Save a waterlogged phone from certain death after that pool party, with help from specialist phone repairman Russell Galindo.
Home remedies for drying out your waterlogged phone after dropping it in the toilet include putting it in dry ice, wrapping it in newspaper and leaving it in a bag of rice.
They’re all wrong. Here’s how to give your handset one last chance to live.
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1. Remove the battery and SIM card immediately and then take off any peripherals attached to the phone.
2. Dry as much of the phone as possible with a cloth. Use cleaning alcohol if you dropped it in your draught or anything else that’s sticky.
3. Leave it on paper towels for 24 hours, next to a packet of silica gel (that funny little packet of plastic stuff, that you get with a new pair of running shoes).
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DO NOT Try and turn it on. Any electrical current will fry the circuits, rendering your half drowned phone useless.
DO NOT Cook it in an oven or blast it with a hair dryer; heat will make the phone’s solder points melt away, even at relatively low temperatures.
DO NOT Leave it in a bag of rice to dry. This is ineffective as the grains don’t start absorbing water until 69°C.
