Ever dropped your cell phone in a puddle, or worse, the toilet? If your cell takes an unexpected dunking, follow these steps to avoid a trip to the gadget graveyard.
Unfortunately, if your cell mixes with other liquids, these steps won't work - a technician should clean with distilled water and alcohol as soon as possible. Juice, coffee, soda or a grimy puddle will corrode the inside of your cell. The longer it dries, the more concentrated the substance will become.
Source:I don't know. It was passed on to me as a magazine clipping but no identifying source
By leanne chaisson from Williams Lake, BC
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I second the rice trick. I put my husband's phone in rice for 3 days after a trip in the washing machine and it worked like always! We did have to get a new battery, but it sure beat getting a new phone!
A friend of mine dropped his cell phone in a bucket of paint. He quickly fished it out and cleaned it up. He let it dry in the sun for about a day and a half. It still worked when he finally started to use it again.
I have done both of these things, putting it in a ventilated spot, and also burying it in rice. One thing that is being forgotten here tho, is you should also remove the SIM card when you remove the battery so that it can dry along with the spot it was in.
I dropped my cell phone in the toilet! I immediately asked my son what to do. He said to get a bag of RICE and completely bury the phone in the rice in an OPEN position and let it there for THREE DAYS. I did so and when I checked three days later it worked! That was THREE years ago and I'm still using the SAME phone with no problems!
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Help! I just unloaded my washer and found my cell phone in a pants pocket. Is there any saving it, my whole life is in that thing? Thanks.
By FloraDee from TN
Do NOT try to plug in the phone or turn it on. Take it apart and put each piece in raw rice completely covering every part of the phone. Yup, that's right, rice! Leave the parts in the rice undisturbed for 48 hours. The rice will help draw the moisture out of the components. After a few days, reassemble the phone, say a prayer, and try to charge it. Hopefully it will turn on again.
My son has dunked his cell phone; he dried it out by placing it in front of a hot fan (the fan from his PS3). The phone worked just fine after it dried out. I know of others who have not only washed their phones, but run them through the dryer, and they have continued to work.
If you ever drop your cell phone in water, do not turn it on. You may be able to save it if you immediately remove the battery and the SIM card. Place all the pieces in a bowl of dry rice for 48 to 72 hours. The rice will absorb the moisture and the phone may work like new.
By Elaine from Iowa
Wonder if that would work for a phone dropped in a 5 gallon bucket of grape juice. My husband did that little trick and we just got a new one. Probably wouldn't be the same. (03/05/2009)
By Judi
We did this after my hubby's blackberry got wet. I saw the idea in a women's magazines a couple of days before, so we thought it was worth a try. He tried to power it up it up after 48 hours and it briefly worked, but died again. We put it back it the rice for a couple more days and voila, it works like a charm. Great idea as it saved a bundle of money. (03/07/2009)
By Pat
My son just took his battery off, and then put the phone and battery in the vent of his PS3, which blows warm air. Anything like that would work, of course. The next day he had to charge it up twice, but it worked fine after that.
Another kid I know has actually run his phone through the wash cycle more than once, and has been able to use it again. I don't know if he ran it though the dryer or not! LOL (03/09/2009)
By Louise B.
They weren't portable, but there was nothing like the old Bell system phones with the mechanical dials. After one got well drowned in a grimy basement flood, I opened it up, flushed the body and the handset out with a garden hose, and dried the pieces in a warm oven. Worked like a champ for another decade. (03/19/2009)
By Dan
