If you happen to drop your phone in water and need to dry it out, don’t worry. There are several ways of doing so without soaking the phone in a bowl of uncooked rice. In fact, rice may not even be the most reliable substance to pull the moisture out of a soaked phone. When you’re drying out your phone, it’s imperative that you get it out of the water and disassemble the phone as quickly as possible. Wipe the interior components dry and let them sit in a drying agent for at least 48 hours.
EditSteps
EditSelecting a Drying Agent
- Try some crystal-based cat litter. Crystal cat litter is made of silica gel. This material is extremely absorptive and will do an excellent job of pulling residual moisture out of a water-damaged phone. You can purchase crystal cat litter at any large grocery store or pet-supply shop.[1]
- Do not use any other type of cat litter. Clay-based or powdery litters may stick to your phone and turn it into a wet, clay-covered mess.
- Give instant oatmeal a try. Instant oatmeal is more absorptive than regular rolled oats and more much absorptive than steel-cut oats. If you already have instant oatmeal in your home cabinet, it may be the most effective substance you can use to dry your phone.[2] Be aware that if you use oatmeal to dry your phone components, you may end up with a phone covered in small, gooey bits of oatmeal dust.
- You can purchase unflavored instant oatmeal at your local grocery store.
- Find some synthetic desiccant packets you could use. Synthetic desiccant packets are those packets that come in various commercial items including shoe boxes, dried foods (like beef jerky or spices), and electronic devices. The packets are typically filled with highly absorptive silica beads which will pull moisture out of your phone. You do not need to tear open the packets. Simply pile them up on top of your phone and let them pull the moisture out.[3]
- This option will only work if you’ve been saving up silica gel packets in advance for several months. However, this isn’t a bad idea: many people own smartphones, and the chances of dropping your smartphone in water at some point are high.
- Or, if you haven’t been saving up silica gel packets, you can order them in bulk through major online retailers.
- Use couscous pearls to dry your phone. Couscous is a type of crushed and dried wheat grain. The small, dry grains will work similarly to silica beads or instant oatmeal and pull any residual moisture out of your phone components. You can purchase couscous pearls at any grocery store or supermarket. The pearls shouldn’t get any couscous dust on your phone’s components, making this a cleaner option than instant oats.[4]
- Be sure to purchase an unflavored and unseasoned variety.
EditRemoving Your Phone from Water
- Pull your phone out of the water immediately. Whether you’ve dropped your phone in the toilet, bathtub, or a lake, the first step is to get it out of the water ASAP. The longer you leave your phone in the water, the more water damage it will absorb.[5]
- Leaving the phone in water for a longer period of time will allow water to soak into and saturate more of the interior electrical components.
- Remove the phone’s battery and other interior parts. Before you take any steps to dry off the outside surfaces of the phone, pull out the electrical components. Open the phone case and pull out the battery and the SIM card. If you’ve inserted a micro SD card into your phone, pull that out as well.[6]
- The interior components are crucial to the phone’s functions. If they get saturated with water, the phone won’t work.
- Blow water off of the phone components and wipe them dry with a towel. Blowing on the electrical parts of your phone will remove the majority of water from them. Wiping the phone parts down with a clean, dry towel will remove any remaining moisture on the parts’ surface. You should only rely on drying agents to remove residual moisture that’s worked its way into the components of your phone.[7]
- Instead of blowing on the phone components, you could also shake them rapidly back and forth through the air. Be careful not to inadvertently throw your battery across the room, though.
EditUsing a Drying Agent
- Place your phone components in a sized container. If you’re going to cover your phone with a drying agent, you’ll need quite a bit of the substance. So, look in your cabinets and pull out a large empty pitcher, a big mixing bowl, or a large saucepan. Set all of the disassembled components of your phone into the bottom.[8]
- You can leave out the phone plastic back cover. This isn’t crucial to the phone’s function and will air dry.
- Pour at least 4 cups (340 grams) of drying agent over your phone. Don’t be stingy with whatever drying agent you chose. You’ll need a substantial amount of it to pull the last remnants of water out of your phone’s electrical components.[9]
- Put a lid over the container if you’re using an inedible drying agent like silica gel.
- Leave the phone in the container to dry for 2–3 days. It takes time for your phone to dry out to the point that it’s usable again. Let it sit in the drying agent for at least 48 hours.[10] If you pull the phone out prematurely, you’ll end up reassembling it with water still lodged inside.
- If you need to use your phone during this time, you could ask a friend if you can briefly borrow their phone. Or, communicate through email and social media instead of texts and phone calls.
- Reassemble your phone and try turning it on. Once 48-72 hours have passed, reach into the drying agent and pull out your phone. Shake off pieces of the drying agent, and put the battery, SIM card, and SD card back into your phone. Then, push the “power” button to turn your phone back on.[11]
- If the phone won’t turn on after you’ve dried it—or if it turns on but barely works or the screen has been damaged—you’ll need to take it to a professional phone-repair company.
EditTips
- Never stick the phone in a warm oven or under a hot blow dryer. The warm air could damage—or even melt—crucial components of the phone.
- If you use a Galaxy (or other Android) smartphone, you can open up the case with your fingernail. Some may require a small Philips screwdriver, like you’d use for a pair of eyeglasses. For an iPhone, you’ll need to use a specialized “pentalobe” screwdriver.[12]
EditSources and Citations
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