How Can I Clean The Inside Of My Blu-ray Player

How do you clean the inside of a DVD player?

What makes you think it needs cleaning?Very few DVD players have air circulating through them in a way that would cause dust or dirt to accumulate.  Additionally, there is little about the function of the player that would suffer from some small amount of dust. If the player has been in a very dirty environment, it's possible that some internal components in the transport or lens/have a speck of dust in just the wrong place and it is causing problems.  It can't hurt to try one of the lens cleaning discs like this: These have actual tiny brushes on the surface of the disc that can remove or blow off some of the dust from internal components.   Again these were mostly useful back when CD and other players had fans and vents where outside air could get in, or for portable and car players where a smoky or dusty environment was more typical; today they are mostly placebos, but are cheap (under $10 for a re-usable disc) and worth a try. If for some reason you really feel your player is dirty inside and needs to be cleaned then the process is fairly obvious: unplug it, remove the little screws holding the cover on (keeping them carefully for later replacement), remove the cover, then use cotton swabs and isopropyl alcohol to gently scrub whatever parts you think are dirty before reversing the disassembly process.  You probably don't want to do this last thing.  Honestly, this is a pain in the neck, is only slightly likely to fix anything, and has the distinct possibility of making things worse.   The only way I'd recommend it is for the geeky pleasure of seeing the "guts" of your player.   Even Blu-Ray players are so inexpensive now that there is little reason to spend time and energy trying to fix a broken one.

How do I clean a skipping CD player?

There are CD-size cleaning discs with little "eyelashes" that brush the lens as they spin, but often the problem is the actual CD. You can wash CDs if they seem at all dusty or dirty or if you can see light through holes in the reflective surface when held up to the light. Only wipe dry from inside out, not in a circle, unlike records. Or if they're CD-Rs that have been left out or in the sun, the chemistry of the recordable layer is easily damaged. If it skips on ALL CDs, no matter how clean or new, the lens cleaner is really your only option. At least replacement CD players have hit rock bottom in price these days if worst comes to worst. And used ones are in ready supply, even better models that have been obsoleted by multi-use DVD or Blu-ray players that also play CDs. Speaking of which, it might actually be cheaper to get a good player like these since they're so competitive in price, maybe even a "smart" player with apps. I see refurb and even new smart Blu-ray units under $50 these days, which is less than any repair on the CD player would cost. Good luck! And if the CD is dead, recycle responsibly!

When a Blu-Ray disc does not play, what is happening inside the player?

The "grinding" sound you hear is the laser pickup moving trying to read the disc.  If it's unable to read the disc it could be dirty, could be failing, could be poorly-aligned, or the disc could be dirty.  I'd suggest cleaning the disc first (radially from the center, not in a circle), and if that doesn't work you might consider blowing compressed air into the disc slot, or better yet taking the cover off the player (unplug it first) and blowing the air at the laser, which hopefully will be fairly obvious as the part which can move back and forth.  Otherwise the player may be failing; the good news is that you can probably replace a three-year old player with a much better one (more internet features) for less than half the price you paid originally.

My Blu-ray firmware is up to date. Why is it having trouble playing certain Blu-ray discs?

My guess is either the disc or the optical reader inside of the player itself is dirty. I've had similar issues with my bluray and "next gen" consoles which use Blu-ray Discs to hold the game data. Often times the problem comes down to just a tiny smudge on the disc that I didn't see the first few times I looked at it. Try cleaning the disc with diluted rubbing alcohol (mixed with water) and a clean, soft lint free cloth. Clean gently and go from the center out to the edge - do not clean in circles as this will create scratches. If this doesn't work, you can find cleaning kits with a CD that has a small brush built in on the data side of the disc. This will remove any dust or debris from the optical sensor inside the player. Often times these cleaning kits will have a small bottle or diluted isopropyl alcohol and you place 1-2 drops on the brush head. Finally - If the player still skips after a proper cleaning, try updating the firmware if possible. If that doesn't work, it may be time for a new bluray player.Make sure that wherever you keep your electronics has proper ventilation. Airflow is important! Without proper ventilation the heat can easily build up enough to melt the compounds used to transfer heat from the circuit chips to the heat sinks!