My son's cell phone just went through a full wash cycle in his jeans pocket. Any hope it may still work after it dries out? How long should we let it dry before we try it? Right now, we've got the back off, the battery out, and the pieces are air drying - is that the best method for drying it?

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*´¨)
¸.·´¸.·*´¨) ¸.·*¨)
(¸.·´ (¸.·´How about if you greased them up first? Are chihuahua's cooperative pack hunters? ~TheCaber

Got a radiator? If it's not actually steaming it will dry something out fast.

Dang small cell phones! Even a couple of years ago you would not have been able to miss one in a pocket while sorting the laundry.

Shake it out real well, then use a blow dryer on it on low or medium from a distance, for as long as you have the patience for, then let it air dry for as long as you can, preferably with a fan blowing on it. If it wasn't on when it got wet, and you didn't turn it on when it was wet, it should dry out and work just fine, unless it got beat around too much in the wasn. Just be patient, that is the best plan, and make sure it is bone dry before you turn it on again, and hope for the best.

HTH
hwystar



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/12/2005 08:08PM by hwystar.

Ha! I did the same thing to my daughter's cell phone, only it went through the dryer too. It was dead, never to return to life. I bought a used on ebay to replace it. You just have to make sure it can be activated with your current carrier.

The guy at Verizon led me to believe that if it had just gone through the washer than it might have worked again. But I don't know if that is true.

BTW, Hi Joycee! Glad to see you again!

hwystar Wrote:
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> If it wasn't on when it got wet,
> and you didn't turn it on when it was wet, it
> should dry out and work just fine.


It was on when it went through the washer. We didn't turn it back on when it was wet, just took it apart. We'll try the blow dryer thing now.

How long should we wait to try turning it on - 24 hours, 12 hours, a few days?

Edit: Hi, Pam!

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*´¨)
¸.·´¸.·*´¨) ¸.·*¨)
(¸.·´ (¸.·´How about if you greased them up first? Are chihuahua's cooperative pack hunters? ~TheCaber



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/12/2005 08:09PM by joycee.

Hey, Joycee. Glad to see you here, but sorry about the phone.

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Roswell, GA (Atlanta suburb)

Ahoy Joycee¡¡¡¡¡¡

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I suffer from the same sensitivity that you do. A few nuggets of wisdom were shared with me and I'm "trying" to incorporate them into my life. First, remember that nobody can hurt your feelings unless you let them. You can always reject what is being forced on you emotionally.
Second, nothing changes unless you change it. If you don't want the behavior to be repeated then you need to take action. Otherwise the kid has learned that his behavior is the way to get things done, because everyone lets him get away with it.
In the meantime I sympathize because I've been there.
-beerman

Pardon my manners. Heyyyy Joycee!!! Good to see you here.

Hey Joycee ! (and Brian isn't exactly chopped liver either) :-D

Feels more like home all the time !

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joycee Wrote:
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> It was on when it went through the washer. We
> didn't turn it back on when it was wet, just took
> it apart. We'll try the blow dryer thing now.
>
> How long should we wait to try turning it on - 24
> hours, 12 hours, a few days?


I would give it at least 24-48 hrs or more, preferably in front of a fan to promote evaporation, and do my best to make sure that it is completely dry, inside and out before switching it on. Sorry to hear that it was on. If that is the case, that lowers the odds that it will live again.


hwystar

DON"T BLOW DRY IT!!!!!!!

Disassamble it as much as you can, leave it sitting out possibly under a desk lamp for at least 24 hours on a paper towel.




Good to hear you did take the battery out, that makes the chance of saving it much higher.

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_______________________________________________________________
Security is just a word. The act of being secure is entirely different.
"...but I think that to make your dream a reality, having a dream itself is a mandatory prerequisite"
From A Book: Walking Through The Impossible

Just because it has two clutches, shifts faster, uses a torque converter or has near-infinite gear ratios, requires less driver intervention and is more efficient doesn't make it better in my opinion.
Save The Manual Transmission

Hey, Joycee!

Sorry boutcha phone.

Rinse it WELL with DISTILLED WATER to remove minerals and detergent left from washing.

Then let it dry well, as described above by the other members.

good luck!

Joycee:

Did you attempt to turn it on afterwards?

Make sure the battery is taken out, place it on top of a tv or heck inside a G4 or over a heating vent for at least 36 hours without the battery....I've done that before, just never try to turn on after the "washing".....the insides are so dense it takes a long time to "dry", but if it's too high a heat, it will be moot.... if it's an easy case, dis-asseble the outer case and subject to low temp for a while (36 hour min)....

Jon.


joycee Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> My son's cell phone just went through a full wash
> cycle in his jeans pocket. Any hope it may still
> work after it dries out? How long should we let it
> dry before we try it? Right now, we've got the
> back off, the battery out, and the pieces are air
> drying - is that the best method for drying it?
>
> __________________
> You can lead Mr. T to water, but chances are that
> you will die there.

