Drying off wet electric gadgets

[andrewa]

Im not sure whether this is common knowledge, but if your iPhone/camera etc is unfortunate enough to get dunked, I've found that soaking it in metho before drying it works very well. The metho displaces the water, and then evaporates off , and the gadget doesn't then rust. If its an iPhone, you need to make sure that it dries off vertically, so you don't get blotches on your screen. It's worked twice for my iPhone - in fact it has actually lasted longer than the rest of he families's phones which didn't get wet.

Andrew A

[Strider]

Are you saying you actually submerge it in metho?

I usually bury it in rice, but I've never suffered a total water submersion.

[walkinTas]

Did you remove the battery before you dunked it?

[Strider]

Did you remove the battery before you dunked it?

iPhone = non-removable battery. So I assume not?

[MrWalker]

It's funny that this subject has come up just after I went for an unplanned swim with all my gear.
Despite drying them in rice as recommended, my phone and camera have permanently died but my gps was not affected at all and that was in the deepest.

[north-north-west]

If it was fresh water, make sure the power's off and yes, immerse it in metho. Leave it for an few minutes. The metho won't hurt normal electronics, but it's a good idea to remove things like SIM cards & data cards.

Salt water it will usually also work, unless the power was on when it got wet or it was more than just a casual dip. In that case, throw it away.
Some batteries don't cope well with immersion also, regardless of the type of water.

[walkinTas]

Some batteries don't cope well with immersion also, regardless of the type of water.

This was my thought behind my question. I recently accidentally dropped a camera battery into water (it fell into a cup of coffee). By the time I noticed I had a very toxic mess and a ruined battery. I'm wondering what would be the result of battery acid and alcohol. I really don't know, it may be safe as, but perhaps not.

@strider - my dad always told me there is no such thing as can't. So, iphone batteries are hard to remove, but not non-removable.

[rogo]

According to my techy hubby removing a battery from an iPhone is doable but you need certain tools and be a bit savvy. Check out you tube for how to's.

I had my iPhone in a leather case and it went for a swim in the ocean and it was perfect. Now I always buy leather tight fitting cases for my phones. But I think the gods were smiling on me that day.

Working in a kitchen occasionally I have to give rice to people for their phones, but I have never heard the end result, so not sure if it works or not.