How to clean a DVD

Question: Marc, please help: My kids put their sticky fingers all over their favourite DVDs and now they’re not working the same. What can I do to clean it?

Well, you could purchase one of those cleaning kits at your local retailer, or you can try the cheaper home remedy – and it should work just the same.

Here’s what to do:

Take a cotton cloth or any smooth towel – not a tissue or anything similar that can leave a residue — and then find some rubbing alcohol, glass cleaner or even cheap perfume.

By holding the DVD by its outer rim, spray a bit of the liquid onto the underside of the disc — the part the laser reads — and gently wipe from the inside of the DVD to the outside and repeat this motion by going around the disc in a clockwise or counterclockwise fashion. Just remember not to rub in circles – simply start from the inside and gently push outwards.

Now wait until it dries before putting it back into the player. And you can also blow on the underside of the dry DVD to make sure there’s no dust or hair or anything else.

Chances are, you’ve removed most or all of the dirt and it’ll be as good as new.