Did you know that 855,000 cell phones a year are dropped in the toilet in the United Kingdom, while 315,000 are lost in a taxi, 225,000 are left on buses, 58,500 are chewed up by dogs and 116,00 end up in the washing machine. Chances are your cell phone warranty will not cover water damage and most of the phones today have a “water sticker” that will change color if the phone gets wet. There may still be something you can do to save your phone and your SIM card.
Try to follow these steps:- Do not power up your phone, doing so can short out the circuits.
- Remove the battery immediately.
- People with a GSM phone, the type AT & T and T-Mobile use, should immediately remove the SIM card as well.
- If the phone was dropped in salt water, briefly rinse all of the components in fresh water.
- If you dropped the phone in the toilet, wipe just the outside with rubbing alcohol. Submersing the entire phone, battery, or SIM card in rubbing alcohol will harm the adhesive components inside since the alcohol will act like a solvent.
- Now try to dry out the phone and get rid of the moisture by blowing it out with a can of compressed air or air compressor set to a low psi. You can also try a Wet/Dry ShopVac to get the moisture out of the phone the same way it got into the phone. Never use a hair dryer or other heat source because it can inadvertently damage the components in the phone.
- Place the phone, battery, and SIM card submerged in a bowl of uncooked rice or with the packets of silica gel that come in packaging. Time is of the essence.
- Leave the phone dry one to three days. If it doesn't work when you turn it on for the first time, try to replace the battery first before replacing the entire phone.
