How to Clean the Laser Lens on My Home Theater System

Safely clean the lens on your home theater system with a laser lens cleaner.

Caring for the laser lens inside your home theater equipment is important for maintaining the audio and video quality of its components. Because of the delicate nature of the laser lens, it is important that you never touch it directly. Instead, you should occasionally use a special laser lens cleaner to remove the dust and debris that can build up on the surface of the lens over time. When not properly cleaned, this debris can cause your CD and DVD players to skip and freeze during play.

Instructions

1. Purchase a laser lens cleaner from an electronics retailer. These products are practically identical to regular CDs and DVDs, except for the tiny brushes on the underside of the discs. These brushes gently clean the laser lens of your home theater equipment when the CD is placed in the disc drive.

2. Open the disc drive of your CD or DVD player by pressing the "Eject" button on the device.

3. Place the laser lens cleaning disc into the CD or DVD drive and close the tray.

4. Press the "Play" button. Once inside the device, the disc will spin in a circular motion and clean the laser lens on the inner compartment. If available, follow the on-screen instructions to complete the cleaning process. Whether or not there are on-screen instructions will depend on the lens cleaner brand you are using.

5. Press the "Eject" button on the device to remove the lens cleaning disc. Place the disc back into its protective case so that it doesn't become scratched.

Tips & Warnings

• Always read the manufacturer's instructions for the device you want to clean prior to using a lens cleaner.

• If cleaning a Blu-ray disc player, make sure you purchase a specialized disc designed for these devices. Traditional lens cleaning discs can cause permanent damage to the internal components of these electronics.