If your cell phone gets wet, act quickly. Shut it off to prevent electrical shock. Take off attached parts, and gently wipe the exterior with a soft cloth. Then, let it dry by itself in a very airy area. You can quicken the drying by burying it in rice or wrapping it in water-absorbing materials for at least 24 hours. Alternatively, you can use a hair dryer on cool air mode, keeping it at a distance while focusing on the areas prone to moisture. If the case of water damage is too severe or if the DIY methods fail, it is of prime importance not to continue such attempts but rather look out for professional help—in a repair center, experts will inspect, remove moisture, and repair parts if damaged to attain the optimal chances of recovery. Swift and appropriate action may help in minimizing damage and restoration of functionality.
Table of Contents
1.Turn off your phone and let it dry
- If your cell phone has accidentally fallen into the water, press the power button to shut it down. Doing so will stop electrical currents from flowing through the areas that have come in contact with water, thereby saving the internal circuitries from further damage.
- Immediately after this, if the phone design allows, do remove all the removable parts like the SIM card and SD memory card.
- Next, use a clean tissue or a soft dry towel to gently, but thoroughly, wipe the outside of the phone to remove the moisture sticking to the outer shell. Do not rub hard, because this will tend to push the water further into the interior.
- Finally, place the phone in a dry place with good air circulation that is not in direct sunlight, for instance, on a balcony or on the window ledge. Allow it to dry naturally for the duration. Do not power the phone on or charge it in any manner; this can result in irreparable damage.
2.Drying Your Phone with Water-Absorbent Materials
- The second step to be taken if your phone has gotten wet is to gather immediately highly water-absorbent materials such as clean towels, soft tissues, water-absorbing sponges, or even silicone gel desiccants.
- After doing so, wrap your phone with these water-absorbing materials. The surface, edges, and possible crevices of the phone need to be well covered. This process would use most of the moisture-absorption capacities found within these materials to their fullest, thus attracting as much of the moistures as possible both on the outside and the inside in less than no time.
- Lastly, place the phone with the water-absorbing materials in a well-ventilated and dry place that is free from direct sunlight. Let it remain there for some hours or even longer, as the materials shall naturally soak up the trapped water inside the phone. In this process, avoid doing any operations; just wait patiently for some time until the water-absorbing materials do their job.
3.Use rice to get water out of your phone
- Cooking rice: Measure a desired amount of rice into a plastic bag or a sealed container.
Turn off the phone and, if possible, remove any detachable parts. Put the phone in an airtight bag or container with rice. - Seal and let it stand: Seal the airtight bag or container, and then let it stand for over 24 hours. Rice is a strong water absorptive substance which could help in absorbing moisture inside the phone.
4.Using a hairdryer
- Select the cool air mode: Put the hairdryer in cool air mode so that it does not result in high heat, which might damage any internal parts of the phone.
- Keep a distance: Use the hair dryer at the back part of the phone and not on the screen side. Keep a distance of not less than 10 centimeters to avoid overheating.
- Gently blow: Blow gently and evenly over the phone, with special emphasis on parts that accumulate water, such as the earphone jack and charging port, for some from ten minutes upwards. Pay attention to the temperature change of the phone to avoid overheating.
5.Professional Repair Center
- Stop DIY Efforts: If the damage caused by the water is too serious or the DIY efforts have been of no use, then stop any further operation immediately.
- Contact a Professional Repair Centre: Get the phone to a professional mobile phone repair centre or an official after-sales service centre.
- Wait at the repair center, as professionals will conduct all possible inspections and repair the cell phone. Others may use special types of equipment and techniques to remove the moisture from the inside of the phone and some may use this method to repair any damaged parts of the phone.