What's new
What's new

OT - drying a wet cell phone - help!

Hoppy

Cast Iron
Joined
Feb 21, 2005
Location
Millington, NJ
Splash! I bent over to put food in the dog's bowl this morning and my cell phone fell out of my pocket and into her water bowl. :mad: Operation is now erratic at best. :( Can I dry it out some how and expect it to work properly again?
 
I know a few people who got theirs wet and they still work.

I'd just let it sit for a few days and not touch anything on it.
 
Remove the battery immediately. Open up the phone to the extent possible. Blow it out with compressed air if you have it; the battery too. Dry it with a hair dryer holding it in your hands while doing so. You don't want to get the phone too warm or the plastic will warp. If your fingers are part of what's being warmed up you're more likely to keep temps under control.
 
I've done it a couple times. I took the battery out and left the battery cover off and laid it outside in the direct sunlight for a few hours. Seemed to work fine afterward.
 
I work in an oceanographic research lab as an electronics tech, so I have a fair bit of experience salvaging wet electronic gear.


The first thing we tell field crews to do is NOT TO LET THE EQUIPMENT DRY OUT until they get it back into the shop. Once the equipment starts to dry, corrosion sets in immediately, especially in a salt water situation. Remove the batteries immediately, and rinse the equipment with distilled water to remove as much of the dirty water as possible. If it will be a while before you can dissasemble and dry the device, keep it submerged in distilled water.

Although it may seem counterintuitive, water itself is actually not all that damaging to electronics. It is all the stuff DISSOLVED in the water that causes problems. Most electronics are actually washed with water at the factory nowadays.

Once on the bench, standard procedure is to disassemble the device down to individual circuit boards, and wash with a mild solvent like anhydrous IPA to displace the remaining water from all the crevices. Simpler components can then be dried under a heatlamp or hot air blower, while more complex items get placed in a vacuum oven at around 120F for a couple of hours. Certain components need to be removed from boards before being given the vacuum treatment, such as batteries and large electrolytic caps, which can rupture under external vacuum.

Connectors and the like are washed out with a suitable contact cleaner, and given a shot of DeOxit. Any socketed ICs are pulled out and the socket contacts cleaned in a similar manner.
 
My dad just did that, he put his in the washer by accident. For a good 5 minutes at least.
After advice from his brother, he put it in the oven on the lowest setting for about 2 hours. TAKE THE BATTERY OUT FIRST.
The oven lowest temperature in that one is 170 degrees.
Before, his phone was totally soaked, screen and everything. Would not turn on.
After he did that, now it works good as new, you cannot even tell. I couldnt believe it.
Can't guarantee anything, but it sure did work for him.
 
Take out the battery and blast it with WD-40. I used to do that with hand held radios that were dropped in water. I saved one that had sat wet for two days. A friend had a cell phone go thru the washing machine. We took it apart and cleaned it with WD and contact cleaner.
 
MIne went through a full hot/cold wash cycle followed by 10 minutes of dryer before I noticed. I just took it out of the dryer, removed the battery, and let it sit for 24 hours. Then I got impatient, replaced the battery (which was dead) and recharged it. The screen looked funky from the water but that's since gone away.

A dogbowl shouldn't have too many dissolved nasties in it, so maybe you should try just letting it dry with the battery out.
 
I have salvalged more complicated equipment that was dropped in worse waters.

As said, water is not that harmful when properly dried out. Yes, first remove the battery if possible. Also remove any covers/plastic that you can. I would try washing it with pure alcohol - you can get 99% pruity at the drug store or Wal-Mart. A complete submerging would be best. Swish it around for a minute or two and then take it out and then remove it and let it dry. The alcohol will displace the water in the smallest crack or crevice and will also help to remove any impurities that the water may have introduced.

Be sure it is completely dry before reinstalling the battery and turning it on. This may take a few days as there can be some very small spaces in there where the water/alcohol can collect. Be patient.

