Soaking wet dvds a total loss?
6Thought we had come through the bitter cold pretty good but…
We found a leaky pipe this morning. The pipe itself and resulting floor damage is not too bad. Pipe can be replaced and floor needed done anyway.
Worst we have so far is a large collection of burned dvds and blurays drenched. I am pulling them apart and setting them on paper towels to dry. We are hoping to save them. Anyone know if the water has already claimed them?
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The discs should be fine as long as they weren’t burnt or warped by heat. The case artwork is obviously another matter.
KuoH
@kuoh Very little artwork. So we may be good. Thank you!
Agree, dry carefully or rinse with clean water and dry once. Center to edge. They should be fine!
@2palms Not looking forward to the cleaning but it will be worth it. Th ank you!
The discs won’t care about the water. Just dry them and they’ll be good as new.
@shahnm Thank you!
I have an older version of this CD cleaner. It might be faster than wiping every disc from center to edge using a towel.
@SSteve I might have one of those somewhere. I will have to look. Thank you!
I rescued a stack of discs that sat in seawater for two days after Super Storm Sandy. The muck dried on them for another week before we were allowed in the house. I washed them off with soap and water, then air dried. They are fine.
@beachbum That sounds like good news for mine. Thank you!
The only worry with discs getting drenched (and it doesn’t happen very often) is water getting between the layers via an open center hub. Only some discs are made this way. If you see water between the layers around the center hub, I’d let those discs dry for a few weeks after cleaning. Otherwise they should be just fine after a gentle rinse with clean water and drying with a soft cloth.
@PooltoyWolf That was my main worry. I will be trying some out over the weekend. Fingers crossed.
@speediedelivery They should be just fine, but I’ll root for ya!
if you’re concerned about water spots or the water was not clean, wipe them carefully with a clean microfiber cloth wetted in a solution of 50/50 isopropyl alcohol and water.
and when wiping DVDs wipe from the center to the edge. Do not wipe in circles.
@RedOak The water was clean but sisked through a section of floor and ceiling and is gritty dirty on some of the discs. We will have to be careful cleaning them. Thank you!
@speediedelivery lots of fast flowing water and clean microfiber towels! Get a big pack of them at Costco/SAMs for cheap.
They (to a point) are effective grit grabbers - that’s why car details use them by the pallet load.
I mean, they’re made of plastic, right?
@Pantheist Yes, but layered. I didn’t know if soaking in water would get inbetween and make them unplayable. I am hoping a careful cleaning will save them.
@speediedelivery Ah, I hadn’t thought about that. Are there gaps in the layers big enough for water to seep in though?
All legally burned copies right.
@MrMark Of course. Parents used a camcorder for several years, often. We burned the vhs from the older camera and have discs from the newer one. There are some really nice preschool concerts and dance recitals I can share if anyone is interested. (Not me, I was older and moved out by then.)
Cool project Mom did - she sat down with her father when he was about 80. She asked him to talk about how he met his wife and what life was like growing up. I enjoy watching that one now and then.
They need organized and stored better after this mess.
Agree with the consensus that water is not much of a problem for CDs/DVDs. You can always rinse them off well then lay them out to dry (burned side up). Shouldn’t be much of a problem. As long as there isn’t any residue on them they shouldn’t spot (could always final rinse with distilled water if your water is too hard and makes spots)
Interestingly, USB thumbdrives are also relatively impervious to water as demonstrated by those that I have inadvertently sent through the washer!
@chienfou Most people don’t know that unless it was powered on at the time, or it was salt water, most electronics will be fine as long as they are rinsed with fresh, clean water and allowed to dry thoroughly for several days, preferably in a very hot and dry environment. I’ve cleaned very dirty TVs by sticking the mainboards in the dishwasher!
@PooltoyWolf I took a slide down a waterfall (not intentionally) one October in the UP of Michigan. Besides hurting my ass (and my pride) when I stopped at the bottom the Canon DSLR I was carrying ended up in the drink. I snatched it out as soon as I realized, toweled it off the best I could, took off the lens and removed the battery then stuck it in the toaster oven on warm overnight. I shot a wedding with it the next day… God I love that camera!
@chienfou That’s amazing, and pretty much what I mean! My worst fear would have been water spots inside the lens.
@chienfou @PooltoyWolf The electronics I knew you can dry out and do well. A bluray and vcr player was also wet but I have them drying out. Good to know about the usb drives since I use them often for pictures.
I did lose a Sony camera years ago to a waterfall shower. I was on a boat trip at Iguazu Falls and the guide made a joke about taking us under a section of the falls. Only it was not a joke. The camera was on and I was too impatient to let it dry out. I did recover the photos.
We have a Canon D40 now and I really like it. I need to learn more about to get better use out of it, though.
@speediedelivery Iguazu Falls… jealous
Yeah, things like that are a bummer. Thankfully you were able to salvage the pics. My biggest fear back in the day was that my rolls of film would get messed up going thru security, or get wet or lost somehow. I remember bringing back dozens of rolls of film from Machu Pichu. Nowadays with digital even if the camera goes tits up you can generally retrieve the pics off the card, which is why I don’t use the internal storage if I can avoid it. Plus you can get a ton of pics on media that takes up very little space.
Canon 40D is a nice unit, I’m shooting a T5. I would definitely encourage you to learn to take advantage of it. Most of my DSLR knowledge is leftover 35mm SLR stuff!! Having some basic understanding will make you a MUCH better photographer.
(and I don’t care what anyone says… a phone is not a “camera”. You can take pics with it but it definitely won’t get as good a shot as a decent DSLR with some good glass)
@PooltoyWolf BTW the lens I had on the T5 when it took a bath WAS a loss. Fortunately I had several with me to choose from for the rest of the pics.
@chienfou Oh yeah, I can imagine!
One other thing I just thought of- if they have labels on them that got messed up, peel them off completely- you don’t want off-balance dvds.