How do you clean a Super Drive?

After 4 years of pretty intense use my drive stopped burning DVDs but would still burn CDs and play DVDs. I kept getting the same media sense error. I tried cleaning the lens by shooting some compressed air in the slot, running a "cleaner" disc (with the brushes on it), and inserting a slim plastic card covered with a microfiber cloth. None of that worked. So I finally resorted to opening up my MacBook Pro, taking out the drive, and opening it up. All along the way I was blasting with compressed air to remove any dust or hairs I saw. I used a Q-tip dipped in rubbing alcohol to gently wipe the lens and another (unidentified) part that had some dust that wouldn't blow off. I put it all back together and it now burns DVDs again without errors. I am elated that I didn't have to buy a replacement optical drive. If you want to go this route I recommend following the instructions on ifixit.com. They'll show you how to get inside your laptop.

There are kits made specifically to clean optical drives. Often a spritz from a canned of compressed air will dislodge any dust buggies that are causing problems.