Life Hacks Episode 2

I would like to start todays post by expressing my sorrow at the tragedy in Boston today. My thoughts and hearts go out to everyone in who has been affected by this terrifying attack. I am still of two minds whether to even post anything today, but if it is indeed an act of terror as the news reporters are stating, then the best thing to do is go on with our lives and refuse to give in, so with that in mind I would like to welcome all of you to the second episode of Life Hacks.

For episode one click here

Now today I am going to show you guys how to fix something which is the bane of my existence, and something I am sure everyone has had the frustration of dealing with at some point in their lives to date. Scratched CDs.

Pictured: enough scratches to give you a whole head of grey hairs

This one can be fixed with just a few items that can be found in most households, depending on how yellow your teeth are. Intrigued? Keep reading to find out more.

Ok so to repair a scratched CD you will need the following items;

1 scratched CD

Several cotton buds (cotton swabs or Q Tips for my overseas friends)

1 tube of tooth whitening toothpaste with Bi-Carb

Don't judge my choice in movies, or the fact that this one is so well loved. I love me some classic Disney

Now just for a little side note, technically I could send this DVD back to the Disney company in America, and they will replace it for me with a brand new, completely unscratched copy for a minimal fee, but given that I don't feel like mailing my DVDs to America and then waiting weeks and weeks before I can watch The Sword in the Stone again, I'll stick with my method. 

Ok so back to repairing our scratched discs. I mentioned above that the toothpaste has to be whitening toothpaste, and that it must contain Bi-Carbonate Soda. This is important, because it is the Bi-Carb which actually gets rid of the scratch. Why can't you just use plain ol' Bi-Carb? I guess because this way your discs end up with a minty fresh smell once the scratch is repaired. 

So on to repairing the gray-hair inducing scratches. First load up your cotton bud with a small amount of toothpaste. Then start buffing at the scratch, using small circular motions. You will need to buff all the way up and down the scratch in this manner.

Soon this disc will have a sparkly smile and a new lease on life

Now this method can take a little while to complete, depending on how deep the scratch is, but it is important to persevere because it really does work, and can mean the difference between being able to watch a movie, or throwing it into the bin forever. (Although for some movies that may not be a bad thing. I'm looking at you Disaster Movie)

Ok so once you've buffed the scratch rinse the disc under cold water and check your progress. Again if it is a particularly deep scratch, you may need to repeat the above step several times.

Don't forget to rinse with mouthwash to kill the 99% of germs found in your mouth.

Now one other thing I must mention before you fly into a panic when you see it is the micro scratches. Because Bi-Carb is an abrasive, this method will leave a cloudy patch of micro scratches on your disc once you have removed the initial scratch. While this patch is not pleasing to the eye, it does not affect the ability of the disc to play, unlike the massive scratch you started off with. I tried to take a picture of the CD I just cleaned, just so you could get an idea of what it would look like, but evening light plus reflective surface plus terrible photographer do not make for a very clear image. 

Hopefully pointing it out to you makes it a little easier to see it past the blur and flash.

And there you have it. One way to rescue your CDs and DVDs from extinction. 

Well that is all for now, as you can tell I have a lot more scratches in this disc to buff out if I am going to get to watch it before bed tonight, so I'll leave you until tomorrow where we return for another Spotlight on Mental Health. Until then, stay awesome.

*Edit* I have since discovered that car wax may be able to do the same thing. Is anyone willing to test this for me??