heliosten

I live in an area that was affected by Katrina. My home got about 4 feet of water from the storm surge and about 300 of my DVDs were underwater. I have been in various hotels for the last 2 weeks, but will be going back into the house tomorrow to start cleanup.

My question is this: Will the water affect the DVDs playwise and is there anything special that I need to do as far as cleaning the discs?

By the way, walking into a flooded house and seeing all of your electronic equipment ruined is something I hope none of you have to go through. All of it less than 6 months old.

TomOpus

Not sure what the correct procedure would be but I'd probably get a bucket (or something similar) of clean water. I'd swosh the disc around, making sure any dirt or silt washes off. Dry with a clean soft cloth, following the normal wiping procedures.

I'd imagine the covers/inserts would be ruined. You might be able to salvage the cases by washing in clean water and air-drying. Or you might just want to be binders to put the discs in.

Sorry for your loss .... but glad you're okay

Rubix

i found this, which is what i was thinking about the layers unfortunately:

DVD Care: Water Damage

Spills are an unfortunate fact of office life. For some parts of the country, floods are also a fact of life. So, it's worth discussing what's likely to happen if you get that recordable DVD wet or even soaked.

Water will eventually soak into the layers of the DVD disc. The less pure the water is (e.g., coffee is not close to pure water), the more chance of nasty things reacting with the layers inside the DVD.

The chances of getting data off of a DVD that was soaked depend on what it was soaked in and how long. Get the disc clean and dry as soon as possible. If the disc is not readable, do not give up immediately. Moisture that was absorbed into the layers of the DVD may take time to dry out. Keep the disc in a clean, dry environment and retry it every day or so.

Scarface83

Tough loss ya, but much worse could have happened, least you ok...I wouldn't even worry about it, hopefully it will still work, if not, it is replaceable, life isn't

Mr.Briggs

Sorry to hear of your troubles. I can relate having lost most of 500 dvds to Hurricane Charley. I found that most of them that got soaked did not play properly afterward. You might get 3/4 of the way through a movie & then it quit. I found after trying several that they were a loss & luckily my insurance gave me enough to replace them (especially since lots had undergone price reductions). Any Disney dvds you can recover are worth sending back to them. They check out every dvd & if it plays they refund all but a small portion of the money for those discs & replace your case, & inside & outside artwork.

emhello

That's a bit harsh don't ya think?

Scarface83

U kidding right? da heck?

Kocheese99

that's a bit out of line there scott. everyone is aware that many lives were lost and houses were destroyed, but its time to pick up the pieces and someone came here looking for advice on how to put a piece of his life back together. so don't crap all over it ok.

anyways op: one thing you might want to try is to find a place that resurfaces dvd's, it's worth a shot and couldn't hurt. you might be able to save a few of the more expensive ones. And good luck with everything down there.

NobleRabbit

Why don't we take it a step further and think about the German Genocide? Pffft some loss of lives and homes are nothing compared to THAT!

.......

Loss is loss, and instead of being insensitive and morally righteous, maybe you could have some sympathy for all victims of this tragedy.

On Topic: My brother has left a few of my DVDs in a bucket of Coke for a few days, and they surprisingly worked fine afterwards...

tonymontana313

Regardless how you feel about his loss, it is still a loss anyway you look at it. I am more appalled with your response rather than the OP's thread.

heliosten

Gee thanks. Considering that I lost everything that I own...EVERYTHING, your response really helps me out. I had no insurance because my home hasn't flooded in the 35 years that it's been there, so I won't get any coverage at all. Who would have thought that Lake Pontchatrain would flood 5 miles inland? My home as well as everything in it is a total loss. My post was mainly to find out if I was going to be able to salvage anything at all of my beloved DVD collection.

pilot

let's keep the stupid responses to yourself. heliosten is asking a good question that could happen to almost anybody in any sort of freak disaster. if you have nothing nice to say, regardless if you're joking or not, keep it to yourself.

scott1598, this is directed towards you, and to others who may want to post something stupid in response.

