Cell phone in washing machine revived!

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  • viking4949
    Forum Newbie
    • Jan 2008
    • 54
    • Northwest Indiana
    • Craftsman 22811

    Cell phone in washing machine revived!

    Somehow, mostly due to stupidity and forgetfulness, my cell phone ended up in the washing machine this Saturday. It was totally submerged for at least 5 minutes. However, after doing some quick research, a few normal shop supplies, and a little patience, I was able to use it without any noticable difference tonight.

    Step by step, here is what I did.

    1. Slap myself in the head for being so stupid.

    2. Carefully remove the back, battery, and sim card as soon as possible. Wipe the sim card off, they are pretty durable, and I was able to put it in my old phone immediatly and use it.

    3. Shake rattle and roll. Shake as much of the moisture out as possible.

    4. Immerse and briefly soak the phone in denatured alcohol. The alcohol helps dissipate the water, and more importantly the dissolved salts in the the water.

    5. Shake it out again, and allow it to dry for a few minutes before moving on.

    6. I then created a drying chamber of sorts by using my Black and Decker work mate as a base. I opened it up about 4 inches and spread a folded piece of aluminum foil over the gap. I placed my magnetic shop light underneath of the surface, with a 40 watt appliance bulb in it. This created a constant heat source, sort of like a low temp version of jiffy pop pop corn. I placed the phone on top of the foil and placed the table in front of my dehumidifier.

    7. Wait, make sure that all of the fogginess and droplets are totally gone beofre replacing the battery. Mine took about 60 hours.

    8. Test phone by placing battery back in. Be sure to do this without the Sim Card the first time just in case. Mine powered up fine, so I replaced the sim and made some test calls.

    Water in an of itself is not detrimental to electronics, as long as they do not short out. The salts that remain after the water is what is detrimental. The alcohol rinse helps dissapate the disolved salts. Be sure to use denatured alcohol and not just isopropyl or rubbing alcohol.

    Hopefully this will never be useful to you, but it worked for me and saved me about $300 for replacing my phone.

    Brandon
  • iceman61
    Senior Member
    • Oct 2007
    • 699
    • West TN
    • Bosch 4100-09

    #2
    Over the years I've dropped 3 cell phones in water. 2 Motorolas & 1 Nokia. Both the Motorolas were revived. The Nokia never made it back.

    I knew about pulling the battery but I've never heard about the alcohol trick. It makes sense. I'll keep it in mind now. Thanks for the advice.

    Comment

    • LCHIEN
      Internet Fact Checker
      • Dec 2002
      • 20914
      • Katy, TX, USA.
      • BT3000 vintage 1999

      #3
      my razr died after being dropped in the salt water live bait bucket while fishing in galvestion bay 2 weeks ago... I think the live shrimp attacked it and tried to call Nemo. It was on when in the bucket. It sort of worked but the phone said invalid battery and refused to perform any useful functions including charging even with new batteries.
      Loring in Katy, TX USA
      If your only tool is a hammer, you tend to treat all problems as if they were nails.
      BT3 FAQ - https://www.sawdustzone.org/forum/di...sked-questions

      Comment

      • Tom Slick
        Veteran Member
        • May 2005
        • 2913
        • Paso Robles, Calif, USA.
        • sears BT3 clone

        #4
        my LG phone made it through the washer and dryer. I noticed the thump thump thump before the dryer got really hot. I pulled the battery out and let it dry for 2 days, stuck it back on the charger and it worked like a champ, like nothing ever happened. it took about a week before all of the moisture was out of the lcd displays.
        Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work. - Thomas Edison

        Comment

        • cabinetman
          Gone but not Forgotten RIP
          • Jun 2006
          • 15218
          • So. Florida
          • Delta

          #5
          Here's another method.
          Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

          .

          Comment

          • Bruce Cohen
            Veteran Member
            • May 2003
            • 2698
            • Nanuet, NY, USA.
            • BT3100

            #6
            What do you do if your daughter drops her phone in the toilet bowl (you can visualize this yourself). Both my girls, 21 and 24 have done this, although not at the same time.

            New phones!! There's no way in h**l I'm getting them out.

            Bruce
            "Western civilization didn't make all men equal,
            Samuel Colt did"

            Comment

            • crokett
              The Full Monte
              • Jan 2003
              • 10627
              • Mebane, NC, USA.
              • Ryobi BT3000

              #7
              A phone I used to have survived a dunking in two mud puddles and a guy's beer. I finally got rid of it because the battery wouldn't hold a charge.
              David

              The chief cause of failure in this life is giving up what you want most for what you want at the moment.

              Comment

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