[Q] water DAMAGE! - Samsung Epic 4G Touch

MY PHONES battery fell in water for about 25 seconds i took it out and let it dry...when i wake up tomorrow can i put it back in my device or do i have to get a new battery?

I can't say that I have ever had any of my phones or parts subjected to water immersion. But a lot of people swear by placing the phone/battery in a bag with uncooked dry rice in it. The rice will absorb all the water/moisture from the electronics. Leave the device/battery in the sealed bag for 8-12 hours and you should be good to go.

It should be fine, just let it dry. The problem is when the battery is in the phone because the circuit shorts. If it doesn't work you can order one on amazon for pretty cheap.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk

+1 on the rice
Sent from my Galaxy S2

valerinism said:
I can't say that I have ever had any of my phones or parts subjected to water immersion. But a lot of people swear by placing the phone/battery in a bag with uncooked dry rice in it. The rice will absorb all the water/moisture from the electronics. Leave the device/battery in the sealed bag for 8-12 hours and you should be good to go.
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I will keep that in mind.
---------- Post added at 04:45 AM ---------- Previous post was at 04:42 AM ----------
Yes your battery will be find. Once it dries of course. Remember, some people put batteries in the Freezer to try and recharge them (theoretically true, but the charge is miniature). And of course the freezer put's frost on the batteries. The devices be fine.
So yea. Just let your battery dry. Though I find your story pretty random. The fact that the battery got wet? eL oh eL!!

Most stores will give you a replacement battery as a courtesy as long as you are still under warranty. Some will give you a replacement regardless.
On the "rice" thing, yes it does work pretty well at drying out the phone. As a technician in a Sprint store though, when I find rice inside the phone, it gets flagged.
Have seen it many times, 3 to 4 grains of rice during on the circuit board. Makes me chuckle every time.
Sent from my GT-P7510 using xda premium

Related

Bath time with evo

My daughter just my evo into the tub with her. It was cute, but now the phone doesn't work. Is rice still the best way to dry these out?
alaman68 said:
My daughter just my evo into the tub with her. It was cute, but now the phone doesn't work. Is rice still the best way to dry these out?
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well, i wont work 100% any longer , your best bet, since its happened to me a few times, (jumped in pool, and got caught in rain) take out battery, the camera is probably fogged up, and the speaker is ful of water, take off the speaker mesh, and with a q-tip dry it up as much as possible, air dry for a bit , with a hair blower., and be cautious to not over heat it...it can start to warp..... then leave in with a moisture absorbent medium, I had a whole lot of silica gel packs, so i stuck my phone in a plastic container with a whole lot of silica and a bit of rice as filler... did the trick.. overnight btw....
Also I hear that using distilled water to clean it before putting in the rice, to get rid of anything left behind. Might want to look that up before doing though.
Sent from my PC36100 using xda premium
distilled water or rubbing alcohol to clean up, then leave in rice for at least 24 hours, 48 wouldn't hurt a bit
You can also vacuum it, as weird as it sounds, it actually sucks out the moisture quite well. Use distilled water when you're cleaning it, because distilled water doesn't conduct electricity (water with minerals does).
Earthshine0 out-
This EXACT same thing happened with my last phone, daughter and all. I took out of tub submerged in distilled water then put in a ziplock with battery out for a few days. It worked 100% for me, although it wasn't an EVO. Can't guarantee that it would work for you.
Only your own kid can make chucking your EVO in a tub cute....and youll be able to joke with her about it when she's older.
Last night I zip locked it in a bag of rice. When I came downstairs this, I guess my wife wanted to see if it worked and the phone on. Even though it didn't dry out very long, it appears to working. Interested to see how long it lasts now.
alaman68 said:
Last night I zip locked it in a bag of rice. When I came downstairs this, I guess my wife wanted to see if it worked and the phone on. Even though it didn't dry out very long, it appears to working. Interested to see how long it lasts now.
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It probably wont work very long. The WORST thing you can do to a wet phone is try to turn it on to see if it works. If there is ANY water still in it, you just fried the board. People need to learn to just WAIT, at least 48 hours, for the phone to completely dry out. If you do this, you have a greater chance of the phone working perfectly.
yeah, my goal was 48 hours in the bag of rice. However, since my wife didn't believe that system would work, she eagerly tried it before i was downstairs this morning.
so far so good. battery is draining a little quicker than usual though.
sucks
good luck!
last phones ta bottom of pool. yanked battery right away and were fine 24 hours later.

