So You Dropped Your Phone in the Toilet…
77I used to work for a major cell phone company, and I can’t tell you how many times a customer walked into the store and handed me their phone and then said, “Can you fix my phone? I dropped it into the toilet and now it doesn’t work.” First of all, ewwwww. please don’t hand me your toilet phone, and secondly, usually by the time you take it into your cell phone company it is too late. So I have deviously made a list that will help you in the event that you do drop your phone in the toilet, the sink or any place that has liquid.
Disclaimer: even if you follow these rules, it does not guarantee that your phone will live through the ordeal, and usually water damaged phones will have a short life after becoming wet, but it doesn’t hurt to give these a try.
Psychic Abilities
If you are purchasing a phone and can see into the future and realize that you will drop your phone into water, get either a water-resistant phone or phone insurance. Though, if you can see into the future about your phone, I don’t know why you wouldn’t just make a rule to keep your phone away from water. Most cell phone insurance policies will let you purchase a new model of your phone for $50 instead of having to buy one at full retail price, and I have had customers tell me that they have dropped their water-resistant phones into lakes and they come out okay, so that is defiantly an option.
Remove the Phone from the Liquid
If your psychic abilities failed to help you, and you do indeed drop your phone into water and want desperately to save it, immediately remove your phone from the water. I dropped a phone in water and it was totally gone in less than 5 seconds, however, I had a customer who claimed that his cell phone called his landline to warn him that it was in the washing machine during the rinse cycle and his phone turned out ok. It is a good rule that the sooner you save your phone from liquid the more likelihood you will have of it surviving.
Take Out the Battery
Usually after dropping your phone into water, your phone will immediately turn off. Do not turn it back on. Even if it is on, it is important for you to immediately remove the battery. If you turn it on while it is wet, it may cause a short in the phone and it could possibly kill it for good. Taking out the battery will also help it dry.
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BlackBerry Bold 9000 Phone, Black (AT&T)
Price: $0.01
List Price: $499.99 |
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BlackBerry Curve 8900 Phone, Titanium (T-Mobile)
Price: $0.01
List Price: $499.99 |
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BlackBerry Bold 9700 Phone (T-Mobile)
Price: Too low to display
List Price: $449.99 |
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Motorola Droid A855 Phone (Verizon Wireless)
Price: Too low to display
List Price: $299.99 |
Remove Any Accessories and Open Any Slots in the Phone
Open up your phone as much as you can to let it dry out. Avoid using a vacuum cleaner or a hair dryer as any heat could do damage to the internal parts of your phone. Also, if your phone has a memory card or a sims card, remove it right away.
Put Your Phone in Rice
Put your phone in rice a couple of days. The rice will help pull out the moisture in your phone and may save your phone from certain death. After waiting a couple of days, test your phone. If it doesn’t work you may be able to try a new battery and see if that fixes the problem.
Like I said above, this does not always work, but when it
does it can save you a lot of hassle and money. If your phone does not work and you are not up for renewal and don't have insurance, consider buying a used phone online. Just make sure it is unlocked before purchase.
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Comments
Thanks for the additional tip, Phil!
An easy thing to do! I have dropped mine in a swimming pool before now.
oh man! What did you do?
I have a magic phone lol. A five-year-old Sharp. It looks as though it had spent its life in a warzone, battered all over, has been cooked and my dog almost ate it... :)
...but I've never dropped it in water. Here comes the final test then, I guess. :)
Thanks for the great tips.
EDIT: I just read Phil's comment who actually seems to recommend baking. :)
Ha, very timely for me. I just dropped my phone in the ocean yesterday while out walking with my son. I wish I had read this before then - it now looks like I'm going to have to buy a new phone...:(
If I may have your permission for a re-print of this article, I'd dearly love to send it on to my daughter Bailey who is the queen of toilet phones!! That and a young family friend (oh gee, of Bailey origin!) who evidently spends her fair share of time in 'clubs' and more times than I care to think during Sunday brunch we have TWO of these more & more distasteful (wasteful) stories!
Would you mind Luci? It's funny, well written and, as your contemporaries (a year or two younger, B is 23 and Becks is 25....) they would appreciate it.
Let me know.
Thanks, how are you?
Mona
Pacal - your phone seems to be magic and I would hold on to it if I were you
Write at Home - you still may have a chance. Let it dry out!
And Mona, you are of course welcome to send this article to your daughter... I would love to be of help to her.
i actually had this problem but instead of rice i used clay kitty litter.still have the same phone and it dried out in less than 3 days although 3 is a safe amount of time to let it dry out.
