Let’s face it, it’s one of our worst nightmares. You accidentally dropped your cell phone in the bath (or even worse – the toilet) or jumped into the pool with it in your pocket, or your phone got wet whilst walking in the rain.
But don’t panic! Here are some first aid tips for rescuing your drowned phone.
Pull your phone out of the water immediately
Whether you’ve dropped your phone in the toilet, bathtub, or a lake, the first step is to get it out of the water ASAP. The longer you leave your phone in the water, the more water damage it will absorb.
Leaving the phone in water for a longer period of time will allow water to soak into and saturate more of the interior electrical components.
Remove the phone’s battery and other interior parts.
Before you take any steps to dry off the outside surfaces of the phone, pull out the electrical components. Open the phone case and pull out the battery and the SIM card. If you’ve inserted a micro SD card into your phone, pull that out as well.
- The interior components are crucial to the phone’s functions. If they get saturated with water, the phone won’t work.
Blow water off of the phone components and wipe them dry with a towel
Blowing on the electrical parts of your phone will remove the majority of water from them. Wiping the phone parts down with a clean, dry towel will remove any remaining moisture on the parts’ surface. You should only rely on drying agents to remove residual moisture that’s worked its way into the components of your phone.[7]
- Instead of blowing on the phone components, you could also shake them rapidly back and forth through the air. Be careful not to inadvertently throw your battery across the room, though.
Try some crystal-based cat litter
Crystal cat litter is made of silica gel. This material is extremely absorptive and will do an excellent job of pulling residual moisture out of a water-damaged phone. You can purchase crystal cat litter at any large grocery store or pet-supply shop.
Do not use any other type of cat litter. Clay-based or powdery litters may stick to your phone and turn it into a wet, clay-covered mess.
Give instant oatmeal a try
Instant oatmeal is more absorptive than regular rolled oats and more much absorptive than steel-cut oats. If you already have instant oatmeal in your home cabinet, it may be the most effective substance you can use to dry your phone. Be aware that if you use oatmeal to dry your phone components, you may end up with a phone covered in small, gooey bits of oatmeal dust.
You can purchase unflavored instant oatmeal at your local grocery store.
Find some synthetic desiccant packets you could use
Synthetic desiccant packets are those 3⁄4 in (1.9 cm) packets that come in various commercial items including shoe boxes, dried foods (like beef jerky or spices), and electronic devices. The packets are typically filled with highly absorptive silica beads which will pull moisture out of your phone. You do not need to tear open the packets. Simply pile them up on top of your phone and let them pull the moisture out.
This option will only work if you’ve been saving up silica gel packets in advance for several months. However, this isn’t a bad idea: many people own smartphones, and the chances of dropping your smartphone in water at some point are high.
Or, if you haven’t been saving up silica gel packets, you can order them in bulk through major online retailers.
Use couscous pearls to dry your phone
Couscous is a type of crushed and dried wheat grain. The small, dry grains will work similarly to silica beads or instant oatmeal and pull any residual moisture out of your phone components. You can purchase couscous pearls at any grocery store or supermarket. The pearls shouldn’t get any couscous dust on your phone’s components, making this a cleaner option than instant oats.
Be sure to purchase an unflavored and unseasoned variety.