Dropped my Nexus into the toilet bowl

What are the chances that it's going to make it?
It was in there for a good second before I managed to get it out. I quickly reached down pulled it out and did a battery pull as fast as I could. Now my question is, how long do I leave it to dry for before attempting to turn it back on?
It's presently on my patio air drying where I plan on leaving it for a full day. Then I plan on submerging it into a bowl of rice for yet another day.
Is this the right procedure and anyone have any other recommendations?
Please describe the toilet bowl, what was in it? how much poop/urine?
vapotrini said:
What are the chances that it's going to make it?
It was in there for a good second before I managed to get it out. I quickly reached down pulled it out and did a battery pull as fast as I could. Now my question is, how long do I leave it to dry for before attempting to turn it back on?
It's presently on my patio air drying where I plan on leaving it for a full day. Then I plan on submerging it into a bowl of rice for yet another day.
Is this the right procedure and anyone have any other recommendations?
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Click to collapse
You did all you could to save it. You actually have minimal chances of permanent damage if you really took it out in one sec. and pulled the battery.
I've saved this way a SGS1 but is stayed under water a good 5 to 10 minutes (time it took to my friend to stop crying and come find me and complain about dropping the phone in the toilet ).
You can get a water proof spay applied on the phone
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
It should be fine if you got it out quick as your phone didn't get immersed in water for that long; just leave it out to air dry, wipe away any water and I'd probably recommend waiting over 24 hours depending on where you live... If you have a sim card, I'd suggest you to remove it as well
If that bowl contained only water it should be ok. To be sure 100% you can put it in rice for some time, like overnight.
There should be an app for a warning screen when you approach proximity of toilet. Bombs away.
Sent from my Nexus in Texas.
I would have pulled the battery and sim immediately, then shook off any excess liquid... then sealed it in about 2 cups of white rice in a sealed baggie. And for no less than 48 hours, much more like 72...
Then there's the other crowd who not only would have done the above, but after shaking off the excess liquid, would have submerged it into 91% rubbing alcohol which would have sanitized it by removing impurities in the water. Then putting it into the rice baggie.
I'm not too keen on further submerging it into anything on purpose, but it makes sense as alcohol has drying properties.
As always, your mileage may vary.
Good Luck!
NIK516 said:
You can get a water proof spay applied on the phone
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How does a water proof spray keep water out of openings? A force field?
does it still smell like poop/urine?
adrynalyne said:
A force field?
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Duh...You have no imagination.
Sent from my GT-P6210 using Tapatalk
Thanks for all the replies guys.
When I get home later I'm gonna put it into a bag of rice for a further 48 hours, then hope for the best. Sadly, this is my 2nd Galaxy so if it doesn't work I'm gonna just hold off for the next best thing. The first one fell into the ocean. I had too much to drink so I more or less deserved that happening. This time though, I was trying to be so careful and made sure to keep the phone FAR away from the toilet (literally 3 feet or more) while I was reading an email. I turned slightly and my elbow accidentally hit my shower's door causing the phone to pop out of my hand. Out of all the places it could have landed, of course, it landed straight in the toilet bowl.
Buy a motorola defy
Sent from my MB525 using xda premium
Man that is awful, sorry about your luck...
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA App
****ty situation bro. Literally.
I dropped my OG Incredible into a ****ty toilet. Grabbed it just as fast as it fell in. Took the battery out immediately, then took the whole phone apart and cleaned it with alcohol. Worked fine.
Personally, I wouldn't put it in rice, I would look around for some silica gel. The rice can (and will) get somewhat permanent dust under the screen, while the gel does not release dust/powder/etc.
miketoasty said:
Personally, I wouldn't put it in rice, I would look around for some silica gel. The rice can (and will) get somewhat permanent dust under the screen, while the gel does not release dust/powder/etc.
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agreed... too many particles floating around in a bag of rice but if it's your only option, then rice is better than nothing
Rinse it off in alcohol, that will fix it.
adrynalyne said:
How does a water proof spray keep water out of openings? A force field?
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Click to collapse
No, it creates a water proof coating on all components, preventing water from every reaching them/get them wet.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superhydrophobe
http://www.theverge.com/2012/1/16/2711980/waterproof-samsung-phone-superhydrophobic-coating
i concur with the alcohol suggestion. your issue is going to be corrosion. if you are able to obtain some anhydrous isoproply alcohol i would submerge it in there then let it dry fully at least a few days just to be sure.

