We survived another cell phone disaster!
Yesterday my beloved dropped his cell phone in....well...ahem....the toilet. (Thankfully HE was the one who retrieved it and not I.)
This was Major Crisis! This was a brand-new cell phone. The same one he temporarily lost last month...and found again within 24 hours. But that's another story.
A "toilet dunk" can kill your phone. Permanently. But if you react quickly you have a very good chance of avoiding that costly scenario. I know. Because almost four years ago I dropped My cell in the ocean! In salt water! And I am STILL USING THAT PHONE! So here are my suggestions if you find yourself in a similar situation:
IMPORTANT .. REMOVE THE BATTERY AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE. THIS IS ESSENTIAL!
1. Briefly rinse phone (and battery which you have already removed!!!) under the kitchen faucet to remove any contaminants. The idea is to clean the phone but NOT to soak it further. This baby is already wet. Rinse it only long enough to remove the bad stuff. Be brief but thorough. Swish it quickly and go to Step Two. (If your phone has a memory card, remove and rinse it as well. And if you dropped it in plain, non-salty, CLEAN water, disregard this step.)
2. Dry with a kitchen towel. As thoroughly as possible, including any crevices and ports. Wick that moisture out with a corner of the fabric or a Q-tip!
3. Find a warm dry spot. Turn on the light in your oven. Do NOT turn on the heat! The light bulb alone will produce a quiet, drying heated air. I've heard of people placing their phones on the dash of their car and letting solar energy provide the warmth to dry it but it would seem that might get a bit hot if you live in Death Valley or some such place...use some sense here.
4. Place the open phone and its battery in this warm spot AT LEAST 24 hours before re-connecting the battery. Forty-eight is even better...if you can stand the suspense that long. If you re-connect while your phone still holds moisture you run the risk of shorting it out completely and your end result will be a dead phone.
5. In my case, I waited about 36 hours before placing the battery back on the phone and it worked fine. In hubby's case, 24 hours did the trick.
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8 comments:
I meant to comment yesterday, but forgot. I do like your picture as well. There is somethng about that silvery bristle that makes your eyes very intense.
Oh, how I wish I knew you when Cara had a rootbeer explode in her backpack. Right next to her cell phone. That was a lost cause.
Whitestone, Thanks I learn a lot of good practical advice reading your webpage as well as all the great biblical encouragement.
Good tips! I've never dropped mine in anything wet, but now I know what to do if that ever happens! :)
I am still trying to get my head around "rinsing off the phone to remove any contaminants.
Wow ... I wouldn't have believed it.
Good to know tho ... just in case.
Hi Whitestone, thanks for following me on my blog. I have two young grandsons, and my daughter found out what to do by googling. She must have found these tips, because she saved her new cell phone after her youngest son tossed it in the toilet.
Where are you from? You write like you have an accent...
I commend you on your strong spirit and I look forward to following you and getting to know you through your blog...May God Bless you and give you all you need.
Sadly, I know all this because the same thing happened to us! 'Cept it was the bath tub. But it worked! I've also heard of placing the phone in a bag of rice? To pull the moisture out? We didn't do that, but good ole google said we might try it.
Elle
I'll second what Elle Bee said about the rice. My daughter's college roommate got her iPod wet and tried to rice fix... and it worked!
This is sensible advice that I hope I'll remember if mine ever gets wet.
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