Rice can save your phone

I keep a cup of water beside my bed for the cats to drink. They don't like dog slobber in their water so I've kept a cup by my bed for several years, because I hate seeing them climb in the toilet to get water.

Sunday night I was reaching to put my cell phone on my night stand. I missed and it fell into the cup of water. That's right, of all the places to land, it lands into a coffee cup of water. I snatched it out right away, but it was soaked. I couldn't get the back off to get the battery out cuz it was slippery.

I rushed to get up, hit my toe on the foot of the bed, so now I'm hopping around trying to turn on the light. I get over to the switch only to realize I had the ceiling fan on so I had to hop over to the end of the bed to pull the light cord. I almost fall into the 3 laundry baskets at the end of the bed.

I get the light on and finally get the battery out. The phone is dead. I've only had this phone since late April and I've never gotten the insurance because I've always been able to keep my phone for the 2 year contract period without any trouble. I'm looking at my new phone with water dripping out of every crevice and I'm upset.

So I go down to the computer to look up ways to try to save a wet phone. I found several sites that mentioned using rice. I dry the phone as best I could and tap it against my hand to get as much water out of the crevices as possible. Then I pour some rice in a bowl. Put my phone in upside down and pour more rice on top. Then I stick my battery and memory card in the rice. One of the websites said to put a 60 watt light on it fairly close to help warm the rice and phone without getting it too hot. They said to leave it there at least 48 hours before trying to restart.

It worked my phone is fine and I'm not out a chunk of money.

My cup of water is still by my bed for the cats, but it is now just under the bed.

wish i had know that, it would have saved a many a phone. Mine as wells as numerous friends...

Too cool, thanks for sharing that tip!

this is going back about 4 yrs ago and I had just go my first flip phone. about a month after I got it I lost it and then I got my replacement and about 2/3 months after that I had it in the back pocket of my jeans and I went to the bathroom and *pop* there is goes out my pocket and into the toilet. I as soo peeved cause I didnt have much money at the time. What I did was just take the battery out opened it up and let it air dry. I think I used my blow dryer on low to quicken the process. But I did not turn the phone on after it went into the water. The worst thing to ever do is try to turn it on while its still wet. but I'll keep the rice thing in mind for the future.

I stopped putting a cup of water next to my bed because Bubba liked it too much.  He tipped it over on my face and that was it.  He'd rather drink from a glass or cup than a bowl.

Thanks for the information about drying a phone.  Never know when that tip might come in handy!

Most of the sites I went to strongly advised to not use a hair dryer. Even the low heat can overheat the circuits and the air can force moisture deeper into the crevices and components. They said if you don't have rice to nestle the phone in paper towels and put the lamp on it.

Even though I couldn't find any evidence of it online, I once heard a radio commercial from Verizon Wireless which endorsed the bag of rice method for saving a wet cell phone.  It really does work!

I thought this was going to be about Condoleezza.

LMAO - you're too funny dnrothx.

I once dropped a phone in a river and fished it out, and I've twice dropped phones in toilets. All times I just took it apart and the phone dried out fine on it's own and had no problems with it. Yay technology!

Haha on my first day working at Subway when I was younger I dropped my friend's cell phone in her cup of soda. OOPS! The soda phone didn't fare as well as the water damaged ones.

For a phone dropped into something other than water, the various sites all recommended rinsing the phone and battery under clean running water after the battery was removed. Rinsing did no further damage after the phone was alread wet and it will help remove substances in the other liquid that can cause corrosion and other problems.

This past summer, me, my boyfriend and his friends all went out on the river for a fun day in the sun. Drinking was involved, and before I knew it I was plastered floating downstream. Not a good idea. :-/

Being it was my first time on the river in a raft, I stupidly brought my ipod, camera, my Blackberry Peal cell phone, and my boyfriend's cell phone along for the ride. I don't really know what happened, but apparently I poured a can of beer into my backpack and then flopped it over the side of the raft, with all the electronics inside. :-/ Everything in the bag started making loud screeching noises so my boyfriend yanked it from me and started taking everything apart.

We thought we lost hundreds of dollars of electronics that day, but thankfully after doing some research I was able to salvage my ipod and my Blackberry, by leaving all the parts out to dry under a lightbulb for a week. Unfortunately, my boyfriend's phone and my camera still never recovered. Thankfully those things were insured, but obviously not for water damage. We lied and said his car was broken into and everything was stolen. :-D Haha.

I keep a kiddie sippy cup by my bed (my husband teases me mercilessly) just for that very reason.

But, thanks for the rice tip.  Hope I don't ever need it but more than willing to try it should I need to.

I've had to do this far too many times haha.