Water Damage

We've all seen the various posts of HELP I HAVE WATER DAMAGE. In fact a global search of XDA will net you with a LOT of posts asking for help.
Everything from I dropped it in the snow, to my kid put it in the toilet, and my personal favorite, I was listening to music while in the shower and it vibrated itself into the toilet. :good:
But in all these cases the poster is asking what to do, their beloved device won't power on and they have something "important" that they forgot to back up and need off of the device.
I've seen such things as put it into a bag of rice (usually about a 25% chance of recovery), and wrap it in paper towels. Even 1 suggested to put it in the microwave.
Lets put some of these myth's do rest shall we. Lets start with the microwave. DUDE WTH are you thinking? Electronics, microwave, BAD IDEA! No ten seconds, no 5 seconds, not even 1 second. You are just begging for BAD to happen, DON'T EVEN THINK OF IT!
Wrap the device in paper towels, while YES paper towels are absorbent, they are NOT going to get the water out from the inside of the device, no matter how "open" you have it.
Putting the device in a bag or jar of flour. AGAIN BAD IDEA! While YES flour is very good at pulling moisture it is just going to cake up and actually cause even MORE damage to the device.
Hair dryer, Ok this does have SOME merit, but again heat to an electronic device is not something that you REALLY want. Especially with many devices being made of plastic now days. This will end up with permanent fogging of the glass and render the device virtually unusable.
Rice Rice Baby....duh nah nuh nuh nah nuh nuh, put it in a bag of white rice baby. Rice is a FOOD, while it does react to water well, it is not a very good idea, but then again it is a FAR CRY better then the ones above. This could work, but I would rather leave the device as open to the air as possible and let it air dry for a week then put an electronic device into a bag of rice.
Silica Jell, Silica Jell WILL pull moisture out of the air, and in fact in an enclosed space such as a zip locking bag, they work VERY WELL at pulling moisture out of electronic devices. Now I've heard of complaints about how expensive these little baggies are to the average consumer, but NO they are not.
You say you can't afford to buy silica jell packs? Well why not? Many of you are married, and have had to take that HORRID trip to the shoe store. Instead of just playing with your phone or what ever, while your wife is off looking at some new pumps or heels that she "needs," go up to a store clerk and ask them if they have any of the little bags of silica sitting around. Tell them what you need it for, and 9 out of 10 times you will walk out of the shoe store with not just new shoes for your wife, but a FREE insurance policy for your beloved electronic devices.
Hit up several shoe stores, get yourself a bag full of them. Get them home and hide them away. I prefer to put them into a vacuum seal jar and vacuum seal the jar closed. This does a couple things. It keeps the silica jell from absorbing any free moisture in the air, and often makes it so that little hands won't mess with them. All in all you want about 200 of the little baggies. WHY. Because I told you to, no really the reason is, that some will already be full, and others will not, you just never know for certain.
When that inevitable moment comes that you need to recover from your arse hole brother in law pushing you into the pool with your new device, open that jar up, grab a zip locking type bag, drop your device in it, then cover that sucker with all you can fit. Leave your device in the bag for AT LEAST 3 days with the battery out and all in the bag. let those little insurance policies do their job for you. There is of course a level of failure in this but it is by far more effective then any of the above posted "methods."
I did a personal test over the last 2 weeks with an old HTC Tilt. That dad burned thing has been sitting in my desk for a couple years now BEGGING to have something done to it. Well now it did.
I filled a mixing bowl with water and turned the phone on, and waited for it to get done booting up. Once it was done I dropped it into the bowl and waited 5 seconds. Reached in, grabbed it out and yanked the back off and took the battery out. Put the phone, battery, back and all into a zip locking type bag, and removed the sim card and sd card. Opened up my handy dandy jar of silica jell packs and poured them into the bag.
