Any tips for cleaning DVD discs?

[mikeymikec]

One of my DVDs has some weird substance on the data side of the disc. When I run my finger over it, it doesn't feel like the normal smooth surface of the disc, and I can't play the disc properly.

 

[T_Yamamoto]

alcohol is what I would use

 

[DaveSimmons]

I've used dish washing soap, the hand washing kind not the kind for automatic dishwashers.

Edit: whatever you use, apply it using motions in a line from the center out or in, not using a circular "around the disc" motion. The reason for this is the error correction for CDs and DVDs can handle center-to-edge scratches much better that side-to-side scratches -- the damaged bits are spread over different tracks that way, instead of having multiple unreadable parts in the same track.

 

[mikeymikec]

Thanks for both suggestions. I used an alcohol wipe in the way suggested and now I can continue watching Silence of the Lambs