How to Clean the Lens on a Cd/Dvd Player Or Drive

Is your DVD player giving you an error message when you try to watch a movie? Does your CD player try, but fail, to play your favorite CDs? Chances are your lens needs cleaning. Below are some steps for cleaning the lens on a CD/DVD player or drive.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Bulb style lens blower
• Cotton swabs or balls
• Isopropyl alcohol
• Screwdriver

1. Buy a laser lens cleaner disk. Cleaning a lens is very difficult, and even the gentlest cotton swab can scratch it.

2. Insert the cleaning disk into the disk drive and let it run for 1-2 minutes.

3. Test your player. If it still is not working properly, you can try cleaning it by hand.

4. Disconnect the player (unplug it) , unscrew the screws holding the top casing and gently remove it. Look inside for a black box with a blue lens.

5. Using a bul-style camera lens blower, lightly blow air across the lends to lift possible surface dust.

6. Replace the cover and try playing the DVD or CD again. If it still does not work, dip a cotton swab or cotton ball in isopropyl alcohol. Make sure the swab is damp but not dripping yet, and gently dab the lens with the swab.

7. Take your player to a repair shop if the above steps do not solve the problem.

Tips & Warnings

• Make sure your player is unplugged before you remove the cover.

Resources

• Where to buy lens cleaners