Help....My Droid got wet

[767pilot]

insurance?

I have the insurance but I've already used it once this year for a lost phone. After two claims in a year they drop you so I want to keep that one in my back pocket if I can. I also have 89 bucks that I would like to keep in my back pocket a little longer

 

[Dusty]

Just as a note.

You may have heard the adage of using rice to dry out your tech if it gets wet. It may work for some people but there is a much better way. The grains of rice are covered with a lot of residue (rice-dust I guess you could call it) which can coat the interior of your gadget. This could cause problems with the circuit board and reduce the chances of you saving your device.

First off... It's a good idea to go to your local gun shop and pick up a small bucket of silica gel to keep handy. You know the stuff... that's what's in the packets in a shoebox when you buy shoes. For around $15 it's used to keep humidity levels low for weapon storage. It is also GREAT for drying out a wet device and not leaving contaminants behind.

REMEMBER: The first thing you want to do when your item gets wet is to pop out the battery IMMEDIATELY. This may avoid shorting your device, which is an instant death sentence.

I saved a travel phone when it got soaked on a boat ride last year. I popped out the battery immediately. When I got home I dunked the phone in high purity isopropyl alcohol and swished it around for a few minutes. I dunked the phone in an alcohol rinse because it was soaked with salt-water which is very corrosive, and it'll ruin the metallic components inside the phone. Then I disassembled the phone as far as I could and left it for a week in a dry, warm (NOT HOT) area. Every day or so I shook it firmly it to dislodge the un-evaporated alcohol. Patience, patience, patience. You have to control the urge to put in your battery and test the device. Like I said earlier, power surging through a wet device is a KILLER. Wait until you are fairly certain that the device is dry... then wait some more. A week is a good starting point. For me, a week later and I was pulling contacts from the phone.

Getting an electronic device wet is bad news right off the bat. These techniques aren't guaranteed. Your device's chances of survival are extremely low to begin with. So don't blame me if it still doesn't work.

Just a tip for anyone who has has ever gotten their gear wet... or will.