I zipped it closed and left the phone in there for 5 days. Pulled it out, and looked over the phone. YES the water indicator had been tripped I put the battery back in, put the back on, put in the sim card, and pressed the power button. Then out of no where I heard my phone come to life, and the screen was just fine. The phone has been sitting plugged into a wall socket and left on for 5 days now. So far no issues, not even a speaker issue.
After I pulled the Tilt out of the bag, I decided WHY NOT, and dropped my old Tilt 2 into a bowl of water and did the same thing. And now, it too is sitting plugged in to a wall socket and left on for a couple days. Only issue with it so far is that it OCCASIONALLY has a bit of "static" with certain alert tones.
So here I sit with a 100% success rate for 2 devices intentionally put into what would normally be the end of life for an electronic device.
So do yourself a favor, and get a bunch of those little baggies and save them up for when you need them. I would however recommend replacing the ENTIRE LOT of them every few months, even if you have them vacuum sealed. Why, because i told you to. No, really, it is because everything has some sort of expiration. Better to keep them refreshed then to find out that you didn't change them out 2 years ago and they absorbed all the moisture out of the air in the bathroom where you hid them.
Rice is hygroscopic and works just fine as a drying agent since you're not drying your phone for a month. better than open air.
gel, not jell
I got a cracked up screen, i'm really hoping I don't have to fight water damage... (i know how to replace the glass and I plan on doing it sometime sorta soon)
I think I'd prefer cracked screen to water damage if I had to pick.
Way back when I had a little iPod nano that went into the wash with and old Samsung flip phone the phone died but the iPod survived. I had put them in front of a wall heater, basically equivalent to a hair dryer i guess.
just be smart don't get your phone wet
OH any thoughts on Liquipel? http://www.liquipel.com/
sounds like they use a vacuum to coat everything inside.
I'd be interested to try some of NeverWet's product with my vacuum pump
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7is6r6zXFDc
http://www.neverwet.com/index.php
But it sounds like they aren't in production yet.
Ok. My wife dropped her two week old GS3 in the toilet and few weeks back. She claims it started making weird noises and the screen was flashing. She turned it off and let it dry out in the sun. A couple of hours later she returned home and I turned it on. There was a green hue to the screen.The touch screen was unresponsive. I turned it off and took out the battery, sd card and sim card. I shook the phone and felt some water come out. We put the phone in a zip lock bag filled with rice and a handful of those little descicant packets. Her idea. We let the phone sit there for around 36 hours. We then turned it back on and everything did and still does work fine.
I doubt the rice or packets actually did anything. I think just giving it time to dry was all that was needed. Just my personal experience.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda app-developers app
jjm3175 said:
I doubt the rice or packets actually did anything. I think just giving it time to dry was all that was needed. Just my personal experience.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda app-developers app
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The rice and silica absolutely did something - its the chemical equivalent of vacuuming the moisture out of every nook and cranny. You'll never air dry it as much.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2
Silca gel does 999x better then air drying,it even takes the moisture from water spots. Do not air dry please. You will build corrosion from water and oxygen on electronic parts
Sent from my EVO using xda premium
Saiboogu said:
The rice and silica absolutely did something - its the chemical equivalent of vacuuming the moisture out of every nook and cranny. You'll never air dry it as much.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2
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+1
The air in your home has some moisture/humidity already, making air drying much less effective than silica gel or rice.
I guess I should be thankful for my wife's shoe buying habit since I'm the one who paid for the phone lol.
Good thread.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda app-developers app

Phone got wet in a ridiculous way. Help!