I wouldn't recommend WD for the circuitry or even the plastic parts as it may cause some damage. I just don't know. It may be fine for a sealed unit like the battery. I wouldn't recommend too much heat either. Ditto on the damage thing.

Paul A.
 
I dropped my POS Kyocera into my iced tea; the bottom half is all that went in and I pulled it right out. It immediately stopped working. I fixed it by buying a new one for $149.
 
Had a phone go through the wash cycle. Found it 2 days later. I called it over and over agin, but I dont think it was ringing.
I took out the battery and removed the faceplates. I put mine in front of airconditioner vent in my car on the way to work and it was fine except the keys werent always doing what they were supposed to. so I cleaned everything and its been working for months sense.
 
Flipped a kayak a few weeks ago and while laying sideways at the dock, remembered the cell phone in my pocket. It had a 0.001% chance of going for a swim but this was the day.

As others have said, immediately remove the battery and don't put it back it for a WHILE. Take your shop vac and hold it near every end for a minute. After this, I had to (Samsung A310) pop the decorative panel, remove the front panel screws and take apart the front case assembly. Had to pop the mike and speaker out of their recesses (held by a gummy glue), blow canned air thru the various layers of circuit boards on the display and behind it. THIS IS IMPORTANT as there was considerable water trapped between the boards. After that, dried it for several hours in a cardboard box with old fashioned hair dryer hose blowing into it (around 40 degrees C).

If you can't open up the guts, at least lay it fully open with battery out and keep it real warm for a number of hours to drive off the moisture. Just don't get it too hot (a desk lamp can bake it if left too long, too close) or you'll damage the display and perhaps the case.

If it was salt water, you're pretty much screwed without a full fresh water (distilled would be best) rinse of the entire thing with a dry similar to above.

Den
 
I have done the following...

1. Take battery out
2. Take off cover
3. Go to radio shack and buy some PCB (Printed circuit board cleaner) and wash off with this.
4. Let sit for 48 to 72 hours.

Put battery on, turn on anc check. If it works, put the covers on again.

PCB claner is used for printed circuit boards that may have plastic components on it. Will not eat the plastic components.
 
My cell phone fell with the keys down into a puddle of spilled beer. (a sequence of accidents).

My phone is always in my shirt pocket.

Took the phone apart, removed all the metal shavings and dried the components out. Phone has worked fine since. Did not realize that many chips went inside my shirt pockets.
Jim
 
I am telling you, the oven worked again. My Girlfriend left hers out in the rain yesterday. It would not work, all the buttons kept activating.
Took out the battery, put the phone in the oven. an hour later, let it cool off, put the battery in, it worked good as new.
Heat doesn't affect it, when I say put it in, I mean on the lowest setting. Which is about 150 degrees. Thats really not that hot and shouldnt hurt it. But its enough to dry it out and make it work good.
 
A guy at the office knocked his off his belt clip and into the toilet while taking a leak...............?? Got a new phone. Asked me if I wanted his old case or anything........... right.
 
Mine set at the bottom of the lake while I was
docking my boat. I figured it was toast. My husband went in after in a few minutes later. We tried a hair dryer to dry it out, but it would turn on and then do nothing.
It didn't work for a week. Then I turned it back on and bingo it was working. Must have dried out on its own. It has been working great and the pictures on it are clear as ever. That happened about 3 months ago.
 
Oh, this is funny. Wild timing. You see, I have this "friend" who decided to walk back to the hotel from a nearby bar during a torrential downpour while on a business trip.

He somehow managed to fall into a little pond during the 200yard adventure. What a moron! I mean, really!

Anyhoo, I took it, I mean he took it apart and laid it on the console of a 757 for a two 2.5 hour flights (it's very dry in airplanes). Worked perfectly after that.

To give an idea of how dry, his shorts dried out in less than 2 hours, whereas the previous 12 hours in the hotel room barely made a difference, they were still dripping drops of water.

Tools

This happened the day before yesterday.
 








 
Back
Top