Hello,
– Does the label side of a CD need cleaning for better performance?
– Does a CD ever become statically charged or magnetically charged ?
Many thanks, J.
Hello J, thanks for your questions.
It is never a good idea to stick dirt inside your CD player. The dirt may not hurt the CD itself, but the CD is going to be spun at moderate speed for about an hour, so whatever is on the CD is likely to shed into your player. Fingerprints are OK, but lint or dust held on by fingerprints, not so good. And if there is dirt, it can be ground into the CD surface with other handling. Just sitting there, the dirt may be fine, but it isn’t just sitting there. If you are cleaning the “playing” side with LAST CD/DVD Treatment, I’d take a quick wipe of the other side as well.
A CD does not become charged under normal operating circumstances. Now, you could purposely statically charge a CD by rubbing it with wool (for some strange reason). In that case, you would then need to rub it with an anti-static brush, or clean it with a slightly damp, lint-free cloth. A CD would not become magnetically charged by the CD player either. We can’t think of anything on a CD that could become magnetically charged. While the reflective layer is a very thin layer of aluminum, aluminum is not magnetic.
Hope this helps!
Christine McCall and Walter Davies
