You're taking a
call by the poolside when - Oops! There goes your RM2,000 smartphone. But don't panic! Just dry it out properly
and it'll be working fine.
What's the best thing to do when your
smartphone falls into the water? Absolutely nothing! If you're quick enough to
fish it out and shake it off, chances are the device survived the mishap.
Still, as an added precaution, you should take good care of properly drying it
out.
It's not to say all could be well. The
biggest risk: the moisture reaches the inner parts of the device and connects
the conductor paths that actually should not be connected, and creating
electric currents in the wrong places. Even a short circuit can burn out only a
small part and make a banal paperweight out of a smart phone worth RM2,000. And
there is another risk: long term damage due to corrosion; in other words, rust!
Rust prevents contact and thereby cuts off electric currents.
The display is especially at risk. For
instance, if the water carries along dust and other floating parts, it can
result in ugly image interferences.
But what can you do if the cell phone has
become wet? We have six methods for you, which you can carry out one after the
other. You need not carry out all the steps; it is often sufficient if you
dismantle the device as much as possible and let it dry. You only continue if
require it. Another tip in advance: the inside of every cell phone contains
several color indicators and they change their colours as soon as they come in
contact with water. Thus, a service technician can immediately identify where
the moisture has reached inside the device. Drying the cell phone. sending it
to them and lying about how it got damaged does not work.
The solution
1.
Dry
Sounds banal, but nonetheless important.
First, dry the cell phone from the outside, and then take out the water
remaining inside by shaking in one direction. That is how most of the moisture
comes out. But the problem is that water gathers in the corners of the device,
so shaking does necessarily get it all out. To get rid of the remaining water,
we will now proceed to use more suitable methods.
2.
Remove battery
This is what you should also do
immediately. With this, you can prevent short circuits taking place anywhere if
the water is directing electricity to the wrong places. So, remove the cover of
the device, take the battery out and place the individual parts on a cloth. You
can then place this cloth on a lukewarm heater so that everything dries up (not
on the oven, please, as there is a risk of parts getting damaged). You can
perhaps leave it out overnight, this is usually enough to let the water
evaporate from the circuit boards and display.
3.
Dismantle
If you have a knack for it, dismantle the
cell phone as much as possible. Remove everything that can be removed without
causing damage to the device. You can also use a screwdriver. Wherever you see
moisture, dab it immediately and be carefully with the cloth. Every now and
then, shake the exposed device manually.
4.
Suck the cell phone dry
Our first thought was that the moisture can
be blown out with an air pump that we use to dust the PC. But the mistake here
is that propelling air drives the moisture deeper into the device. It would be
more practical to suck the cell phone dry, even if it seems inappropriate.
Place the screws that you have taken out from the cell phone away for safety's
sake. Then take your vacuum cleaner and run the suction pipe at all sides of
the device.
5.
Take out the moisture
Another trick: place the cell phone parts
overnight in a bowl full of uncooked rice and cover it - Tupperware containers
are well suited for this. The dried rice extracts the moisture from the
telephone. It is important to have the cover on otherwise the rice would also
absorb moisture from the environment and not only from the cell phone.
6.
Clean the display
If moisture is still present in the device,
mainly the display, then you can clean these areas specifically with isopropyl
alcohol. In our case, we stretched out the display a bit by attaching a piece
of paper in it. Then we let the alcohol run through. The fluid has three
advantages: firstly, the water is driven out, secondly, it does not conduct
electricity and thirdly, it evaporates fast and easily.
