Katrina flooded my DVDs
 

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.

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 :up:

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.

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

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.

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

U kidding right? da heck?

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.

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...

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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. :(

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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!

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!

I'm interpreting this as, if possible, keep the DVDs, still in cases so as not to scratch them up, in a dry place for a few days. Then use water and a microfiber cloth like you use to clean glasses to clean the DVDs. Soap/rubbing alcohol is probably a bad idea, but may be necessary. And I'm just thinking about sand and dirt, I don't know if you need to worry about bacteria. But I imagine that pressed DVDs would be more resistant to particles than DVD-Rs, so maybe drying them out isn't even a concern.

After you wash them, I would put one in just enough water to wash off any remaining residues, swish it around, and let it soak for a few minutes. Then ph the water. If it is anything other than neutral than there might be some chemical residue that needs to be neutralized to keep it from affecting the surface long-term. Also, check the surface of the water for any oily sheen which could be a solvent, which will not register on a ph strip.

Hopefully you could restore your covers by printing new ones off a cover art site?

i know what i posted was about recordable dvds, however i think all pressed dvds contain multiple layers, and i don't mean single vs dual. they have a data layer that is stuck between 2 polycarbonate layers and they are literally glued on to each other. that's the process to actually create them i think.

maybe i am wrong though.

dvdrs just add another element to the data layer, which is pits and grooves.

That was my first thought too! It's not worth risking your health to salvage some DVDs. Here's a link with more info on toxins in the floodwaters:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,168706,00.html

Sorry for your loss. Hope your friends and family are all safe too.

another vote ban for
scott1598

I'm sorry for your loss (everything).

that's fine. the OP didn't mention anything else about loss until the latter posts. i merely saw the first and took exception that's all. now, he says all he does and i am truly sorry and hope he regains all he can as soon as he can.
if this is my last post because of all the flaming which pilot specifically said not to be done, so be it. i have enjoyed reading and writing here to the fullest.

scott, (hmm, your edit kinda makes this sound silly, whatever)
It's a DVD forum, we talk about DVDs. You would've ripped him an even bigger new one if he asked about his furniture here. I suggest you stop before a mod agrees with the ban police above. Just because a tragedy happens doesn't mean all life stops. How many days is he supposed to wait before deciding what to do with a few hundred of his possessions that were damaged? Should he burn his house down since others lost their's completely? Just because somebody asks about his DVDs doesn't mean he doesn't have other problems from this mess. He's the one living through it, geez!

cleaver,
For cleaning the DVDs, I would definitely recommend soap, probably a degreaser/antibacterial like the appropriat Dawn in this case. It's just plastic of whichever sort, and (as mentioned) this water is potentially very nasty. DVDs are one of the few things that could actually survive since they are so durable. Furniture, walls, clothes, anything paper or porous, etc would all simply be trash after this kind of damage. My MIL had water damage recently (nothing like Katrina caused) and essentially nothing survived.

rubix,
DVDs are not glued. They are all plastic outside. I think they are sorta welded together with more plastic. LDs are glued, they would most likely be dead after water damage.

Honestly, I would look at this as an opportunity. I lost all my personal belongings in a house fire 2 years back. However, I got to rebuild my collection from the ground up. With no bad eggs in it at all.

It's obvious he lost more than his DVDs; after all it was a flood. Man, you have to be totally clueless not to know that.

I had a hot water heater crack just off of my living room in my last apartment about 2 years ago. Because it was a huge hole, we had 120 gallons of water gush into our living room and kitchen in a matter of minutes. Everything that was on the floor was soaked, including a handful of my DVD's that I had left sitting around in front of my entertainment center. We were scrambling to move all of our expensive furniture (especially the antiques) out of the way, the HDTV, and unplug all the electrical devices before the water reached them and, of course, deal with the water leak itself. So consequently my DVD's ended up sitting in several inches of water - water filled with carpet cleaning chemicals, dirt, and a lot of pet dander - for close to a half hour. All but one of them played fine after cleaning them off with some sterile water and drying with a clean 100% cotton cloth. The one that was ruined had water visible inside the inner layers of the disc that you could move around by pinching it. Obviously, mine weren't exposed to water as long as your's were, but there's still a good chance that you can recover some of them.

My heart goes out to you for your loss. I've been through a major hurricane here in Hawaii, so I know how scary the destruction can be. Fortunately, in my case our house merely took in some sea water and had a few windows smashed (we also had some furniture from our lanai get swept away). I don't know what I'd do if I was in your situation (total destruction). I don't wish that on anybody. Just try to keep your head up. Thank God you and your family are safe - that's the most important thing.

First and foremost, sorry for your loss.

I would think that water and soap would take care of your dvds. I would be willing to bet most will be fine after a good cleaning. As far as the cases, it might be easier to pick up some replacements and download some coverart. Hopefully since you have internet access you have a printer available. Don't pay too much for the cases, coverart, time, etc considering alot of dvds have dropped substantially in price.

On a lighter note, after you get things settled down you should watch alot of movies since the laser on your dvd player might help further sterilize you dvds!!!

DVDs are made of two polycarbonates glued together with the data layer(s) in-between.

It seems that Scott1598 is pretty clueless and insensitive.

Very sorry for your loss and insurance situation. When my basement has flooded (twice, and quite/very minor in comparison - less than an inch deep) due to rain, I found dehumidifiers and a wet/dry vac of great help. You'll probably need to designate one room or area as the 'dry' area, and put your DVDs and a dehumid unit or two in there. I don't know what the supply/demand situation is for dehumid units and wet/dry vacs, but get good ones if you can. I have two Sears dehumid units and the top of the line one greatly outperforms the lesser model. And you don't want to mess around with water in the house. The other thing I have, but haven't used (thank goodness) is a water pump that hooks up to garden hoses and will pump water out of the basement - if ever needed. Might try to find one of those too at Lowes, Home Depot, etc. Hope you have electricity, too.

Hang in there, Bud.

And Scott1598, I'm not sure it speaks well for you that you aren't sorry until the further losses are mentioned. Geez, of course he lost more, and this is, last I checked, a DVD forum. Many decidedly trivial (to outsiders, but not to posters and responders) DVD issues are fetishized here, and no one gets attacked for that - inserts, etc. And here is a very serious DVD issue and you dump. For shame. Shame on you.