Fixing Scratches in CDs and DVDs - Video

CDs and DVDs offer great entertainment, but they are far from invincible. Even small scratches and dirt on the discs can make your music or movie skip.

An amazing solution to this problem consists of using just a little bit of toothpaste (yes, toothpaste) to clean the discs. You'll want to get a good non-gel toothpaste, and make sure that it doesn't have any grit or abrasives in it, as these can actually damage your discs.

Grab your CD... This one I happen to have here is Darryl Hall and John Oates—well, OK, maybe that's not worth saving. This one here is by Faith Hill—probably worth saving.

Take a little bit of the toothpaste and put it onto a paper towel or clean cloth. And then you take the back of the CD, where the music actually is and all the scratches are, and you take the toothpaste and you rub it in. You rub it in very gently, and you should rub it from the middle of the CD out towards the outside. Don't' go in any circular motions.

Rub it in, and then what you need to do is—after you've rubbed it all the way in, gently and around—you take some water or take some rubbing alcohol and you'll be able to clean off any of the excess toothpaste that's there.

What should happen is that the next time that you play your CD, you should find that the scratches that used to be there and cause the skips, they've now been filled in with the toothpaste and things should go more smoothly.

I know it sounds strange, but trust me on this. If you do it right, you'll have CDs and DVDs that won't have any more skipping in them, and you'll be able to watch them for many more years.

For a longer tip related to this subject, see Remove Scratches from CDs or DVDs