- Looking after your CDs
- The great thing about CDs is that they are virtually indestructible, aren't they?
- Cd's are tough, flexible and, because they don't move against any surface, they don't wear out - unlike a cassette tape or vinyl record.
- However, if you treat a CD badly, it still may not play properly.
- If your CD won't play...
- Look first at the CD itself. Is it dirty? Fingerprints and other marks will make it difficult for the laser to read the CD - so it may not play.
- Clean dirty CDs with a soft clean cloth or with a commercially available CD cleaner.
- Do not use solvents.
- Handling CDs
- Hold CDs at the outer edge only. Never touch the recording surface or place it down on a hard surface.
- Always put the CD back in the case as soon as you have taken it out of the drive.
- Scratched CDs
- Light scratches on the mirrored surface of a CD will make little impression on play quality - and can sometimes be removed by gentle polishing if they do cause a problem.
- Though not generally realised, the worse side to scratch is the printed side. The printing covers and protects the most delicate layer of the CD and once scratched is usually irrepairable.
- Writing on CDs
- Never write on the mirrored side of a CD - because it will obscure the information on the disc. Only write on the label side.
- Only use a soft felt tipped marker pen for writing on CDs. Hard pens - such as ball-point pens will scratch and damage the surface.
- Sunlight
- Do not leave CDs in direct sunlight or in a hot humid location. They will become damaged through warping or burning.
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