I was wearing a zip up hoodie and washed my face in the sink by splashing water on my face, which I do several times a day. My phone was in my hoodie pocket. I walked from the bathroom to my bedroom where my towel was and proceeded to dry my face. All of a sudden I hear water dripping on my bedroom floor. Eventually I figure out the water is coming from my pocket. How the hell did that much water get in my pocket from washing my face? So I reach in my pocket and its pretty dry but my phone is in there! Pull my phone out and its drenched! Water s dripping a lot out of my phone and not my pocket.
So now my phone flickers when I turn it on and eventually the screen goes black. I'm pissed that it happened this way instead of me being drunk and dropping it in the toilet. Can someone please tell me how to fix it? PS I have no rice
Sent from my kindle fire rooted
sd0070 said:
I was wearing a zip up hoodie and washed my face in the sink by splashing water on my face, which I do several times a day. My phone was in my hoodie pocket. I walked from the bathroom to my bedroom where my towel was and proceeded to dry my face. All of a sudden I hear water dripping on my bedroom floor. Eventually I figure out the water is coming from my pocket. How the hell did that much water get in my pocket from washing my face? So I reach in my pocket and its pretty dry but my phone is in there! Pull my phone out and its drenched! Water s dripping a lot out of my phone and not my pocket.
So now my phone flickers when I turn it on and eventually the screen goes black. I'm pissed that it happened this way instead of me being drunk and dropping it in the toilet. Can someone please tell me how to fix it? PS I have no rice
Sent from my kindle fire rooted
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Put out battery and simcard, and let it dry. I have heard that you should put it in a bag of rice, the rice should dry out de water
Skickat från min Galaxy Nexus via Tapatalk 2
You shouldn't have tried to turn it on in the first case but no problem . Pull out ur battery keep the phone for about two to three days in raw rice bowl.. like the phone should be totally covered. Rice is a water absorbing agent and will help dry the display and the internals of ur phone. All d best
Hope ur nexus comes kicking back to life. :thumbup:
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app
If you don't have any rice then go buy some. It's probably going to be worth the investment.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
You can try the rice method, but i'm afraid the damage has already been done. Electronics are surprisingly waterproof; it is the electric current sent through the components that short out because of the water. The best thing to do when a device gets wet is to shut it down immediately and remove the battery.
best thing is to submerse it in isopropyl alcohol and swish it around to force the water out. it dries a lot quicker and won't damage the components.
source : I'm an electrical engineer
the isopropyl method is way more surefire than the rice method alone
+1 on the Isopropyl Alcohol idea, try to get a 91% one if you can, 70% Isopropyl Alcohol usually leave water marks.
crixley said:
best thing is to submerse it in isopropyl alcohol and swish it around to force the water out. it dries a lot quicker and won't damage the components.
source : I'm an electrical engineer
the isopropyl method is way more surefire than the rice method alone
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This is the method I used the one time it's happened to me.
Mach3.2 said:
+1 on the Isopropyl Alcohol idea, try to get a 91% one if you can, 70% Isopropyl Alcohol usually leave water marks.
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Click to collapse
99% is the best way to go, should be easily available in pharmacies, hardware stores, grocery stores, hell, even farm and feed stores have it for horses, in larger quantities for cheaper.
speedyink said:
99% is the best way to go, should be easily available in pharmacies, hardware stores, grocery stores, hell, even farm and feed stores have it for horses, in larger quantities for cheaper.
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Click to collapse
But sadly I can only find 70% around the pharmacies..
And yes, get the Isopropyl Alcohol with the least water content.
Beamed from my Maguro.
Take the Soyez rocket into oribit, don a space suit and take your Gnex with you for a space walk. The vacuum will instantly boil off the fluid to gas which will disperse in the vacuum, and your phone will be dry internally.
Or if you would like to try a less dramatic measure than the above, or even the other posters's suggestions then put the phone (without the battery) in a plastic bin bag with a damp catcher, which can be bought for about $1 or 1 pound from shops such as Poundland. Seal the bag with a plastic clip or an old fashioned knot to make it water tight. Leave this lot be for 48 hours, and when you take the phone out, it will be bone dry inside and out.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Rice
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

