I am an idiot......

**Brian_Gladden** · June 9th, 2012, 19:48

In a hurry this morning, getting ready for my girlfriend Rose's daughters wedding. I did a quick load of laundry. No big, until I started to unload the washer. I spotted a loose (and wet) dollar bill. Oh yeah, I remeber I had some loose bills in the pocket of my jeans. then I saw a my wallet in the washer and my heart sank.

If my wallet was in the washer, that means something else was too...

My Cell phone... DOHHHHH!

Rose has an old ATT phone she doesn't use and my sim card still worked so I'll still have a phone to use for work on Monday and get my assignments on Sunday night.

Gonna be a few weeks before I swing a new phone. I bought tickets to the Portsmouth NH airshow this week and I need to reserve a hotel room next pay day...

Sigh...

**Tako_Kichi** · June 9th, 2012, 20:33

If you haven't tried to power up the cell phone dump it into a ziplok bag filled with uncooked rice (long grain, short grain or basmati it doesn't matter) and then seal it. Leave it in there for 2-3 days and then pull it out and try to power it up. The rice should draw any moisture out of the phone.

If you have tried to power it up already all bets are off.

***luckydog*** · June 9th, 2012, 21:39

Bummer !!

**Lionheart** · June 9th, 2012, 21:57

Man....

If I can help, let me know. I have some antique cell phones here.

Bill

***TARPSBird*** · June 10th, 2012, 00:24

TK's bag of rice suggestion has worked successfully for two of my friends whose phones went for a swim.

**Brian_Gladden** · June 10th, 2012, 04:49

Power was on when it was washed.... Not a huge deal. I was thinking about getting a new phone anyway. I've just got some incentive now. I've got Rose's old Pantech Impact to use in the interim until I can afford a new one. Money isn't real tight right this second but I do have some (mini) vacation things that are coming up that are gonna take the money I'd use for a new phone.

***Daveroo*** · June 10th, 2012, 08:29

whatta bonehead...........i would NEVER do something that dumb.....................................cough

***aeromed202*** · June 10th, 2012, 09:12

I've brought peoples cells back to life by opening the case as far as I can take it and setting it in front of a fan for a day or two. Haven't tried the rice but can see how that works. I've also heard that the battery/power is the key factor. If the power was off and kept off there is a much better chance of a full or near full recovery, depending on the particular liquid exposure that is, and a new battery might be needed. That's why I got a Casio Ravine on my last upgrade. It's an outdoor environment type model that is waterproof, shock resistant, and the flip screen uses a fraction of the power of typical full screen phones so I go about a week between charges. I just mooch off my friends that have internet packages on their phones is all.

**cheezyflier** · June 10th, 2012, 09:22

Originally Posted by Daveroo

whatta bonehead...........i would NEVER do something that dumb.....................................cough

i have to laugh because i was basically coming in to say he's got plenty of company, including me.

although i haven't done that with a cell phone, ive done waaayyyy stupider stuff than that.

***Daveroo*** · June 10th, 2012, 14:33

Originally Posted by cheezyflier

i have to laugh because i was basically coming in to say he's got plenty of company, including me.

although i haven't done that with a cell phone, ive done waaayyyy stupider stuff than that.

lol...my first three fire department pagers went through washers,my first cell phone,,many wallets,packs of smokes back when i smoked..and when i was working,id leave my smokes in my shorts,and did my laundry at dads,,so that tabaco would end up in moms clothes too....i lost more money that way....and one of my dads pet peaves was the "cleaning paper"..sort of like sandpaper for cleaning copper pipe for soldering,he didnt like to spend the money to buy it..and i was allways running my pieces through the washer in my pants...

***TeaSea*** · June 10th, 2012, 16:53

I run an enterprise network with 410 Blackberry's. The NUMBER ONE reason for our replacing devices is their being dropped into toilet.

Their being washed is a close second....and not nearly as messy.

Try the rice method, it does work much of the time.

**paiken** · June 10th, 2012, 17:32

Not to worry, we're all idiots at one time or another. The trick is to do it with style

***PRB*** · June 10th, 2012, 18:01

I can top that. Went camping up in the mountains once. Took the cell phone. Just in case, right? (No cell phone service in “The Middle of Nowhere”, duh.) We took the wrong “fork in the river” and camped overnight way up stream after getting tired of looking for that waterfall that was “right around the next bend, I'm certain of it!” So, we set up tents, and set the back packs against a tree. Overnight, flash flood! Pack gets wet, cell phone is drowned. But wait, there's more. Car keys were also in the pack. Car has an anti-theft device. You have to push the button before the car will start... Lucky for us the guy I was with must have been a car thief in his other life, and had that sucker bypassed in minutes. Anti-theft!

**Lionheart** · June 10th, 2012, 23:19

Some wild stories...

I forgot to mention. In dog treat bags, snack bags, etc, you sometimes find these small packets of Silicon, like plastic tiny balls in a small plastic bag that has vents in it. I collect them from my puppies treats bags when they are empty. I have a huge bag of them now.

Anyways, the girl selling me my iPhone told me that they keep those there, so that when a customer drops their phone in a toilet, pool, bathtub, etc, they can put the unit in a ziplock bag with like 10 of those small pouches of Silicon and usually that will dry up the unit in 4 days. Then power up and see if it turns back on.

Worth a try if funds are tight.

Bill

**Tako_Kichi** · June 11th, 2012, 09:44

Originally Posted by Lionheart

Some wild stories...

I forgot to mention. In dog treat bags, snack bags, etc, you sometimes find these small packets of Silicon, like plastic tiny balls in a small plastic bag that has vents in it. I collect them from my puppies treats bags when they are empty. I have a huge bag of them now.

Anyways, the girl selling me my iPhone told me that they keep those there, so that when a customer drops their phone in a toilet, pool, bathtub, etc, they can put the unit in a ziplock bag with like 10 of those small pouches of Silicon and usually that will dry up the unit in 4 days. Then power up and see if it turns back on.

Worth a try if funds are tight.

I collect all those too and they can be found in all sorts of products that need to be kept dry but it's not silicon in them Bill but silica gel. Silica gel is a hygroscopic material (i.e. it attracts moisture) and will work far better than the rice method but rice is usually readily obtainable. Silica gel can absorb many times it's own original weight in moisture that it has pulled from the air. Most of the small packs you find in products are also of the colour changing variety so that you can see when the gel is active and when it is saturated and needs to be dried out. They usually have a little window in the side of the package so that you can see the colour of the beads. The colours can vary but the beads are typically blue when dry and pink when saturated with water. They can be dried out by placing them in an oven on a low heat for about an hour (270°F) or in a microwave for a minute or so and then re-used.