This is great advice, though I have never actually dropped my phone in water I know people that have. I think it is pretty cool that a cell phone will think to call a landline when it is in the washer. That baffels my mind.
OMG, you too, Wesley? I'm baffled, addled, befuddled and... lost. :)
lol, I know, I had a hard time believing the guy who told me, but he insisted it was true!
This is good work...Does the rice need to be cooked?..Thanks for this hub...
no, it doesn't need to be cooked, just raw rice. Thanks for reading mtsi!
Nice hub, did you know Hubs deleted that whole " wow " thread that we had on Friday night !
lol... that is a little funny PirateGirl!
A thread has been deleted? Now that's interesting. What can two such girls do on a thread that gets it deleted I wonder... :)
lol :D I think it is one of those things where you had to be there... it was nothing really, just BadCo and PirateGirl "fighting" a lot and then arguing about who liked me better...
A fight over you? Well, that's understandable. :)
lol :D you are so sweet Pacal
It might have been the threat from Hubtivist to watch my account, BadCos that is ; )
Jeez and keep my identity to yerself lol, you are my Lois Lane ; )
lol PG!
I've done that b4, I can't believe ppl fish it out and then tant the shop though, that is gross. I just gave up on mine and bought a new one, I wish Id read your hub then instead of now!
Kephrira, it happens to a lot of people. I had one guy say he dropped his into a potapotty and decided against fishing it out. I think I would have let it lie as well.
Great hub, never dropped my phone in the toilet, but it did come close. Anyways, thanks for the hub
Thank you, Ewealth
Thank you, Ewealth
Prior to owning a cell phone I once dropped my entire purse into a restaurant toilet. EWWWWW! More of a problem than just a cell phone. Wouldn't you agree?
great tip. Thanks I'll advise my children.
Congratulations on your HubNugget Nomination
Thanks for your comments :D and Peggy, I would say that is worse :D
I heard another trick is to do all the above but instead of putting it in rice put the phone in the fridge or freezer.
hmmm... I tend to think that might freeze the water inside the phone and may cause additional damage - but who know? it might work. Thanks for the comment
Never happened, yet. Rice is a new one on me. I will remember that. Love your new avatar. Now, write me a poem. :D
lol I am not a poet
and you know it ;)
Thanks for the comment ralwus
You know that package of silica that you get in a box of new shoes? Save it for this purpose. Take it out of the paper, bake it till it turns purple, then put it in a ziploc bag with your cellphone. Or so I've been told. I gave up on keeping a cellphone, my children love to flush them. They want to see if it will ring in the sewers. My daughter has a stuffed animal toy alligator named Swampy who (according to my daughter) misses her family and wants to call them.
That is such a cute story :D
HAHAHA Both my husband and my dad have dropped their phines in the toilet. And my husband had his cell in his pocket at the beach when he got hit by a wave, claiming that the wave attacked him. Oh so funny! And so true about water and phonesn ot mixing! Great hub, Luceindasy.
Thanks Crazdwriter! :D The wave attacked him, how funny ;)
I never ceases to amaze me - why on earth would you take the phone in the bathroom anyway? Seems we can't survive for even a few minutes without them. Congratulations on your nomination!
Thank you RedElf. :D
Hi Luciendasky, my water bottle once spilled and the camera that I BORROWED (gulp)drowned. Yes, I turned it on. Silly, silly me. I now make sure my cameras and cellphones are far, far away from any water, thank you. LOL
Congratulations for being a Hubnugget Wannabe! Enjoy the Hubnuggets right here: http://hubpages.com/_hubnuggets10/hub/Signs-That-Y
Thank you ripplemaker!
I have never dropped my phone in any kind of liquid, most especially not toilet liquid so maybe I am one of the very few with the "keep your cell phone away from liquids" psychic abilities. Too bad for those who aren't psychic....
This was rather entertaining and informative. Thanks for this.
Knock on my wooden head, no serious phone drama. My laptop had a white wine accident once though. Congrats on your HubNuggets nomination.
Thanks for the tips
thanks for the tips
Good on you mith moral and rmcrayne for not having phone accidents :D and rm, maybe you should tell your laptop not to be alcoholic ;) - similar experience happened with me though... my bf spilled water all over my laptop keyboard... luckily all we had to do was replace the keyboard
My laptop dried out, upside down, after about 5 days. No more drinking for her. Had a handmade Turkish carpet that had a red wine accident once. No more drinking for me.
