Anyway, I received one yesterday, and it skips like crazy, especially at the end. It’s used, so perhaps I shouldn’t be too surprised. And if it’s damaged, I realize there’s not much I can do. But it does look smudged and dirty. So I suspect that may be it.
How do I clean it?
I realize that they sell CD wipes in stores. But in the meantime is there anything that I can use around the house? I have soaps and detergents. And I do have isopropyl alcohol. Would any of those work?
IIRC, use a soft, clean cloth (one of them there micro-fiber ones would probably do) and wipe from the inside circle to the outside, one direction, not back and forth, rotating the disc. I would exhale on it a hundred thousand times as I wipe; no cleaners, no abrasives.
Spray for cleaning glasses or windows works well. Also, it’s best to use a microfiber cloth, or something else that’s non-abrasive and lint-free. Avoid paper towels and Kleenex. Be sure not to leave streaks.
Use radial strokes when wiping the CD. Try not to wipe it with circular strokes. The tracking and error correction system in a CD player can cope with radial scratches better than circumferential scratches.
Some good advice here. I’ll just add that some CD (and DVD) players can be more sensitive than others. So if, after cleaning it, it still doesn’t play perfectly, it might be worth trying to play it in a different player (if you have one; and remember that most DVD players can also play CDs), or, if you have a computer with a CD drive, trying to rip the CD and either play the digital files or burn them to a new CD.
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