Just stood my phone up usb port and speaker in puddle of water

Hello, proper panicking put my phone down in some water. What should i do?
Help please...!
Sent from my SGP521 using Tapatalk
put it in a bag with uncooked rice. forget you own a phone for at least 24 hours.
Ok the rice wont damage it any more will it.
It wasnt in it for long. And it was a very small puddle....[emoji35] [emoji35] [emoji35]
Sent from my SGP521 using Tapatalk
Uncooked rice, the more the better, will absorb the moisture. Leave it in long enough, and you should be good to go
Did the phone rest any longer in the water? If yes you should use rice and cotton pad if it wasnt all that long you don't need tovworry about it cause it's splash proof
Do not try to turn it on until the rice absorb the moisture.
Sent from my HTC 10 using Tapatalk
nathlynn22 said:
Hello, proper panicking put my phone down in some water. What should i do?
Help please...!
Sent from my SGP521 using Tapatalk
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Click to collapse
I wouldn't be that worried buddy, watch this vid. The rice for a day is like a guarantee just to be safe. Chances are its fine though
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzh6ypmNwSg
I just put it in the airing cup oars seems good. Thanks.
Sent from my HTC 10 using Tapatalk
I accidently dropped my phone in water yesterday although I took it out almost immediately it's just totally died on me and won't start up at all, totally gutted how an expenisive phone like this can't even withstand a little bit of water.
sam-man said:
I accidently dropped my phone in water yesterday although I took it out almost immediately it's just totally died on me and won't start up at all, totally gutted how an expenisive phone like this can't even withstand a little bit of water.
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Damn. If mine broke I'd claim on house insurance. But mine seems OK.
Sent from my HTC 10 using Tapatalk
sam-man said:
I accidently dropped my phone in water yesterday although I took it out almost immediately it's just totally died on me and won't start up at all, totally gutted how an expenisive phone like this can't even withstand a little bit of water.
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That's weird, someone on YouTube dunked their 10 in a bowl of water for like a some amount of minutes and it worked fine afterwards. Not sure if sound was working though.
Ndaoud360 said:
That's weird, someone on YouTube dunked their 10 in a bowl of water for like a some amount of minutes and it worked fine afterwards. Not sure if sound was working though.
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Mine's just gone dead, nothing at all, it heats up if I put it on charge.
I'll call HTC tomorrow to see if I can do a deal of some sort with them.
The rice won't do anything since the water you want it to absorb is inside the phone, where the rice won't reach anyway. The best thing you can do is open the phone up and dry it up with a blow dryer or heat gun. If this is something you can't do or are uncomfortable with doing, putting it in the oven at around 120°f (50°c) is the next best thing.
#killthericemyth
mekanismen said:
The rice won't do anything since the water you want it to absorb is inside the phone, where the rice won't reach anyway. The best thing you can do is open the phone up and dry it up with a blow dryer or heat gun. If this is something you can't do or are uncomfortable with doing, putting it in the oven at around 120°f (50°c) is the next best thing.
#killthericemyth
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This Popular Mechanics article contradicts all of your claims:
http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/gadgets/how-to/a3419/dry-out-your-cell-phone/
Quoted:
With the battery safely set aside, you now have one goal--dry your phone, and dry it fast. If you let the moisture evaporate naturally, the chance of corrosion damaging the phone's innards increases. Instead, blow or suck the water out. But don't use a hair dryer--its heat can fry your phone's insides. Instead, opt for a can of compressed air, an air compressor set to a low psi or a vacuum cleaner (a wet/dry Shop-Vac would be perfect). The idea is to use air to push or pull moisture out through the same channels it entered.
Finally, use a desiccant to wick away any leftover moisture.*The most convenient choice is uncooked rice.*Just leave the phone (and its disconnected battery) submerged in a bowl of grains overnight. If you're worried about rice dust getting inside your phone, you can instead use the packets of silica gel that often come stuffed in the pockets of new clothes. But acting fast is far more important than avoiding a little dust, so don't waste time shopping if you don't already have a drawer full of silica gel.