I wish I'd had this hub a few years ago when my son dropped my phone in the toilet. yeah it was shot but i did not take my 'toilet phone' into the cell place!! Hahaha this was a great hub!! :D
lol Thanks for the comments :D
Similar tips can help for a laptop that gets wet. I once had to run through the rain with my laptop in my bookbag, which I thought was waterproof or at LEAST water resistant. Turns out it wasn't, and a few drops of water got into my laptop. I didn't realize it until after I tried to turn it on and it wouldn't turn on. I quickly took out the battery once I realized what was going on, and I left it alone to dry for a few days. Once it completely dried, it turned on and seemed to work fine! I was very thankful that it turned back on because it was a very expensive laptop.
That is good it turned back on - you are very lucky. Thank you for the comment and the tip.
Great hub! Your style and prose are really entertaining, while remaining informative. Excellent job. Since I am neither psychic nor in possession of insurance, I will leave my phone in the absence of water. Thanks again. Great writing.
Thanks for the comment :D
Guilty of a toliet drop. Right off my shoulder...and right in the water. Phone survived. Hair drier and not turning it on...removing the battery to allow it to dry more completely. I recall Lifehacker.com suggesting cat litter (clean of course) as another water absorbing substance to fix it.
Alas, my Blackberry didn't fare so well when my son thru me and it into the pool. Thank god for insurance.
Thank you for the comment, theguru :D
I have dropped my phone in the toilet, but did not hand it to anyone don't worry!
That is good to know, Ellen, Thank you ;)
This is the most fantastic Hub, ever!! Thanks!
I dropped my iphone into the sea in Crete (Greece). The phone did not like the to swim in the ocean. So I tried to find solutions on YouTube. There was a lot of solutions. Tried the "rice" thing. But no luck. Just one thing. I now have a brand new iphone !!!!
Got my question about the rice answered above. That's cool.
This is one of the most helpful hubs I've ever read. I don't think I know anyone who hasn't saturated their cell phone at some point.
My most memorable was taking my cell phone rafting with me. I assumed my backpack was waterproof. Ha.
My most recent was leaving my phone in a pocket and putting the pants in the wash. To my credit it was only in for about 2 minutes. I removed the battery and dried both battery and phone with a hair dryer. Got it to work again. But then... a mere 2 days later, I had the phone in the car with me and a cup of coffee in my lap (multitasking anyone?). I "dipped" the phone into the coffee -- screen side down -- and only for a brief second. But that dipping did it. NO more phone for me at all.
This is a very helpful hub. Getting phones wet happens all the time. My small children sometimes get my 4-year old phone wet by spilling their drink on it. I took off the battery and waited for some days. Then, it still worked but sometimes it is no longer good. Have to wait to have a budget to buy a new one.
Thank you for all your stories and comments everyone... I am glad this hub was helpful, or potentially helpful to you :D
I actually had heard of this before and tried it when my phone fell into a pool. It worked like a miracle. Great Hub.
thanks
I had a Treo once, that I loved so much that I would not except the newer model when one was offered. I never dropped it into water, but I did drop it many times. It was so beat up that I had to super glue it together regularly. Good Hub Great info enjoyed it very much.
YAY TREO :D
Thanks for the tip. I think my phone is toast though. My Wife turned it back on before it dried out and it made a funny noise before it stopped working. If I lose another one in water I will try the rice trick.
I am sorry about your phone - I hope you have better luck next time
This was definitely an interesting hub! I've had several friends drop their phones in water. The first one put hers through the washing machine, and aside from the sound being screwed, it was still useable (she even lent it to me for a time). The second one dropped hers in the bath and it turned out okay, but there was water inside the little screen at the front. So her father got a tiny drill and put a hole in the front, and after it dried out it was fine. Thanks for the tips, I will definitely try these if my phone ever gets dropped in the toilet =]
If you drop your phone in alcohol after drop in water and dried . Alcohol will help fix your phone.
Have you ever dropped your keys in the toilet, just as the toilet was flushing...boy talk about an adrinalin rush!!
as for dropping things - when you get too fat to bend over, you suddenly get over that!
lol. Thank you everyone for your comments, heart - I have never dropped my keys, maybe you should write a hub about what to do if it ever happens ;)
PhilD41 says:
2 months ago
Actually just had this conversation with a friend that washed her husband's phone. Working in the electronics field, I have also know people to put their phones in the oven to "bake" them. A low setting is need as to not melt the plastic, but it will remove moister quickly and is safe for the electronics as well.