What is the best household product to use to clean CDs?

Question

I have tried toothpaste, vegetable oil, alcohol....
what works best?

Answer 1

alcohol or windex is going to clean it off.

toothpaste is going to remove the scratches (cds or dvds).
--put 3 or 4 pea-sized dots of toothpaste around the cd.
--take some kind of cloth or tissue paper to rub the toothpaste
--rub from the middle to the outside, ACROSS the circular path (if you're not rubbing in this direction, you're not doing any good)
--and wash off the toothpaste and any tissue follicles that got attached to the cd, throw the tissue/cloth out
--dry the cd on a clean towel
--if the cd still skips you can try it again with more toothpaste, and on the particular area the scratch is

Answer 2

If you are trying to remove scratches because of skipping and you do not have something like the motorized SkipDoctor (which uses a mild chemical on a slightly abraisive rotating wheel) then the toothpaste idea will work if you apply a little at a time and always ALWAYS brush from the inside of the disk out towards the edge. Try to keep the application uniform and do not use too much toothpaste. The ones that look a bit chalky are the ones you want to use, as they will dig into the plastic and even out the CD surface to the level of the scratch. Again, do not overdo it - and if the scratches are actually gouges, then it is really not worth it. Windex and eyeglass cleaner works just fine... guess what? Water works too for non-oily residue. Hope this helps!

Answer 3

Here's How:
Always handle your CDs by the edges. Avoid touching the shiny side of the disc, as this is the side that the laser reads the information.
Cheap plastic sleeves may seem like a good idea at the time, but if exposed to extremes of temperature, the disc and sleeve may adhere to each other.
Acrylic jewel cases provide good protection against dust, scratches, light, and rapid changes in humidity.
Don't eat, drink, or smoke around your CDs.
Never use a ballpoint pen to write on your CDs.
Do not try to remove labels from your CD. The adhesive may pull off the foil on which the data is encoded.
To clean your CD, use a soft clean cloth and wipe from the center hub to the outer edge.
Never use solvents to clean your CD, as they may cause permanent damage to the disc.
Tips:
While solvents are a no no in cleaning, you may want to use Kodak Lens cleaner and a lens tissue or soft cloth to clean your discs.

Answer 4

I use Isopropyl Alcohol @ 99% and a clean dust free cloth; using a circular motion not across the grain of the tracks. Remember; that a CD or DVD has a coating that protects somewhat against scratching the surface.

Also, unlike an LP there are no groves for a needle to travel in rather it uses a coding system of light to represent the video and or sound.

So, it is also possible that the LED (Light Emitting Diode) in the player itself may have dust on it. As far as maintenance goes by a can of compressed air to occasionally blow out your CD or DVD player.

Answer 5

How To Clean A Cd

Answer 6

How To Clean Cds

Answer 7

Cleaning CD's can be done with a CD cleaning kit or a clean cotton cloth. Always wipe against the tracks, starting from the middle of the CD and wiping towards the outer side of the CD. NEVER wipe with the tracks in a circular pattern as doing so may add scratches on the CD.
...jj

Answer 8

Ya know, i have heard turtle wax works the best if you have any of that in there. Or just buy a cd cleaner, that comes with special cd cleaning solutions. I have over 400 cd's myself and i have used toothpaste as well. That works pretty good, but it doesn't stop the cd from skipping.

Answer 9

For cleaning I just wipe with a little windex and a clean dry cloth. I heard that peanut butter gets out scratches. haven't tried yet, but I will!

Answer 10

Rubbing Alcohol