How to Clean an CD ?

[Victor Christensen]

I would like to know if somebody has the best way to clean a CD for fingerprints, scatches ect. on a CD.

Vic

[mikeweil]

A half and half mixture of pure alcohol an distilled water and a non-perfumed Kleenex - apply sparingly with a sprayer and wipe softly from center to edge, never in a circular motion. This will remove stains of all kinds. As for scratches, nothing you can do. There are polishes, but I never tried them.

There are special mixtures available at Hi-Fi dealers with special ingredients which may improve sound even more than a simple alcohol/water solution - many think it's voodoo, but I tested it with a lot of friends, and they all heard a difference in sound reproduction in before/after tests. Sounds clearer, more room ambience, in particular, depending on your playback equipment.

Edited October 28, 2009 by mikeweil

[Chuck Nessa]

I use a spray eyeglass cleaner and wipe with one of those micro fiber eyeglass cloths. You can get both inexpensively.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

I wipe 'em on my trousers, when they skip or stick. Never fails.

MG

[A Lark Ascending]

I save them until I get about 30 and then put them in the washing machine at around 40 degrees. You have to disable the 'spin' function, however, unless the discs are particularly swinging.

You should separate your colours too...don't want the blues getting into everything else.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

I save them until I get about 30 and then put them in the washing machine at around 40 degrees. You have to disable the 'spin' function, however, unless the discs are particularly swinging.

You should separate your colours too...don't want the blues getting into everything else.

I wasn't joking...

MG

[Victor Christensen]

Thanks Guys for your replies

Vic

[Bright Moments]

I save them until I get about 30 and then put them in the washing machine at around 40 degrees. You have to disable the 'spin' function, however, unless the discs are particularly swinging.

You should separate your colours too...don't want the blues getting into everything else.

FWIW if a disc is skipping i take toothpaste (really) and rub it with my fingers all over the disc. then i wash it off. skip is GONE!!!

[Stereojack]

I find that Windex (or any other window cleaner) works really well for cleaning CD's and DVD's. Spray some on, and wipe it lightly with a soft paper towel.

[Neal Pomea]

For your wooden cds, apply Pledge.

Otherwise, Bausch and Lomb Sight Savers. Like a Stridex medicated pad for your eyeglasses and cds.

Edited October 29, 2009 by It Should be You

[A Lark Ascending]

The wierdest one I ever heard was advice from Hyperion Records when I sent back a disc that whirled in the player and just stopped.

I was told there might be too many molecules on the inner ring - if I inserted a pen and ran it round the ring a few times all would be well.

The bizarre thing is that it worked...and has worked many times since.

[Man with the Golden Arm]

conversely for your Sun Ra re-issues?

[Brownian Motion]

I hold the CD under running lukewarm water, add a drop of detergent to the surface, and lather it with gentle finger action. I rinse well with the sprayer, and blot up droplets of water with a tissue. Repeat if needed.

[AllenLowe]

I build a shrine, sacrifice 2 virgins, sleep with a barnyard animal of my choice, howl at the moon, kiss the ring of a Rabbi, do a somersault, dance the hokey pokey, and read the New York Times.

none of that really works, but I've always wanted to do all those things, and this gives me an excuse -

[papsrus]

I had one disc that continued to skip no matter how much I cleaned / polished it. In fact, a replacement skipped in the exact same way. (Turrentine and the 3 Sounds - Complete Blue Hour). On the advice of someone here -- sorry, I forget who -- I copied the disc to my hard drive (lossless) and burned a duplicate CD. It worked like a charm!

Failing that, I would probably try the grind-it-under-your-heel technique.

[BERIGAN]

Sometimes I notice windex leaves a film, so I usually use some liquid hand some, like Brownian, in lukewarm water....and the softest paper towels in the world to wipe off, or compressed air....

[jazzbo]

I had one disc that continued to skip no matter how much I cleaned / polished it. In fact, a replacement skipped in the exact same way. (Turrentine and the 3 Sounds - Complete Blue Hour). On the advice of someone here -- sorry, I forget who -- I copied the disc to my hard drive (lossless) and burned a duplicate CD. It worked like a charm!

Failing that, I would probably try the grind-it-under-your-heel technique.

That was my bro Shawn's advice.

[papsrus]

I had one disc that continued to skip no matter how much I cleaned / polished it. In fact, a replacement skipped in the exact same way. (Turrentine and the 3 Sounds - Complete Blue Hour). On the advice of someone here -- sorry, I forget who -- I copied the disc to my hard drive (lossless) and burned a duplicate CD. It worked like a charm!

Failing that, I would probably try the grind-it-under-your-heel technique.

That was my bro Shawn's advice.

Thank you. I remember now. Great advice.

[BruceH]

Put it in the dishwasher. Works like a charm.