# DVD player cleaners - worth it?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dvd-player-cleaners-worth-it/218009>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [December 9, 2003, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dvd-player-cleaners-worth-it/218009 "2003-12-09T20:33:37Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Tomcat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Tomcat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tomcat)\
**Post date:** [December 9, 2003, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dvd-player-cleaners-worth-it/218009/1 "2003-12-09T20:33:37Z")

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I see them at the electronics store- DVD cleaners that you pop in and they somehow clean your machine. Do they work? Are they worth $20?

-Tcat

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**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\
**Post date:** [December 10, 2003, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dvd-player-cleaners-worth-it/218009/2 "2003-12-10T02:21:57Z")

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They are probably worse than CD drive cleaners. Those are less than useful, i.e., they can easily cause more damage.

Avoid them completely. DVD drives have much tighter tolerances than CD drives.

They’re like the magic green CD pens. Just because a store sells them doesn’t mean you should even think about buying them.

Prevention is what it takes. Keep the drawer closed when unused. Keep the discs clean. Carefully wipe off the outside of the player on occasion. Don’t let the kids use it themselves. That will save you money _and_ definitely extend the lifetime of the drive.