Older DVDs getting ”sticky”?

[JesterFace]

This may not be the correct section of the forum but I thought that since this has only happened with Trek DVDs, misc section might not be correct either.

Have you experienced ”sticky” DVDs? By that I mean the outer rim of the DVD feels sticky to the touch. Also, the center of the disc around the middle hole may feel sticky.

After a long time I went for my Voyager DVDs. They just feel odd, I don't remember them being like this ever before. I'm not sure if I have experienced this with any other DVDs.

Is this a common thing with DVDs? My DVDs are Region 2 / Europe versions.

 

[cosmic mouse]

Mine are R1 dvds, but I have never experienced this before and some of them I've had for nearly 20 years.
What type of environment are they stored in?

 

[BillJ]

Mine are R1 dvds, but I have never experienced this before and some of them I've had for nearly 20 years.
What type of environment are they stored in?

This. I have had no issues with my Trek DVD's.

 

[ALF]

Are the discs discolored? I was wondering if it was disc rot but then you only mentioned stickiness.
I did a google image search wondering how many different Voyager DVD releases there have been. Judging from the variety of packages there were a number of different pressings - perhaps some higher quality than others.

 

[John Clark]

I've got the region 2 (in this case UK) sets and have not noticed this (yet) anyway.

For the most part, I've got the slimline case sets if that makes much difference.

 

[BillJ]

Could they be bootlegs? Those usually aren't made with the highest quality discs.

 

[Asbo Zaprudder]

I've seen it happen with someone else's DVD stored in an office. Plasticiser leaching out of the disc due to environmental conditions - light, heat, humidity or proximity to other plastics - perhaps?

Online search suggests PVC can leach plasticiser, usually a phthalate, onto discs.

http://www.howtocleanstuff.net/how-to-clean-cd’s-and-dvd’s/

 

[JesterFace]

!!! THIS JUST IN !!!
On more than one disc with PS2 (which I use to watch all DVDs) the machine gives an "unable to read disc" message.

Could they be bootlegs? Those usually aren't made with the highest quality discs.

I believe those are official Trek products, I got them from what I believe to be the biggest online webstore in the northern countries.

 

[JesterFace]

More on that "unable to read disc" mentioned above:

On a 4 episode disc, problems usually start after halfway of the disc...
Episode might begin normally but when jumping to later scenes it's time for error message.

 

[BillJ]

Best I can come up with...

Q: I have The Martian Chronicles on laserdisc, manufactured by 3M. The discs play fine, but there is a "stickiness" along the edge of the disks - almost like glue residue. What's up with that? Can the residue be safely removed?
A: The residue you describe is the glue that holds the two halves of the disc together. Sometimes when the discs were pressed, some glue oozed out the edges and was not fully cleaned up by the factory. Usually this is not a problem unless you're seeing large gobs of glue that might fly off while the disc is spinning inside the player. If that's the case, just carefully scrape them off as best you can. A general stickiness is not something to be concerned about.

Do not try to clean up the glue using any sort of liquid solvent or cleaning solution. That may affect the glue that is actually holding the disc together, and can introduce impurities between the layers that will contribute to laser rot.

https://forum.dvdtalk.com/dvd-home-theater-gear/422844-why-does-my-ld-have-sticky-edges.html

You might want to try to Google the issue and search through various DVD and Laserdisc forums.

 

[JesterFace]

Best I can come up with...

Very useful information, thank you!

The biggest concern with this glue thing is eye sight.
I've had problems with my eyes because of MS (multiple sclerosis) and I'm scared what that (apparently) glue might do to my vision...
I know this sounds weird and hypochondriac but it's a thing that really worries me.

 

[BillJ]

Very useful information, thank you!

The biggest concern with this glue thing is eye sight.
I've had problems with my eyes because of MS (multiple sclerosis) and I'm scared what that (apparently) glue might do to my vision...
I know this sounds weird and hypochondriac but it's a thing that really worries me.

Might want to consider some safety googles. They can be used in multiple situations to protect the eyes.

 

[Santaman]

Chemicals break down and their properties can change over time, I have a laptop which feet turned into a sticky liqued, the thing is from the late '90's, I assume some component in the plastic feet broke down which caused the plastic to become soft.

 

[SPCTRE]

I have experienced sticky DVDs, but I don't like to bring it up in polite conversation

 

[rhubarbodendron]

The biggest concern with this glue thing is eye sight.
I've had problems with my eyes because of MS (multiple sclerosis) and I'm scared what that (apparently) glue might do to my vision...
I know this sounds weird and hypochondriac but it's a thing that really worries me.

I fail to see how a glue leakage on DVDs could possibly have any impact on your eyesight. Could you please explain where you see a connection there (no pun intended) ?

 

[BillJ]

I fail to see how a glue leakage on DVDs could possibly have any impact on your eyesight. Could you please explain where you see a connection there (no pun intended) ?

Debris and dust coming off while cleaning, I would imagine.

 

[WraithDukat]

So so so many jokes about sticky DVDs. Were they R rated DVDs?

 

[JesterFace]

I fail to see how a glue leakage on DVDs could possibly have any impact on your eyesight. Could you please explain where you see a connection there (no pun intended) ?

I know it sound stupid and hypochondriac, but that's just how this disease has made me.

It feels like anything that is not supposed to touch the eyeball might damage it.
First you touch a "gluey" DVD and then scratch your eye for whatever reason, that gluething gets in to the eye, equals weaker eyesight.
As I write this, I know it makes little or no sense. I just can't get rid of the feeling, 10 years of MS has done that.

 

[Avro Arrow]

anything that is not supposed to touch the eyeball

I would assume this translates to "pretty much everything"!

First you touch a "gluey" DVD and then scratch your eye for whatever reason, that gluething gets in to the eye, equals weaker eyesight.

Maybe I'm not understanding the issue fully, but if this was a concern, couldn't you just wash your hands after handling the DVDs in question?

 

[rhubarbodendron]

^^ah, now I get it, JF. How about wearing surgical gloves when handling the DVDs? A box of 100 pcs costs only a a few bucks. They also come handy when peeling beetroots, walnuts or handling sticky stuff. They are so thin that you can feel everything and they don't hamper your motorical skills. Yet they protect the skin and after use you simply pull them off and there's no danger of contaminating your eyes.
I think the excess glue might be removable with a dollop of white spirit (or possibly even with dishwasher detergent). But as a previous poster said you'd have to be careful not to remove too much or else the DVDs might fall apart in two halves. Still, it might be worth a try since the glue might damage your DVD player.

Never mind paranoia - it happens to everyone sooner or later. Nothing to be ashamed of.