Water and electronics normally don't mix

Without conducting any formal research I am certain of a correlation of the size of electronic devices and the frequency these devices are accidentally run through the wash. I began to prove this theory when I left my new bluetooth ear piece in a shirt pocket to be run through the wash. The ear piece not only survived the wash, but also the heat of the clothes dryer. I recently provided additional proof to my theory, but it didn't look as if I'd be as lucky the second time.

No, this time I ran my phone through the wash, and although it didn't go through the dryer, it was dead to the world. Some of you may be thinking that this was a just a ruse to justify the purchase of an iPhone, but this just isn't true—I'm waiting for AT&T to complete network upgrades, which should be around the time my current service contract is up <wink>. I have actually been quite happy with my Motorola Razr v3c. Address sync easily and I was even able to hack iSync to add calendar synchronization. The bottom line was that the thought of having to drop a chunk of change to replace what was up until now a perfectly good phone made me sick.

The very next day, ironically, LifeHacker posted an article on what to do when your cell phone gets soaked. All sorts of people shared their experiences drying out their phones after taking a swim with them or accidentally dropping them in the toilet. I had already broken the first rule mentioned by commenters, don't turn the device on until it has dried out. A few commenters commented on how they doomed any chances of salvaging their phones by turning them on. My hopes sank.

LifeHacker recommended immersing waterlogged phones in rice to draw out moisture. I live in a very dry climate and didn't see how rice would help. I had already given my phone 3 days to dry out and it still would not work. Finally, on the fourth day, I decided to try another suggestion, soak the phone in alcohol.

I removed the battery before soaking the phone in rubbing alcohol. I let the phone soak for about 3 hours before pulling it out to dry overnight. The next morning I popped the battery back in and to my amazement it powered up!

The screen still had alcohol on it in spots creating what looked like stains on the screen, but most all of these disappeared in few days and the phone has worked just fine ever since.

Now if I could just remember where I left my iPod...

Related links:

• Saving your wet cell phone
  
• Dry out your soaked gadgets in rice
  
• Sync Motorola Razr with iCal - Brian Toth shows a simple iSync hack