What to do if you put your phone in the washing machine
It sounds stupid but so many of us accidently put our phones in the washing machine, dropped it down the toilet or lost it to the sink whilst doing the washing up. What a nightmare! Fight the urge to get angry and start screaming and check out this guide below – it’ll give you some top tips as to what to do to try and save your phone from a watery death.
First things first, what happens to your phone when it gets wet? Not just caught-in-the-rain-wet, but been-for-a-swim-wet. A lot of phones will have a water indicator inside of them, telling the manufacturers that it’s got wet. So, if it’s been in the washing machine and you ring them up to tell them it’s not working but you don’t know why – they’ll spot what’s going on as soon as they open the back.
Leave your phone in the wet for too long, and bits will start corroding. This is not what you want. The best thing to do is get your phone in the dry as soon as possible.
The most important thing to remember is DO NOT TURN YOUR PHONE ON whilst it is wet. Switching it on before it’s dry can do more damage by frying the delicate circuitry that makes your phone work so well.
If your phone has a SIM card, take that out as soon as possible and remove the battery. Wipe over the card, phone and battery with a dry cloth to get rid of as much water as you can. Then, place the phone and battery in uncooked rice for at least 24 hours. The rice will absorb the excess water. After that, put the phone back together and switch it on. Fingers crossed, it’ll work!
If not, you could try drying the phone’s components out in an airing cupboard, or on a towel over a radiator. The trick is not to use too much heat, like a hairdryer for example, as this will do more damage than good. If a few buttons start working, but not everything on the phone, be patient. Some elements take longer to come back to life after a tumble in the washing machine than others.
If none of this works, after a week or so of patient waiting, then it’s probably time to admit to yourself that your trusty phone has gone to a better place.