Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

iPhone 5S went in the washer...

E

eNcrypTioN

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Nov 4, 2009
393
1
yep i am an idiot. my iphone 5S was in my pocket and took a trip through the washing machine. I put it in a bag of rice and plan on leaving it there for a few days...

I'm under contract with ATT and did not buy any type of warranty...

What are my options?
 
Cripes, they're unlucky darts :-(
Take the front cover off PDQ and get warm air into the device. Then order a new battery and hope for the best...
 
eNcrypTioN said:
yep i am an idiot. my iphone 5S was in my pocket and took a trip through the washing machine. I put it in a bag of rice and plan on leaving it there for a few days...

I'm under contract with ATT and did not buy any type of warranty...

What are my options?
Click to expand...

Prepare to purchase a new phone.

(As an aside, I always get the Apple Care+ for my phones.)

My 3GS went into the washing machine and was in it for maybe 60 - 90 seconds. I realized my mistake and fished it out as quickly as I could. The screen was still lit when I pulled it out, but acting rather bizarre. I turned it off... though due to the compromised nature of the electronics, it kept turning itself back on. I took it apart and let the components sit in a warm, safe environment for a couple of days to thoroughly dry out. I put it back together and it almost turned back on (I could see the screen sort of flicker a slightly less black shade of black once), but it was a friggin' stone. Nothing.

If it was just water, it might've been ok. But laundry detergent is pretty caustic to fine electronics.

Bummer thing about that situation was that it was about 3 weeks before the 4 came out, so I had to go back to my original iPhone (my daughter was using my 3G) until the 4 was released.
 
Desiccant Granules would be better than rice to cover it with. This is used in flower drying and found at a hobby crafts store.
 
If the bag of rice doesn't help, you can take it into Apple and get a Out-Of-Waranty replacement for $269.
 
I honestly don't understand how this happens to people. My routine doesn't allow for such error. When I get home, 1st thing I do is empty my pockets of everything. Wallet, keys and pocket knife go in the same place in my room. iPhone comes out of my pocket and docks at it's charging station in my room. But even so, before any time I change out of my clothes, I pat my pockets and make sure they are empty before they come off my body and into the laundry hamper.
 
1080p said:
I honestly don't understand how this happens to people. My routine doesn't allow for such error. When I get home, 1st thing I do is empty my pockets of everything. Wallet, keys and pocket knife go in the same place in my room. iPhone comes out of my pocket and docks at it's charging station in my room. But even so, before any time I change out of my clothes, I pat my pockets and make sure they are empty before they come off my body and into the laundry hamper.
Click to expand...

When I come home and my girl is in a good mood, there is no time to check pockets. It happens often. Many jeans bearing iPhones have been flung across the room, and more than once have even been washed.
 
surfologist87 said:
When I come home and my girl is in a good mood, there is no time to check pockets. It happens often. Many jeans bearing iPhones have been flung across the room, and more than once have even been washed.
Click to expand...

Oh, no. Save the iPhones!! :mad:

The first thing to come out of my pocket is my iPhone, followed by whatever else I have in there.
 
surfologist87 said:
When I come home and my girl is in a good mood, there is no time to check pockets. It happens often. Many jeans bearing iPhones have been flung across the room, and more than once have even been washed.
Click to expand...

Oh. Well I guess my family's genetics have evolved beyond the point of not being able resist animalistic sexual instinct for a few minutes to stop and unload my pockets,
 
1080p said:
I honestly don't understand how this happens to people. My routine doesn't allow for such error. When I get home, 1st thing I do is empty my pockets of everything. Wallet, keys and pocket knife go in the same place in my room. iPhone comes out of my pocket and docks at it's charging station in my room. But even so, before any time I change out of my clothes, I pat my pockets and make sure they are empty before they come off my body and into the laundry hamper.
Click to expand...

same. i cant relax or even sit down with a pocket full of change (i work at a restaurant and get a lot of tips in change) and a thick wallet, keys, and iPhone. and even if i leave them in there, its because im changing my clothes and then immediately put my phone, and wallet back into my pants i just put on and put my change, and keys on the desk. its really not that hard to do...
 
1080p said:
I honestly don't understand how this happens to people. My routine doesn't allow for such error. When I get home, 1st thing I do is empty my pockets of everything. Wallet, keys and pocket knife go in the same place in my room. iPhone comes out of my pocket and docks at it's charging station in my room. But even so, before any time I change out of my clothes, I pat my pockets and make sure they are empty before they come off my body and into the laundry hamper.
Click to expand...

My iPhone is always on me (front left pocket). My routine for doing laundry already involves checking all pockets of every article of clothing I put in the washer. But that's not how I ended up washing my 3GS...

I was preparing laundry and the shorts I was wearing didn't have pockets (I was getting ready to go for a run). I wanted my phone downstairs with me, so I tossed my phone on top of my laundry (in the hamper) so I could carry the whole lot down in one go. By the time I got to the laundry room I'd forgotten the phone was in the hamper, dumped the whole mess into the machine and walked away. 60 seconds later I came sprinting back digging through the machine, alas.
 
91% or 99% isopropyl alcohol

Google it... it saved my phone from a push in the pool.

I let it sit in there for a few hours and then put it in rice for a few days. Perhaps it was a miracle, but it turned on and worked just like new.
 
eoblaed said:
My iPhone is always on me (front left pocket). My routine for doing laundry already involves checking all pockets of every article of clothing I put in the washer. But that's not how I ended up washing my 3GS...

I was preparing laundry and the shorts I was wearing didn't have pockets (I was getting ready to go for a run). I wanted my phone downstairs with me, so I tossed my phone on top of my laundry (in the hamper) so I could carry the whole lot down in one go. By the time I got to the laundry room I'd forgotten the phone was in the hamper, dumped the whole mess into the machine and walked away. 60 seconds later I came sprinting back digging through the machine, alas.
Click to expand...

Well... that is a fluke / freak accident, but even so... I gotta say... who dumps laundry into a washer??? The act of doing that doesn't even work well because of the agitator in the middle. I carry a basket to the washer and I load clothes by hand.
 
andyACEcandy said:
91% or 99% isopropyl alcohol

Google it... it saved my phone from a push in the pool.

I let it sit in there for a few hours and then put it in rice for a few days. Perhaps it was a miracle, but it turned on and worked just like new.
Click to expand...

Man, I would've come out of the pool with my hands out saying "who is gonna pay this phone"

it would've not gone well for whoever pushed me.
 
andyACEcandy said:
91% or 99% isopropyl alcohol

Google it... it saved my phone from a push in the pool.

I let it sit in there for a few hours and then put it in rice for a few days. Perhaps it was a miracle, but it turned on and worked just like new.
Click to expand...

Just so no one gets the wrong idea..... somehow.... TURN IT OFF FIRST.
 
dont use it for a few days
if you can open it up, that would be best

you need some airflow
dont stuff it down in a bag of rice

the biggest issue will be: did your battery survive or not?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back