| 29 November 2009
One of the biggest annoyances I've found in recent years is how fragile CDs are. But then again, looking back at portable media, I suppose they're not really the worst. As a child, I was distraught when my big ol' yellow Walkman ate my Lion King soundtrack cassette. Whenever cassettes got damaged, they seemed to never work the same. CDs, however have the ability to be rescued, if not only for temporary.I've come up with a few pretty simple ideas to help you get your CD's back in working condition to use again, if not only to make another copy of it to get you through.
Home Remedy/Quick Fix ideas:
Wash your CD:
*Often times, it isn't scratched deep enough to cause it to skip. Frequently, dust, dirt, debris, finger prints, jelly, saliva, basically anything that a CD can come in contact with can cause it to skip or be rendered unreadable. Thankfully, CD's LOVE to be washed. Really, they do!
Supplies needed:
-Dawn (or similar) dish soap
-Lintless paper towels (Viva brand works well) or a microfiber cloth
1. Take a look at your CD.
2. Take your CD to your sink of choice and run it under some cool water.
3. Wet your cloth and add a little soap. I use Dawn dish soap because it's pretty good at de-greasing, and thusly removing fingerprints or food grease.
4. Work it into a decent lather.
5. Wipe the CD with the soapy cloth, scrubbing the whole thing squeaky clean.
6. Rinse it completely clean and then dry it with another dry lint free paper towel or dry microfiber cloth. Let it sit out in the open on a dry paper towel until you're sure that it is 100% dry.
7. Test your CD in your player of choice.
Burning a Copy
*Sometimes portable CD players and older computers have a harder time reading lightly scratched CDs, but newer computers can easily read, and even copy them. This works great for CDs of important documents, pictures, or your favorite tunes. Not so great for games and most DVDs.
1. See if your computer (or your mom's, best friend's, or roomie's, whoever has a fairly new computer) can read the CD. If you know the part of the CD that normally skips or cannot access data, check that part thoroughly.
2. If they can, burn yourself a copy onto a fresh blank CD. Congrats, you have backed up data.
3. If not, try something else.
Spot polishing
*I was skeptical when a friend told me how to do this, because I was concerned about the well-being of my CDs. Thankfully, I've had nothing but positive results with this method. Basically, you're going to take a CD that is non-functional, or you can stand to lose, and try to buff out any deep scratches with a baking-soda and water solution. Often times, computers or CD/DVD/Game Consoles have a hard time reading deep scratches because the light from the lasers skip right over it. If you help buff down the area around the scratch, the laser can read it. However, I do not recommend you doing this unless you can't burn a CD. If you have any reserves at all about it, don't bother trying it. Especially if your CD works enough to burn a copy.
Supplies needed:
-a small, clean bowl.
-1tsp baking soda
-A Q-tip/cotton swab or lint free paper towel
-Small amount of water
-A clean, dry lint-free paper towel or a clean dry microfiber cloth.
1. Put a teaspoon of baking soda (or there about) in a small clean bowl.
2. Add a few drops of water until it becomes a thin paste.
3. Dip a corner of the paper towel or a qtip into the mixture.
4. Find one of the deepest scratches on the CD and apply the mixture using your paper-towel covered finger or cotton swab. Polish gently over the scratch in a circular motion for about 20-30 seconds.
5. Repeat over any other deep scratches.
6. Rinse under cool water for at least 30-45 seconds until it is completely rinsed of ANY baking soda residue (which could cause scratches once it dries.)
7. Dry it with a clean paper towel or micro-fiber cloth and let it sit out until you are sure it is 100% dry.
8. Try your CD in your CD player of choice.
Boiling.
Yes, really.* Warning: This is a last ditch effort, and please, please, please do not try this if you have not already tried ALL of the other solutions I listed. Or don't try it at all.
**I have had a few positive experiences with this, but it's still a last ditch effort, even in my book. However, the theory behind how/why it works is that when you boil the CD, the plastic becomes soft and expands, squeezing together any deep scratches. Another theory is that if your CD isn't perfectly flat, it wobbles in the player/reader of choice, which will prevent it from being read correctly. This method will flatten it out pretty easily.
Supplies needed
-Wooden spoon or something similar (read through the steps and you'll understand what I mean.)
-A pot capable of holding 3-5 inches of water.
-A few clean lint-free paper towels or a clean microfiber cloth
-Two heavy, hard, flat objects, such as two thick hard cover books. A baking sheet and some heavy canned goods is also acceptable.
1. Fill your CLEAN pot with CLEAN water and bring it to a rolling boil. Make sure you have enough water to come up about two inches above the top of the spoon part of your wooden spoon.
2. While waiting for your water to boil, lay out a few paper towels or a clean microfiber cloth on a counter or table near by, taking care to make sure everything is perfectly flat. Make sure you have some heavy objects ready.
3. Slip the hole of your CD over the handle of your wooden spoon and let it drop to the spoon part.
4. Turn off the water and wait for the water to stop boiling, but only just.
5. CAREFULLY submerge the CD into the hot water by dipping the spoon into the water. Hold the spoon straight up and down so the CD does not rest against the side of the pot.
6. Hold the CD there for 1-2 minutes, keeping an eye on it.
7. Remove the CD from the water and dangle it above the pot, letting the excess water drip back down into the pot.
8. While the CD is hot, drop it down onto the paper towels/cloth that you are using, and then fold the paper towels/cloth in half, covering your CD on both sides (to dry it.)
9. Place two heavy books, or a baking sheet/large flat plate/pie pan and some canned goods on top of your covered CD.
10. Let stand for about an hour or two under the weights. This insures that your CDs will be flat and cool by the time you retrieve them.
11. Examine your CDs closely, make sure it's come to room temperature, and make sure there is no sign of melting (there shouldn't be at that temperature, but I feel like this should be considered anyway.) Make sure the CD seems completely level from end to end, with no obvious warping.
12. Try out your CD!
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Resurfacing your CDs
Commercially avaliable resurfacing products are a way to fix scratches on the surface of your CD. They generally work pretty well, but tend to be a bit pricey. I won't give you a walk through because each product is different, but a few products to check out are:- Skipdoctor CD Repair Kit ($19.99 at Amazon)
- Skipdoctor Motorized Scratch Repair ($30.25 at Amazon)
- Aleratec 240131 DVD/CD Disc Repair Kit ($34.88 at Amazon)
I actually own the skipdoctor CD Repair kit. It works okay, but it isn't anything stellar. Honestly, I always try washing my CD and sometimes even spot polishing before digging this out of a closet.
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Storing your CDs:
A lot of CD troubles come from not storing them properly. I know how it is, though. But, for about 10 bucks, you can pick up a 50 CD binder, which will prevent you from leaving them out on your desk, floating raound your car, or accidentally using them as a coaster.
