How to dry out a wet cell phone

Frugal tip of the day - check all pockets before you do the laundry!
May 27 2008 at 5:24 PM glenda (Login glendaMO)

In the kitchen yesterday, I managed to sprayed grease onto my light colored capri pants - .......

Quickly, I ran for the Zout (thanks Maxine, I love it!) and sprayed down the grease, and tossed my capri's into the wash.............

20 minutes later I realized where my cell phone was.

Right now it's in a bag of rice......trying to draw the moisture out of it - but if the phone still doesn't work come morning, I'll be going to buy me a new one. (Tip from Kim Komando, I'll let you know if it works)

e got rid of our house phone a year or so back.... and in 25+ years, I'd never tossed it into the washer! (maybe because it was connected to the wall with a cord???)


RR
I've accidentally washed mine before
May 27 2008, 5:27 PM

and surprisingly, it was just fine afterward.

I hope yours is, as well!

~R
-----------

"Every great adventure comes with great adversity; otherwise it would not be a great adventure. In fact, in a great adventure, adversity is not only expected, it should be welcomed. That's what makes it interesting and exciting."
~Rolando Villazón


Sheila
I have heard to try placing is on top of an (on) dehumidifier
May 27 2008, 5:29 PM

and that it can take a few days to come back "on'. good luck and let us know how it works. Are you by any chance on Tmobil? If so I have a spare phone if you need one..


Maxine
So have I
May 27 2008, 6:43 PM

I had a very basic flip phone that I ran through the washing machine and it lived to tell the tale. However, I dropped a one-DAY-old camera phone in the toilet for about 3 seconds, and it was a goner. I was told, the fewer features, the tougher they are. Good luck to you, Glenda!


Stacey
Just in case you haven't already
May 27 2008, 7:12 PM

I'd pull the battery case off and the battery out...

If it's got a screw-in antenna pull that out also. Anything to let moisture out and air in!

If you have some Electrical Contact Cleaner, I'd spray that into any available cracks. That does wonders at chasing water away and drys very quickly since it's a very high alcohol content.


glenda
Yeah,
May 27 2008, 7:47 PM

we took the battery out as soon as I got it out of the washer, and dh rinsed it in water, then used his electrical contact spray on it - dried it with a towel, and tossed it into the rice.


Jaime
If you have to buy another phone......
May 28 2008, 5:43 AM

About a year and a half ago I got pulled into our hot tub with my clothes on. I thought it was "somewhat" funny until I realized later that in that jean pocket was my dh's cell phone. He had a razor cell phone. We tried alot of the techniques mentioned and it just wouldn't work anymore. Thankfully somehow my dh read or heard from someone to go buy a pay as you go cell phone. He bought one from Best Buy for 19.99. He took the SIM card out of his Razor and put it into the pay as you go phone and everything worked just fine. Now he hated this tiny cheap phone but to get to the end of the contract it was worth it.
I also don't know how this all works, some phone have SIM Cards and so you couldn't just take in any other phone and have the number changed and there fore he might have had to go into the cell phone store and pay those outrageous regular prices that are ridculous for a replacement phone. But putting his SIM card into the other phone made everything work just fine!
Good luck! I'd be in a panic if I didn't have a house phone anymore either.


Maxine
This is might just be the frugal tip of the week
May 28 2008, 3:27 PM

Thanks, Jaime!


Sheila
the other one is to call your carrier
May 28 2008, 4:42 PM

and see if they will send you a new, free replacement...


Maxine
They didn't for me.
May 28 2008, 6:06 PM

My phone was only one DAY old, and I did not buy the insurance. They not only didn't offer me anything, they wouldn't sell me a replacement phone at the special price I got for signing a two-year contract. Mine cost $229 to replace and, yes, I bought the insurance. This was Verizon, BTW. When the contract is up and DS doesn't need me on a family plan, I'm switching to Trac Fone.


Penny in Florida
Ditto
May 28 2008, 9:30 AM

I've washed one, and had one fall into the toilet. I tried a blow dryer on them but it didn't help the one I washed. It did save the one I fished out of the toilet but it was only in there for a few seconds.


glenda
UPDATE
May 28 2008, 6:58 PM

This morning dh took my Razr phone out of the rice, put the battery in it, and charged it for a few minutes - it's working again! IMAGINE that! - their is still some moisture in the screen and it's now in rice, on top of the stereo (it puts off some heat) to see if we can finish drying it out.

He wanted me to check on our contract and see if I could get it replaced anyway - so now I have a new RAZR, with the contract price ~ $30 after rebate, and we'll keep the old one for a spare, instead of buying insurance.

FWIW, the sales guy wanted to get me to switch to another phone, and dh insisted I stick with the RAZR, I've gotten use to it, and changing phones is like learning a new language for me... SLOW. I suspect the commission on the other phone was a better deal for the sales guy - but not for me.


Snick4
A secret many folks don't know about....
May 28 2008, 7:11 PM

My granddaughter was walking around the house with my cell phone and she slobbered all over it. It stopped working. I took it in they said they would send a replacement phone because I did have insurance but...they don't cover water damage. The phone has a little dot inside it that changes colors when there is any water damage and the insurance will not cover it. However, they did give me a new sim card. I bought the $19.95 phone from Wal-mart. I wonder how much moisture will make that dot change colors? It sounds to me like the insurance folks have stacked the deck in their favor.


glenda
There is a moisture sensor
May 28 2008, 7:59 PM

on the battery, or under it - which is pretty easy to see - BUT there are also a couple of sensors INSIDE the case that can't be seen w/o ruining the warranty and breaking the phone case open.
The tech can do it, w/o voiding the warranty, but they can tell if we've done it.

Yep... I didn't figure the insurance would cover it anyway.. regardless.

Ds has insurance on his phone - a fancy blackberry thing - he pays $6/month for the insurance, AND has a $100 deductible he has to pay to replace the phone. NOT worth that to me!


Maxine
When you say you bought a $19.95 phone...
May 28 2008, 8:02 PM

...which one did you buy? Will any cell phone with a sim card work? I REALLY wish I had known about this when I dropped my new phone in the toidy.


Snick4
It was one of those pay as you go phones
May 29 2008, 6:55 AM

from wal-mart. If you have a sim card, any phone will work as long as your sim card fits in it.


Tnetter
I have a friend who works at the AT&T call center
May 29 2008, 8:35 AM

SHe said to use a blow dryer on it, and if there is anywhere you can't get to, a drop of alcohol & then blow dry on that spot.