Q&A for How to Clean a Dirty CD

No. As long as you are gentle with your cleaning, the data should remain intact.

You can't. If the disc is broken, the laser won't track it and it simply will not play. In addition, you can permanently damage your player if the crack has distorted the plastic enough that it is no longer flat. An end of the crack can easily hit the laser and cause serious damage. It is always a good idea to go through your CD collection & if there are CDs that are important to you, copy them to a music library in your computer. CDs will not last indefinitely & they certainly are not indestructible. Just because you were able to buy it once doesn't mean you will be able to replace it if it dies. You will thank yourself later for making a duplicate copy.

The reflective side, which is the one with no print on it.

Unless it's hardened glue, with enough persistence, even the most stubborn dried dirt will give up and come off. Usually it is a matter of patient soaking and re-soaking that will do it. The risk is not the solutions that you use; alcohol pretty much decimates most manufactured substances, while soap and water does away with organic dust and dirt. The real risk with stubborn dirt is giving into the temptation to rub. Friction is the enemy of a readable CD surface. In fact, a decent CD player will be able to tolerate a little dirt much more easily than scratches made by rough cleaning.

It's not recommended that you try. While the jury is about its effectiveness as a CD cleaner, it would definitely leave behind a thick, greasy film that may prevent the disc from playing correctly. It's best to stick with safe, tried-and-true cleaning methods like soapy water or rubbing alcohol.

Cleaning in a circular motion spreads around the particles, which might scratch the CD.

You can apply toothpaste to the stains, then wipe it off with a cotton cloth. It seriously works without damaging the disk.

There may be a spot on the disk that may be slightly dirty or looking dull. If it looks dull, there is really nothing you can do to fix it. You may be able to polish it by hand and bring it back to a clear smooth surface, but at the same time you may also add excess weight to that area of the disk to cause it to spin off balance or you may make the laser bounce incorrectly through the plastic while it's trying to read it. The laser reads the disk in a circular motion. If you scratch the CD from the center out it usually skips it, but if it's scratched circular going with the track, the laser will not be able to detect it.

It should. If it doesn't, give rubbing alcohol a try. A few passes with alcohol and a microfiber cloth will take off almost anything.

If you're using the right soap, you shouldn't have to deal with residue. Stick to mild liquid dish soap, organic cleansers, and hand soaps that don't contain moisturizers or other additives. These substances are typically responsible for leaving filmy residues behind.

Rubbing alcohol may, depending on how long it's been on the disc. If it's hardened long enough, you may have no choice but to replace it.

The tap water and soap method require you to hand dry with a lint-free cloth. The distilled water and alcohol method should be air-dried, according to this article.

Though being commonly used, many CD manufacturers advise against using Windex or any other chemical-type cleaning solutions, as not to damage the delicate layer that protects the data of the CD.

If the scratch goes through the whole disc, it cannot be repaired. The reflective film is the important part of the CD/DVD ROM so if it gets damaged, it's practically unusable.

Your CD player itself may have issues, unrelated to the disc. Pick up an optical drive cleaning kit and clean every laser in your player.

Most record cleaning solutions are alcohol based, and should be ok. However, first try it on a CD that is not of high value to you, just to be sure.

Do the same you would do to clean a CD. Make sure you are gentle, as Wii disks are more fragile. Try using a drop or two of lemon essential oil to remove sticky residue.

Do not use napkins or paper towels to clean a disk! This can scratch the disc. Use a microfiber cloth with CD cleaning solution instead.

Ann old T-shirt can be used. But stop washing discs with soap and water. Use the T-shirt rag to wipe the disc clean in around circular fashion on a table go in a counter-clockwise buffering the disc with the cloth.