Lat week I went for a little swim, and forgot that I had my cell phone clipped to my trunks. (There's a story there... hang on for it...) It was dead. Totally dead.

I had a good hunch on how to fix the phone, having dealt with my fair share of keyboards soaked in coffee, pop, and various all-purpose cleaners in my day job. A quick check on Google confirmed my hunch.

See this red dot? It means "I've been swimming!"
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Executive Summary:
For any electronic device that gets wet, immediately do the following:
-Take out the battery (if any)
-Unplug it, and any cables attached
-Shake out as much water/liquid as you can.
-Take it apart, as much as you can.
-If the spill is just water, you're in clover.
-Is the spill is something that doesn't dry cleanly, you have some work. Any sugar, salt, or other gooey stuff is bad. Try to rinse it out with clean water. Start over from the beginning.
-Place it in a sunny window, on a warm lamp, or in front of a fan in a warm place.
-Let it dry for 2 days. Seriously.
-Do not try to turn it on, charge it, connect it, or test it until it is done drying for 2 days.
-Batteries may be dead and need a full charge, but you should be ready to go!


Details on Wet Electronics
Water, in and of itself, isn't fatal to electronics. In fact, some low voltage electronics can work sumberged in clean water. The problem is that water conducts electricuty, though not well. Odds are you'll short something out, and drain batteries quickly.

Hard drives are a while different beast. If you've got, say, an iPod with a hard drive that got submerged - well, you're toast. Go shopping.

The 2 real problem are rust (if it stays wet for very long) and "sticky". Keyboards especially don't fare well with sticky spills, as there are moving parts to get stuck. Sugar, dairy, and anything else that doesn't dry cleanly is a problem.

I've cleaned more keyboards than I can count by putting them in a utility closet tub, and running hot water on & though them. That's a good time to scrub off the finger-grime on the keys, too. I would then prop them up in front of a box fan for a few days. When done, I'd have a like-new keyboard.

Almost all cell phones warranty plans don't cover water damage. A lot of cell phones, like mine, have a white dot sticker that turns red when exposed to water. (See pic above) That's to keep you from turning in a claim for water damage as something else.


The Story
OK, we've had more than our fair share of mechanical problems with our jet-ski. Being a prepared kind of guy, I've taken to putting my cell phone in a large zip-lock bag. I then clip the sealed in phone to my trunks. That way I've got waterproof communications.

Well, Friday I wanted to do a quick trip with my 3 year old. I neglected to use a zip-lock bag. First time ever.

As fate would have it (or my poor driving, take your pick), I ended up in some lily pads. Clogged up the intake very efficiently. Knowing the fix, I hopped in the water, reached in to clean out the weeds, and we were off again. 2 minutes later it hit me what I had done. Gone swimming with a cell phone.

Doh!

Well, 2 days later I had a dried out cell phone that was working great again.

Today I dropped it in the tub getting a kid out of a bath. AW NUTS! (pardon my French)

The phone is drying out on the lamp again. [sigh]


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