It happens to all of us. We accidentally scratch one of our valuable CD’s or DVD’s which than will not work. Or our disks become grimmy due to pinkie prints or other gunk which clogs up the pores of the disk and makes it unreadable. In my searches though out the Internet, I have gathered some methods you can try that I have used and which have worked for me. But as with any fix, your mileage may vary.

Fingerprints and other gunk Most can be removed by running the disk under plain old tap water using a mild detergent and drying with a microfiber cloth. Some folks also recommend [and I have used it] window cleaner to get the real nasty stuff off. I usually use this method for some of the disks I get from Netflix in which the previous user has applied a layer of peanut butter & jelly to the disk. Scrub a dub,dub and it usually will play.

Scratches need more careful cleaning. I have used tooth paste [just the regular stuff] to remove a scratch using a q-tip to buff out the scratch. After which you clean and dry the disk. I have read about some folks using brasso as a scratch remover. I haven’t tried this but I can see how this might work as well. Same thing. Use a q-tip to buff out the scratch and wash and dry when done.

Last but not least are the commercial products that are readily available at most stores like Radio Shack, Staples, Office Depot and others.

Do you have a favorite method that works for you? If so please share it with us.

Comments welcome.

Tags: clean, cd, dvd, scratch, finger prints, smudges, gunk, junk