Yocke

Stupid question perhaps, but I need to know... Why?

stinkeye

One solution would be to wipe all your discs dry, and get your hands on a dehumidifier. Lay them out or hang them like you would a clothsline individually in a room you can isolate. Sorry to hear about all your loss, hope you can salvage your collection.

JCFantasy23

It's so horrible what has happened. So many people lost so much. I couldn't imagine it, my DVDs are the biggest collection I own in terms of collections, and besides the computer, the most prized possession. I hope you are able to salvage them or at least most.

heliosten

You just can't imagine it unless you see it for yourself. I went back to my community Friday. My jaw was on the ground the entire time. My town was in the west eyewall of the hurricane. The National Weather Service clocked sustained winds of 176 mph with gust up to 190 mph. You just cannot imagine the damage that winds of that strength can do. New Orleans has gotten most of the media coverage due to the post-storm flooding, but the wind damage to the east of New Orleans was much, much worse on top of the storm surge which was 26 feet in my town.

Erreth

Nice comment scott1598. So because others lost stuff more important than what he has MENTIONED here he should just STFU? Like to see your reaction upon learning your equipment and media are all gone. In fact if your so appaled by all this why don't you sell your DVD collection and donate the proceeds to others less fortunate than yourslef.

wolverine1028

Best wishes on a speedy recovery for your family and your community.

RoboDad

Note that the information that was posted above really only applies to recordable media, which has a completely different type of layer structure than a pressed, pre-recorded DVD. The chances of your DVDs being OK is (or should be) pretty high. Just be careful not to damage them while cleaning off the muck. And be sure to wear gloves and protective clothing. I'm not sure how deep the water is now where you lived, but I would suggest that you at least wear rubber boots. There are probably some nasties in the water that can do far more damage to you than to your DVD collection.

Oh and it goes without saying that the cases are probably toast.

Seantn

Seriously, Scott. Way out of line, and totally pointless.

To OP- I'm sorry to hear about losing everything. That must be pretty devastating. As others have mentioned, at least you're still here.

SINGLE104

I have total empathy for everyone who were affected from the terrible debacle of Hurricane Katrina, and my heart goes out to you all. Material possessions that are not of a necessity can be replaced in the future, but the most important thing is that God spared your life, while so many others have died during this horrific catastrophe.

DVDs and other electronic entertainment belongings is not of an importance at this critical time in life. To be able to have food, water, and shelter for survival is strictly a blessing.

NatrlBornThrllr

Not to do the jobs of the mods and admin, but in my opinion, that's worthy of a ban. Showing such a lack of consideration (and going as far as to attack a person) in the face of such a loss is completely unacceptable. I hope, if he isn't banned, that he can't make another post on these boards without running into animosity. Disrespectful, inconsiderate, and completely uncalled for. "I don't feel sorry for you in the least." I rarely take the internet seriously, but I'm beyond disgusted.

-JP

T.Bickle

I don't know how contaminated the flood water in your area was or is but I would think that some of the chemicals that reportedly entered the water could've had an acidic or damaging affect that plain H20 would not. I would be really careful when cleaning your discs; I would think that if the water in your area wasn't too contaminated then a thorough cleaning should work.

I wouldn't go as far as saying "God spared you" (if there was some God sitting around consciously killing some and sparing others I think that would make him a pretty big asshole) but I do give you my best wishes and thoughts, I hope that things work out for you and yours.

SINGLE104

I don't know what your religious beliefs are, and I don't particularly care, but maintain your blasphemous quotations toward God to yourself.

danwiz

I totally agree that scott1598 should be banned from these boards forever. He asks some of the weirdest questions himself, and then when somebody runs into a disaster and asks a question which many people may like to hear answered, he says something like he did. I am very happy that all of you are flaming him. I hope that the administrators will take another look at his post, look at his history of posts and ban the sucker!