The most important thing to remember is to avoid heat. That means no hair dryers, ovens, microwaves or extended periods in direct sunlight. While heat will certainly evaporate the moisture, it could also warp components and melt adhesives.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
pidzero said:
This Popular Mechanics article contradicts all of your claims:
http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/gadgets/how-to/a3419/dry-out-your-cell-phone/
Quoted:
With the battery safely set aside, you now have one goal--dry your phone, and dry it fast. If you let the moisture evaporate naturally, the chance of corrosion damaging the phone's innards increases. Instead, blow or suck the water out. But don't use a hair dryer--its heat can fry your phone's insides. Instead, opt for a can of compressed air, an air compressor set to a low psi or a vacuum cleaner (a wet/dry Shop-Vac would be perfect). The idea is to use air to push or pull moisture out through the same channels it entered.
The key here is, as in so many other cases, common sense. Don't go crazy with a 1200°f heat gun and don't broil your phone.
Finally, use a desiccant to wick away any leftover moisture.*The most convenient choice is uncooked rice.*Just leave the phone (and its disconnected battery) submerged in a bowl of grains overnight. If you're worried about rice dust getting inside your phone, you can instead use the packets of silica gel that often come stuffed in the pockets of new clothes. But acting fast is far more important than avoiding a little dust, so don't waste time shopping if you don't already have a drawer full of silica gel.
The most important thing to remember is to avoid heat. That means no hair dryers, ovens, microwaves or extended periods in direct sunlight. While heat will certainly evaporate the moisture, it could also warp components and melt adhesives.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Believe what you want; I'm IPC certified and have been doing PCB-repairs for over four years. I'm simply sharing the knowledge you need to best deal with an issue like this.
The only thing that can actually get fried from the heat that a hair dryer produces is the battery. If you for some reason hold the hair dryer ON the battery for an extended period of time. Not that I know why you'd want to do that. Any surface mounted component on the board should be perfectly fine with direct heat up to almost 500°f.
The key here is common sense. Don't go crazy with a 1200°f heat gun and don't broil or microwave your phone.
mekanismen said:
Believe what you want;
...
The only thing that can actually get fried from the heat that a hair dryer produces is the battery. If you for some reason hold the hair dryer ON the battery for an extended period of time. Not that I know why you'd want to do that. Any surface mounted component on the board should be perfectly fine with direct heat up to almost 500°f.
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I believe that uncooked rice is a desiccant, and can wick-up proximate moisture.
You can stick your phone (battery removed, of course) in the oven at 500°F.
I decline in spite of your "qualifications" on the grounds that 63/37 has a melting point of 370°F [edit]361°F (pardon)[/edit].
If you told me you never messed up a single component by holding the iron on it too long, I wouldn't believe you.
pidzero said:
I believe that uncooked rice is a desiccant, and can wick-up proximate moisture.
You can stick your phone (battery removed, of course) in the oven at 500�°F.
I decline in spite of your "qualifications" on the grounds that 63/37 has a melting point of 370�°F.
If you told me you never messed up a single component by holding the iron on it too long, I wouldn't believe you.
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Proximate moisture as in moisture it is in fact in contact with. The water the rice is able to absorb isn't water that does any harm to the phone anyway, hence the uselessness. Or are you saying that the rice somehow magically sucks the moisture out through the speaker and microphone grills?
63/37 does indeed melt at 370°f, but applying 500°f using a heat gun for a minute or two from a couple of inches distance will not make the solder reach that kind of temperature. I never recommended anyone to put their phone in an oven at 500°f.
If I said that I never messed up a single component by applying too much heat I'd be lying. I've done it too many times to count.
Anyway people, feel free to put your phone in a bag filled with edible seed of your choice , but don't be surprised if starts acting up a couple of days later.
mekanismen said:
