Taking Care Of Your CDs and DVDs

CDs are pretty rugged and the error-correction codes they use can handle lots of scratches and dings. If they're that tough, a few fingerprints shouldn't be a problem, right? And will it matter if you handle your precious discs with buttery fingers while you're having a sandwich? If you think it won't, you're wrong. Your CDs will stay healthy but your optical drive could go for a toss. Not only can your 52x drive turn into a 1x model, even the lens can get seriously affected. And that could make all the discs unreadable.

Always keep dirty discs away from your equipment. If you don't feel like cleaning them, don't insert them into the drive. That means you need to keep your discs spic and span, free from fingerprints or any sort of stain. When it comes to cleaning discs, don't be afraid to wash them. To clean a dirty disc, wave it back and forth over a bowl of lukewarm water for a few seconds. Then wipe the disc with a lint-free cloth in a straight motion from the center towards the rim. If the stains are too stubborn to be wiped off, you can even add a drop or two of dish washing liquid into the bowl of water. At the end of it, make sure that the disc is completely dry before you insert it into the drive.

Take special care of your discs if you stay in a humid locality, for instance, near the sea. Discs with a glossy top surface are prone to catching fungus which can eat into the thin metal layer that holds data and render it unreadable.Discs affected with the presence of fungus. If ever, you come across an affected disc, clean it immediately before the fungus turns it into a piece of trash!

Do you know how to hold CDs and DVDs? There are many who are not aware of it or they simply don't care unless the damage is done. First timers and children tend to hold discs like they hold a Frisbee, Don't hold the discs by the rim with your fingers splayed out. The right way to hold them is by putting your thumb against the rim and the middle of the index finger in the center hole. While taking the disk out of the drive, hold it with your finger in the center hole and lift it out.