Have you ever put in a DVD, gotten your snacks and drink, and settled into your favorite spot on the couch only to find fifteen minutes into the movie the DVD is scratched and stops (or skips)? You grab the remote and try to fast forward or rewind the movie, but you end up getting more frustrated as you can't get back to the desired spot in the movie. I bet this scenario has happened to most of us. It is frustrating. Here is some information on DVD cleaners that can help fix the problem.

The first thing I recommend and the easiest solution is soap and water. Find a gentle cloth that will not scratch the DVD. Take a little bit of dish soap and apply it on your finger. Then add a little water to the dish soap by hand and rub the DVD with your fingers. The soap and water combination should feel a little thick. The idea is to clean and smooth the surface. Then use a little water to rinse off the surface of the DVD where there is excess soap. Take the cloth and dry off the DVD. Allow the DVD to dry before putting it back in the DVD player.

The soap and water cleaner solution will fix most DVD issues. However, there may be some DVDs that will need more than soap and water. For these tougher cases I recommend Brasso (which is a metal polish). You can often find this in any electronics store marketed under a DVD scratch out cleaner. You apply the polish to the DVD and then buff (or rub) it off. This smooths out the scratches which should prevent the DVD from skipping. If you don't want to go to the store you can use toothpaste (not gel) and get similar results. It will not be as good as Brasso or a metal polish, but you usually have toothpaste around (I hope).

If you are using the toothpaste method take a small amount and buff the paste over the DVD surface for about a minute. Then rinse off using water and than dry with a gentle cloth. The process is very similar to the soap and water method above. Just a word of caution, toothpaste is a mild abrasive and cause some additional small scratches. The idea is to smooth out the bigger scratches without causing additional damage. This is why I recommend the soap and water method first. Most DVDs scratches can be fixed by this toothpaste method and will work great after words, but I felt full disclosure is important.

I would not recommend expensive DVD cleaners. I find it interesting that people spend $20 to $30 dollars when you have much cheaper alternatives to try first. The Brasso metal polish or cleaners you buy in the store should be less than $10. Good luck and I hope you can get back and enjoy your movie quickly.