I feel your pain, man. I actually did that with my original iPhone. I know it's just a phone, but I think my heart actually stopped when I pulled all of the clothes out of the washer and I saw my phone lying on the bottom. It took about a month, but it became completely usable again.
And, ironically, like your wife I carry my iPad around while doing my laundry. And you better believe that baby is definitely not on top of my clothes when I dump them in the washer. A very painful lesson learned.