. This has always worked well for me. To me it feels like the real key to success is to avoid leaving a soapy residue after rinsing so thin the dish soap out really well.
Scratches are another story and I can't say I've dealt much with them.

[John Lohmann]

3M used to sell a small cloth made for this. It just looks like microfiber to me. Start at the center & go in straight lines, don't go in circles, it works pretty well. I wouldn't want any residue on my dvds.

[paul cottingham]

I use soap & water....

I also make sure to rewind them before I return them to avoid the rewinding fee....

....Takes less than a minute with one of these:
Rewinder.jpg
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Where can I get one? My in-laws need one.