How to fix scratched dvds

We check out several children's DVDs and CDs from our library each month. We love the library, but the downfall to their wide variety of educational movies? Most are damaged and don't play without skipping or freezing in our DVD player.

I experimented with a few different techniques of safely repairing the scratched DVDs: soap and water, toothpaste, Windex. None seemed to make any sort of difference on the playback quality.

I knew that the toothpaste was supposed to get rid of the grooves and scratches, but it wasn't doing the trick.

I thought something thicker and more waxy would be easier to apply and stick to the surface of the disc. So I pulled out the Pledge furniture polish and tried it out on a freshly-cleaned DVD. I'm not kidding, the results were amazing! Far better than any other method I tried.

Since discovering Pledge works to repair scratched DVDs, I've started the routine of washing and polishing all the DVDs we check out before I ever pop them into the DVD player. Since then, I've only had one DVD that was too damaged to work with my magical method. Every other one has played back just fine!

Grab furniture polish and some cleaning cloths (microfiber cloths are the best!). Then follow these steps to repair scratched DVDs: 

1. Wet a soft microfiber cloth with warm water, plop on a drop of dish soap, and wash the DVD in a circular motion.
2. Rinse the DVD and dry it with a dry, nonabrasive cloth.
3. Use a Pledge wipe or spray some Pledge furniture polish (in the yellow can) on a dry, lint-free cloth. Apply it to the DVD in short, strokes from the inside of the disk to the outer rim (against the grain). Keep doing this until the surface of the disc is coated.
4. Use the other side of the dry cloth to lightly rub the disc in a circular motion until it's wiped clean.
5. Put the disc in the DVD player and play it. If it doesn't work, repeat steps 3 and 4 and try again!

If your DVD, CD or Blu-ray still doesn't work, apply Brasso metal polish on and around the scratches. You need to be very gentle with this–it's intended to polish tough metals, not delicate wood furniture!

Brasso works in a different way than Pledge does on discs. Pledge furniture polish is a waxy substance that fills in the scratches. Brasso smooths and buffs the scratches out. It's effective, but work carefully with it and focus on the most damaged parts.

These are the important products mentioned above:

 Note: don't use Pledge multi-surface spray in the blue can. It works great to repel dust from electronics and everything else, but it doesn't have that waxy consistency that's needed for fixing DVDs.

Do you use a different method for repairing scratched DVDs? Leave a comment letting me know your best advice!

There are some crazy ideas out there on how to eliminate scratches on DVDs. Bananas, peanut butter, dryer sheets, etc. As a mother and full-time sitter, I have learned that multiple kids equal scratched DVD’s. I got to the point where it was a battle just to find a disc that would play all the way through. Just wiping the disc clean no longer works on some of my worn DVDs. I started testing the different methods and found out what works and what doesn’t. Here are 5 easy ways to fix scratched DVDs.

5 Easy fixes for scratched DVDs that actually work.

Best Option: What Works!

1. The best method, I found is to use is Disc Restorer. A product used to help wipe out small scratches on your vehicle. My worst disc played all the way through!
2. Brasso, made to remove build up from brass objects, also works very well! I would be hesitant to use it on a regular basis as it is a harsh chemical.
3. Light! Stick your disc up to a light bulb and rotate close to the heat for up to 30 seconds. Stick the warm DVD straight into the player. It works in a pinch, but must be repeated every time and will eventually create more permanent damage if overused.
4. Furniture Polish. I was surprised how well a can of Pledge can shine up an old DVD.
5. Jewelry Polishing Cloth. This worked nicely on the shallow scratches, but not the deeper ones.

What Sort of Works!

1. Window Cleaner. This does a great job of cleaning the disc but does not diminish the scratches.
2. Baby Wipes. Again a good cleaner, but scratches were still there.
3. A banana. I was surprised at how well it cleaned the disc but did not reduce the scratches.
4. Eye Glass Cleaner. Same result. The clean disc was the only outcome.
5. Baking Soda Toothpaste. Great Cleaner! The badly scratched discs still skipped.

Fails: What Was A Bust!

1. Peanut Butter. This did absolutely nothing, but frustrate me. Hard to get off completely and still no difference.
2. Scotch Tape. Supposedly, putting a piece of tape on the top side of the disc, lined up with a scratch would reduce the skipping. However, I saw no difference in any disc on which I tried this option.

In the end, I did learn that some discs just cannot be saved. As a last-ditch effort, I took several to my local movie rental location and they cleaned my discs with a professional machine. One worked after this cleansing, the other four were just as unusable. My kids used them to create a suncatcher.

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