Keep it clean. Review on Maintaining a CD Recorder

Even though a CD recorder/player uses a highly focused beam of light to read/write data, unlike the record/phonograph players of yesteryears(!) the lens which beams that light can still attract dust or dirt. Over a period of time, whenever you open your CD disc tray, dust particles tend to settle down inside and start to then interfere with the beam of light leading to either the CD is not read by the player at all or skipped songs!

There are many CD lens cleaning disc out there in the market. Most will have a kind of a small hair brush stuck onto the playing side of the disc. Like a regular CD, the disc put inside the player/recorder, it is spun and the lens gets cleaned. There might be options available which let you hear music while this cleaning happens. Some even have a solution bottle, invariably a variation of a quick evaporating alcohol, which you need to dab on the brush before putting the disc in the player/recorder. These cleaning disc work fine and you need to periodically use them for a long lens life. If you can access the lens you could even clean it with a soft lint free/chamois cloth. BUT please make sure that the CD player/recorder is turned off and the mains plug is disconnected form the wall a/c output socket!!

A small vaccum cleaner is handy for cleaning the tray area or the area around the lens, if accessible.

Needless to say keeping the cd player/recorder in a relatively dust-free area is of great help in prolonging the life of the lens. Also try not to keep them close to any air-conditioning units since condensation can form on the lens and again ruin the path of light. Remedy...cleaning with the cleaning disc or cloth. Same applies to people owning CD players and living in areas with high humidity. Conversely do not keep it anywhere in direct sunlight as well or close to a window, which is open for most part of the day :-)

NB - In the case of a CD Recorders, please remember that the lens has a shelf life in terms of how many hours the laser can be used to burn a CD. Hence try not to shorten its life by playing regular CD's in it. Use it primarily for recording CD's only.

Sometimes the problem is not the player or the recorder but the CD itself. Scratches or dust makes the task of the lens much more difficult. There are CD cleaners in the market, different from CD LENS cleaners, which basically have a lint free brush and some clear liquid to wipe the disc with. Please do the cleaning, lightly, in a circular fashion, along the groove. Personally I have used light soapy water to clean some and got them as good as new. Warning - no granular soapy stuff like detergents. They will only scratch the surface more. In humid climate CD's are prone to catching fungus and over a period of time the protective coating starts to either peel off or wear off as well. Store them in a cool, air-tight place for longer life.

Happy music listening!