---

----------------------
Jon Hiller
Other World Computing
[eshop.macsales.com]
[www.fastermac.net]
FOLDING FOR TEAM 48057

Thanks for all the tips (and the friendly greetings!), everyone. I don't see a way to easily take apart the main body of the phone, so we've just got the back off and the battery out. A small fan is blowing over the pieces right now.

We'll leave it alone for at least 36 hours, but it will be hard. Teenage boys are not known for their patience in these situations, but the possibility of saving a couple of hundred bucks by waiting another day to see if this phone can live again will probably sway him.

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*´¨)
¸.·´¸.·*´¨) ¸.·*¨)
(¸.·´ (¸.·´How about if you greased them up first? Are chihuahua's cooperative pack hunters? ~TheCaber

Joycee:

What model phone is it?

Jon.

joycee Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Thanks for all the tips (and the friendly
> greetings!), everyone. I don't see a way to easily
> take apart the main body of the phone, so we've
> just got the back off and the battery out. A small
> fan is blowing over the pieces right now.
>
> We'll leave it alone for at least 36 hours, but it
> will be hard. Teenage boys are not known for their
> patience in these situations, but the possibility
> of saving a couple of hundred bucks by waiting
> another day to see if this phone can live again
> will probably sway him.
>
> __________________
> Mr. T invented fools. Realizing the magnitude of
> his folly, he then created Pity.

---

----------------------
Jon Hiller
Other World Computing
[eshop.macsales.com]
[www.fastermac.net]
FOLDING FOR TEAM 48057

owc jon Wrote:
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> Joycee:
>
> What model phone is it?


SprintPCS service, "PM-325 by LG®". He got it at Radio Shack 4/7/05 to replace his previous phone. (A heavy crate fell onto that one and busted the screen. He's got a way with electronics, eh?)

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*´¨)
¸.·´¸.·*´¨) ¸.·*¨)
(¸.·´ (¸.·´How about if you greased them up first? Are chihuahua's cooperative pack hunters? ~TheCaber

Ground him till he's 45. It will save you money.

put it into a pc case with a P4. The heat from those pc's are unbelieveable. It'll cook your cellphone dry in a few hours.

Seriously, let it dry out for at least 24-48 hours...the longer the better.

I was dunked into a pool with my cell. It was on when I got dunked. I let it dry out and it worked again. Only trouble is that the battery life was reduced markedly. Luckily, my renewel date was close, so I got a new phone with BT. ;)

GL

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All I ever really needed to know, I learned from watching Star Trek.

Gutenberg Wrote:
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> Ground him till he's 45. It will save you money.


LOL. Nah, it's his money - he's bought all of his own cell phones, and pays for his part of the monthly service. He's a great kid, just not so lucky with electronics.

Did I mention that his buddy's dog ate his last iPod? Well, technically he didn't eat the whole thing, he got into my son's backpack which was in a room with the door closed, nosed around till he came up with the goods, crunched large teeth imprints into the metal back, cracked the screen, and left the 'pod's carcass under the couch. The thing still works, though!

---

*´¨)
¸.·´¸.·*´¨) ¸.·*¨)
(¸.·´ (¸.·´How about if you greased them up first? Are chihuahua's cooperative pack hunters? ~TheCaber

Bad doggie. Bring him up to speed on the Fourth Amendment.

My friend dropped his phone into a mud puddle. This is what we did.

1. Turned it off as soon as we could.
2. Removed the battery.
3. Opened it up as best we could.
4. Rinsed it with distilled water.
5. Rinsed it with 95% isopropyl alcohol.
6. Used a can of computer duster to blow it out.
7. We set it in a sunny spot for a week.

Works like a charm.

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BT


Signed parental releases are on file for all tattooed minors.

I was standing above a toilet engaged in, well, you know what, when my phone fell in. I fished it out, rinsed it off, shook it out and then stuck in in the vent of my car air conditioner. We were going on a 600 mile trip and it had air blowing on it all the way. Through the trip, the screen fogged up and then gradually dried out. I left it in the car between the seats, with the car in the sun while we went on a week-long cruise. Worked fine when we go off the boat.

Follow up: after about 48 hours under a fan to dry out, the phone's power light comes on, but the screen stays black. We took it to the Sprint Store and asked the guy if there was any hope for it. He took the battery out and said, "this got wet, didn't it". Apparently there is something on the battery that changes color or something when it gets wet?

I think, from what everyone posted here, and what the Sprint guy said, if the phone had just been briefly in water, it probably would have worked after drying out. But since it was under water for so long (the whole wash cycle), I don't think the poor thing had a chance.

My son just bought a new phone (same model) and added insurance to his plan. At least now he's got a spare charger for his phone...

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*´¨)
¸.·´¸.·*´¨) ¸.·*¨)
(¸.·´ (¸.·´How about if you greased them up first? Are chihuahua's cooperative pack hunters? ~TheCaber