Mobile Phone Catastrophe - Immersion in Water

Death by Drowning - or Dropping your Phone in the Loo.

It happens quite often, you forget to take it out of your pocket and it goes in to the washing machine, or it falls into the toilet or sink or even a river or a pond, what should you do, and can your mobile survive the experience?

Most mobile phones are not waterproof and can often fail if they are immersed in water. The secret is to act quickly; remove the battery and SIM card as soon as you can, shake out as much of the water as possible and dab dry the wet parts that you can get to, use a kitchen Towel or tissue. Place in a warm area for three days, we have what we call an airing cupboard which is where the water tank for our heating system is sited. I left my phone for almost a week and it was bone dry by this time. Patience is Very Important, It should be completely dry before you switch it back on.

Another suggestion I came across was to place it in a closed container with uncooked rice, aparently the rice very quickly draws the moisture out of the air. The same person who suggested using rice also mentioned soaking in alcohol since alcohol can dilute the water and evaporates quickly but we are not so sure about that one as the purity of some alcohol is suspect..

A closed container such as a sealable food container can also be used with a silica gel pack, this is what is used in the little dessicant bags that you get with a new phone or camera or other delicate goods.

The three incidents of people baptising their mobile phones that I am aware of have all had a happy ending but I am told that many such accidents are not so fortunate in their outcomes.

If your phone has died on you tell your provider that it has been immersed when you return it as there is a device in the phone that indicates if it has had a soaking.

Sucking the water out with a vacuum cleaner was another good suggestion we came across. - Martina

DO NOT DO ANY OF THE FOLLOWING:-

• Dry with a Hair Dryer (even a low setting can damage it)
• Put in an oven or under a grill
• Microwave it

Good Luck