# What is the best way to irrevocably destroy floppy disks? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 18, 2023, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-irrevocably-destroy-floppy-disks/979997 "2023-02-18T17:37:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2023, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-irrevocably-destroy-floppy-disks/979997/61 "2023-02-20T21:26:43Z")
> [@echoreply](#): > > What tools are available, do you have a hydraulic press, a wood chipper? Maybe a primitive lathe? If they were stacked up, put in a pressure pot, and soaked in resin I know a guy that would turn them into a bowl or something. > **[Peter Brown](https://www.youtube.com/@peterbrownwastaken)** > > Just a geek with a full set of power tools! > > I do woodworking, woodturning or whatever piques my interest at the time. My hope is to have one part woodworking and one part crazy. I'll try my best to make something interesting. This is just for fun,... ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2023, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-irrevocably-destroy-floppy-disks/979997/62 "2023-02-20T23:38:00Z")
I can offer a little bit of experience with large magnets. I have an electromagnetic, AC-powered tape eraser beefy enough to completely erase any audio recording tape up to 1/2" (on a 13" reel) and up to 1" if you turn it over and do it again (same thing that I tell my gf). However, it doesn’t work at all on some videotape formulations. I presume it’s not powerful enough for some magnetic recording media. So if you use this method, it would be necessary to verify that the data has been erased. Personally, I’d just take scissors to them mothers. Take the disk material out of the enclosure, whatever it is, and ordinary scissors can cut it into several bite-sized pieces. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2023, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-irrevocably-destroy-floppy-disks/979997/63 "2023-02-20T23:47:00Z")
Can we assume this factual question has been answered and veer off a bit: What data from someone that has been dead for almost 20 years would you need to protect from the garbage can surfing tweakers that also happen to have the 20 year old technology required to recover that data? Personally, I’d just break them all (it’s not too hard to break 3.5" enclosures) and crease the actual disk or use a pair of scissors. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2023, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-irrevocably-destroy-floppy-disks/979997/64 "2023-02-20T23:53:02Z")
I tried breaking CD-ROM discs to destroy them. Harder than you’d think and the shreds fly _everywhere_. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2023, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-irrevocably-destroy-floppy-disks/979997/65 "2023-02-21T00:01:57Z")
CD-ROMs are more difficult without a pair of gloves and doing it within something that contains the shrapnel. 5.25 and 3.5" floppies are easier. A pair of tin snips would do them in. ---
**Author:** ![banjopatterson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@banjopatterson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/banjopatterson)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2023, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-irrevocably-destroy-floppy-disks/979997/66 "2023-02-21T01:55:37Z")
I would not trust a magnet, I had a friend who was in the Vice Squad and they took a truckload of VHS blue movies (same principal?) and put them under a huge magnet used for picking up car bodies in a scrap yard only to find that most were unaffected. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2023, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-irrevocably-destroy-floppy-disks/979997/67 "2023-02-21T02:02:06Z")
Like I and others were saying – if this is an existential threat, burn that shit to the ground. You don’t need a hydraulic press, which I’m not even convinced with necessarily be effective. Like how difficult is it to burn something to smithereens? No, not environmentally friendly, but if it comes to self-preservation, I don’t give a damn. On the other hand, for 99.99999% of things I’d want to destroy data for, I’d just toss the floppies in the bin. Who in the hell is going to go through the landfill looking for old 3.5" and 5.25" inch floppies, hoping to glean some random data from there, and having the means to retrieve them? I would have no problem just chucking old floppy disks with random financial data out in the Thursday collection. But if I’m worried to the point of needing to irrevocably destroying them? Burn, baby, burn. If the media is melted into a glob, good luck! How much more final can you be? ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2023, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-irrevocably-destroy-floppy-disks/979997/68 "2023-02-21T02:29:44Z")
Exactly. [Just like I also said upthread.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-irrevocably-destroy-floppy-disks/979997/28) ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2023, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-irrevocably-destroy-floppy-disks/979997/69 "2023-02-21T02:54:42Z")
In my world, I’d take them to the town dump and drop them into one of the big containers that gets hauled to a landfill. If i was worried the KGB was after them and the world would be destroyed if they found them, I’d pull out the mylar medium (easy with 5", maybe use that child bath and a hammer for the 3.25") and shred the mylar. I suspect my home shredder would be good enough. ---
**Author:** ![abcdefghij](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/43a26b/32.png) [@abcdefghij](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/abcdefghij)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2023, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-irrevocably-destroy-floppy-disks/979997/70 "2023-02-21T03:21:27Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I tried breaking CD-ROM discs to destroy them. Harder than you’d think and the shreds fly _everywhere_. I fed a spindle of CD-ROMs through my bandsaw one time. Would not do again. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2023, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-irrevocably-destroy-floppy-disks/979997/71 "2023-02-21T03:25:20Z")
Many paper shredders can handle CDs just fine. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2023, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-irrevocably-destroy-floppy-disks/979997/72 "2023-02-21T03:26:59Z")
I mean, if we’re gonna be like that, I said burn 'em in a fire about a dozen posts above yours. And then @paulmarkj said that four above _that_ one. Credit where credit is due. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2023, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-irrevocably-destroy-floppy-disks/979997/73 "2023-02-21T03:29:36Z")
Cool. Yes it’s the best way. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2023, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-irrevocably-destroy-floppy-disks/979997/74 "2023-02-21T03:34:25Z")
Just so you know, on re-read, my response sounds _way_ the hell more aggressive to me than I indented. I was chuckling when I wrote it, then realized there may be some (in my head) context clues clues missing. I do apologize. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2023, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-irrevocably-destroy-floppy-disks/979997/75 "2023-02-21T04:09:21Z")
Apparently no one participating in this thread is a fan of the [“Will it Blend?” videos](https://www.blendtec.com/pages/will-it-blend) that Blendtec has long produced for our amusement and edification. I don’t see a video specifically about floppy disks, but they’ve used their blender to annihilate [an iPad](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAl28d6tbko) and [an iPhone](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWqw5SpITg8&t=23s), so I should think some floppy disks would be well within its capabilities. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2023, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-irrevocably-destroy-floppy-disks/979997/76 "2023-02-21T04:15:47Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > my response sounds _way_ the hell more aggressive to me than I indented There’s no point denying it now, I can see your bite marks. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2023, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-irrevocably-destroy-floppy-disks/979997/77 "2023-02-21T04:44:23Z")
No worries, it’s all good. ---
**Author:** ![abcdefghij](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/43a26b/32.png) [@abcdefghij](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/abcdefghij)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2023, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-irrevocably-destroy-floppy-disks/979997/78 "2023-02-21T05:09:20Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Many paper shredders can handle CDs just fine. I didn’t mean to suggest the bandsaw didn’t work. Just that the shiny little bits went _everywhere_. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2023, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-irrevocably-destroy-floppy-disks/979997/79 "2023-02-21T12:53:51Z")
Toxic fumes, man. Saving the free world isn’t worth the toxic fumes you’ll generate. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2023, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-irrevocably-destroy-floppy-disks/979997/80 "2023-02-21T15:03:42Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > Saving the free world isn’t worth the toxic fumes you’ll generate. But saving your own ass might be. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-irrevocably-destroy-floppy-disks/979997.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-best-way-to-irrevocably-destroy-floppy-disks/979997.md?page=5)