Post: What To Do With A Wet Phone
04-04-2009, 03:55 AM #1
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); I see alot of posts from people complaining about phones ruined after being wet. I have saved many pieces of electronic equipment this way (including a turntable that was underwater for a week and an R/C car when the batteries leaked on the board).

The electronics will not be harmed by the water. What WILL harm them is trying to turn them on while circuits are shorted by the water. So DON'T try to turn the phone on until you have done this.

Scientific fact: Pure water does not conduct electricity. It's the impurities in it that conduct. Salt is an excellent conductor, and so is saltwater. So if your phone got wet with saltwater or water with bleach or chlorine in it (ie.- municipal water... chlorine is a "salt"), the first thing to do is remove the battery and SIM card and immerse the phone in distilled water to get the salt out. Distilled water is available in any drugstore and most auto parts stores.

Not only is salt conductive, it's also corrosive and will eat up microcircuits, so this should be done ASAP. This also applies if the battery is overcharged and leaks inside the phone. Battery "juices" are conductive and even more corrosive than salt. You can leave the phone in the distilled water without any damage till you get the silicone or WD-40 for the next step.

You don't have to do the distilled water thing if your phone got wet in fresh water, but it wouldn't hurt just in case there were alot of minerals in the water. Second step is to get a big can of either electronics cleaner, Brake Kleen (available in auto parts stores), or WD-40. Electronics cleaner is pure liquid silicone, and it's the better choice (it won't leave a smell) but in a pinch WD-40 will work (but your phone will smell like it forever). Brake Kleen is a solvent that leaves no smell or residue. Turn the can upside down and push the button till all the pressure is out. Then take a can opener and pop the bottom of the can and pour the stuff in a bowl or something (you want some depth here, so use a small diameter bowl, and make sure you get a big can). Take the phone and put it in the silicone/WD-40 and turn it over and around in the stuff. You want to get the stuff through the whole inside of the phone so turn it in every possible position.

The silicone/WD will drive the water out of the phone, so you want to also turn it so the water can run out of the various openings (like the battery cover) It would be helpful to disassemble the phone as much as possible before doing this, but I realize most people don't have the tools to do it or are afraid to try it. This will work anyway. You may see beads of water at the bottom of the bowl when you are done doing this. That's the water that was in your phone. Leave the phone in the silicone/WD for about 15 minutes and then take it out and let it dry on some paper for about 24 hours. Then it's safe to put your battery back in and charge it.

If your SIM card got wet it's probably shot and you will have to get another one.

The following 8 users say thank you to MATT51723 for this useful post:

Batman™, elfmotat, Oc, Rage, Rurouni83, WilliamsCE24, X Lash
04-06-2009, 11:52 AM #11
PrayForPlagues
The Black Key
The rice thing also works with ipods..
04-08-2009, 09:01 PM #12
WilliamsCE24
Little One
Originally posted by Hank4018 View Post
i wish i would have known this earlier when my first phone got washed :/


ha ha same here....but thanks for sharing nice post
04-10-2009, 04:39 PM #13
khamvongsa09
Save Point
I remember dropping my phone in milk and I was panicking and saying "Oh Shit!!! What do I do!!!???!!" Then I got my phone out of the milk and took the battery out and the micro SD out and dried it in the sun.. For some reason when it dried it smelled like gum? :O
04-11-2009, 04:56 PM #14
Grimsley33
On Top of the Game
thanks this will help if I ever drop it in water or something
04-11-2009, 05:21 PM #15
Jake_ENG
Do a barrel roll!
in fact i dropped my phone in the pond today, i pciekd it out straight away and took battery out...

then i left it to dry for abit on the grass then when i go home turned it on but the buttons didnt work so i put it under hairdryer for 5mins and guess what..

it works :P
04-13-2009, 06:59 AM #16
Originally posted by Steigen View Post
I see alot of posts from people complaining about phones ruined after being wet. I have saved many pieces of electronic equipment this way (including a turntable that was underwater for a week and an R/C car when the batteries leaked on the board).

The electronics will not be harmed by the water. What WILL harm them is trying to turn them on while circuits are shorted by the water. So DON'T try to turn the phone on until you have done this.

Scientific fact: Pure water does not conduct electricity. It's the impurities in it that conduct. Salt is an excellent conductor, and so is saltwater. So if your phone got wet with saltwater or water with bleach or chlorine in it (ie.- municipal water... chlorine is a "salt"), the first thing to do is remove the battery and SIM card and immerse the phone in distilled water to get the salt out. Distilled water is available in any drugstore and most auto parts stores.

Not only is salt conductive, it's also corrosive and will eat up microcircuits, so this should be done ASAP. This also applies if the battery is overcharged and leaks inside the phone. Battery "juices" are conductive and even more corrosive than salt. You can leave the phone in the distilled water without any damage till you get the silicone or WD-40 for the next step.

You don't have to do the distilled water thing if your phone got wet in fresh water, but it wouldn't hurt just in case there were alot of minerals in the water. Second step is to get a big can of either electronics cleaner, Brake Kleen (available in auto parts stores), or WD-40. Electronics cleaner is pure liquid silicone, and it's the better choice (it won't leave a smell) but in a pinch WD-40 will work (but your phone will smell like it forever). Brake Kleen is a solvent that leaves no smell or residue. Turn the can upside down and push the button till all the pressure is out. Then take a can opener and pop the bottom of the can and pour the stuff in a bowl or something (you want some depth here, so use a small diameter bowl, and make sure you get a big can). Take the phone and put it in the silicone/WD-40 and turn it over and around in the stuff. You want to get the stuff through the whole inside of the phone so turn it in every possible position.

The silicone/WD will drive the water out of the phone, so you want to also turn it so the water can run out of the various openings (like the battery cover) It would be helpful to disassemble the phone as much as possible before doing this, but I realize most people don't have the tools to do it or are afraid to try it. This will work anyway. You may see beads of water at the bottom of the bowl when you are done doing this. That's the water that was in your phone. Leave the phone in the silicone/WD for about 15 minutes and then take it out and let it dry on some paper for about 24 hours. Then it's safe to put your battery back in and charge it.

If your SIM card got wet it's probably shot and you will have to get another one.




thanks for the information
05-13-2009, 03:05 PM #17
just use a blow dryer and if that dont work use the number and call the company
08-04-2009, 02:23 PM #18
there is nothing you can really do and in most cases the phone will be dead. The one thing you can try is take off the keypad and put it in sunlight. Thats it see if it works
03-17-2010, 09:20 AM #19
Dry Your phone with hair dryers lolzzz or put your cell phone in your terris where suns rays are high...

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