Proximate moisture as in moisture it is in fact in contact with. The water the rice is able to absorb isn't water that does any harm to the phone anyway, hence the uselessness. Or are you saying that the rice somehow magically sucks the moisture out through the speaker and microphone grills?
63/37 does indeed melt at 370°f, but applying 500°f using a heat gun for a minute or two from a couple of inches distance will not make the solder reach that kind of temperature. I never recommended anyone to put their phone in an oven at 500°f.
If I said that I never messed up a single component by applying too much heat I'd be lying. I've done it too many times to count.
Anyway people, feel free to put your phone in a bag filled with edible seed of your choice , but don't be surprised if starts acting up a couple of days later.
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In hindsight of my original reply to the OP, it would have been wise to include instructions on drying the phone by means of draining through the introduction path and using compressed air. The OP would have benefited from the information.
It is unnecessary for a desiccant to have direct contact with water. If desiccants didn't absorb moisture, they wouldn't be in the packaging of everything from shoes to medicine to electronics.
It is important that most water be eliminated by other means first, but the dry rice will absorb, with time, remaining moisture, just like dry air climates reduce drenching sweat from your body on a hot day.
pidzero said:
In hindsight of my original reply to the OP, it would have been wise to include instructions on drying the phone by means of draining through the introduction path and using compressed air. The OP would have benefited from the information.
It is unnecessary for a desiccant to have direct contact with water. If desiccants didn't absorb moisture, they wouldn't be in the packaging of everything from shoes to medicine to electronics.
It is important that most water be eliminated by other means first, but the dry rice will absorb, with time, remaining moisture, just like dry air climates reduce drenching sweat from your body on a hot day.
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Okay so let's say that the rice somehow WILL absorb the moisture. Even in this case it will work way too slow, things start to corrode within hours (or minutes, dependent on what kind of liquid the phone has been dropped in). You don't want a fix that takes days or weeks, you want the moisture out as soon as possible.
mekanismen said:
Okay so let's say that the rice somehow WILL absorb the moisture. Even in this case it will work way too slow, things start to corrode within hours (or minutes, dependent on what kind of liquid the phone has been dropped in). You don't want a fix that takes days or weeks, you want the moisture out as soon as possible.
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I admit, I would like to get to the bottom of this.
After some more research, I agree, it may take more time than ideal.
Cat litter has even more drying power than rice. Its cheap and readily available.
Infact, the article I get that info from http://smartphones.wonderhowto.com/...st-way-save-your-water-damaged-phone-0154799/ places uncooked rice low on their list of drying power:
The Sponge Test
Pre-weighed sponges soaked with water (and then weighed again) were used in this experiment.
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Each sponge was placed on top of wax paper, to prevent direct contact with the drying agents, since in a smartphone, there is normally no direct contact with the drying agent.
Uncooked White Rice Ain't Cutting It
After 24 hours, the sponges were weighed again to see how much weight had been lost. And would you believe it—according to the results, uncooked white rice placed dead last in effectiveness as a drying agent. Here's the list, from best to worst.
Open-air sponge - 7.6 mL lost
Silica gel - 6.1 mL lost
Cat litter - 5.5 mL lost
Instant couscous - 5.0 mL lost
Instant rice - 5.0 mL lost
Instant oatmeal - 5.0 mL lost
Uncooked white rice - 4.0 mL lost
Sealed-container sponge - 0.7 mL lost
Cat litter, instant couscous, instant rice, and instant oatmeal all performed better than uncooked white rice—everyone's favorite damn drying agent.
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I rescind my argument for rice. I give you credit for calling it pretty much useless. There are better desiccant alternatives.
Personally, I'd rather use cat litter than blow-dryer--not because I argue that it works better, but that I have cat litter, and no blow-dryer.
We agree that 500°F in the oven is ill-advised, and I am glad for that.

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