My cousin just ran her iPhone through the washing machine on a full 40C cycle. On discovering it she left it turned off and put it in a bowl of dry rice in a warm cupboard for a day. It powered up fine, no damage done!!
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
iPhone in a washing machine + rice = success!
- Thread starter Mike Oxard
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I remember seeing this thing on TV one day. I can't remember the name of it, but it was basically a Ziplock bag, and it supposed dried the phone out. Wonder how well they really work???Not that I wanna try it on my $600 phone, but just in case I wounder if they work....
This has nothing to do with the rice and all to do with the fact that it was turned off ( no electric charge ) then dryed appropriatly.
You can put a laptop without a battery in your washing machine and dry it out completly and it will work 100%.
Water damaged refers to shortcuts cause by water. If there is no electric charge involved, no shortcuts, no damages.
Yes but it can take longer to dry out a battery if you just put it somewhere and let it dry on it's own. The rice absorbs the moisture faster so that he doesn't have to wait weeks to use his phone.
I've tried other methods in the past including just "letting it dry" and the bag of rice method always seems to do the trick.
I work in computer and phone repair, and we do a lot of water damaged iPhones and BlackBerrys. The rice is pointless. It can actually make things worse. Rice stuck in parts of your electronic device is far from ideal.
The actual water isn't a problem with liquid damaged phones. It is the minerals and other things the water leaves behind that often cause corrosion and cause things to not function properly. Rice is not going to reduce those deposits that are left, AT ALL. If the device were off and were bathed in pure water, there would be no damage once the device dried.
The actual water isn't a problem with liquid damaged phones. It is the minerals and other things the water leaves behind that often cause corrosion and cause things to not function properly. Rice is not going to reduce those deposits that are left, AT ALL. If the device were off and were bathed in pure water, there would be no damage once the device dried.
i always wondered this about the rice technique though, what about the headphone jack and charge port on the bottom? wouldnt some rice get in there and get stuck or something? besides does using a type of rice like yellow, or jasmine, or long grain effect the taste of the phone?
Even in 10Mohm pure DI water, a device with electrical current still flowing, metals / materials that will exchange ions - it will turn the water conductive, and then acidic - which is far more damaging.
The rice trick works pretty well - though opening the device up, using ultra-zero air and/or vacuum works far better. But not many people have access to these - so rice is far better than nothing.
Edit: Was responding to ZenErik - you beat me to it.
The rice trick works pretty well - though opening the device up, using ultra-zero air and/or vacuum works far better. But not many people have access to these - so rice is far better than nothing.
Edit: Was responding to ZenErik - you beat me to it.
Likely why I've read that if your device is submersed in liquid (like in the washing machine or coffee, etc.), then you should remove the battery, open it up if you can and rinse the device in distilled water. Then leave it to dry.
A family member has washed their 3GS in the washing machine not once, but TWICE. And it's still working. It came out of the washing machine the 2nd time still turned on and it wouldn't turn off. They didn't even remove the battery but just let it sit for several days and it's currently still on the go. The case was cracked and partially opened though from being tossed around. That and it being on, my guess is that at some point it's going to start behaving badly.
My sister dropped her 3GS in the toilet last week Thursday. It's been in rice since. Will be until December 16th when she's back in town.
Wrap the device in a handkerchief or nylon stocking first to keep dust out of the ports. If you didn't, vacuum the ports after the drying period.
What I've always wondered is whether after pulling a device out of tap water, should I redunk it in distilled or DI water before drying, and if so, for how long?
NO! Unless you want to be certain that you've destroyed it! And no alcohol either.
I'm not on my regular desktop computer where I know I have a link to a study that was done with various recovery theories and this common myth was debunked rather quickly!
Best suggestion is the dry silica - the sort of things you get with many electronic devices, the stuff that comes in those little white packets, followed by the silicate cat litter and rice in that order.
Be sure to seal the phone very tightly in whatever bag or airtight container you have available. You can use a very sheer nylon to keep the rice/silica out of the various ports.
I'd love to read this if you remember it to post a link when you're back to your desktop.
Ouch... I have a friend who dropped his old flip phone in the toilet once. The kicker is that he was sitting on it when it happened and he had just had diarrhea and was about to flush. Yeh, not a good story to tell at the dinner table.
Awesome! I will remember this if (touch wood I don't) have a similar experience.
Further information on the event:
It was still turned on when it went in the washing machine.
The washing machine was on a delicates cycle (whatever that means, i just leave clothes on the floor and take them out of my draw all clean and ironed a couple of days later, no idea what happens in between)
The rice was 'Arborio Rice', perhaps it has better desiccant properties?
She's turned it off again just to make sure it's properly dry, it has to last 8 months till upgrade time.
It was still turned on when it went in the washing machine.
The washing machine was on a delicates cycle (whatever that means, i just leave clothes on the floor and take them out of my draw all clean and ironed a couple of days later, no idea what happens in between)
The rice was 'Arborio Rice', perhaps it has better desiccant properties?
She's turned it off again just to make sure it's properly dry, it has to last 8 months till upgrade time.
Ouch... I have a friend who dropped his old flip phone in the toilet once. The kicker is that he was sitting on it when it happened and he had just had diarrhea and was about to flush. Yeh, not a good story to tell at the dinner table.
It would've been diarrhea and puke in the toilet if that were to happen to me. Gah...I don't even know what I'd do. Luckily my sister dropped it in before she went pee. Or so she tells me...
ahhhhhhhhhhh ok, you should have said it before...
Arborio rice brand explains everything.
This topic can be closed now.
iPhone4 survives washing machine
Hi
I just blogged about Washing Machine Vs iPhone. Turns out rice really is the answer.
good luck
Hi
I just blogged about Washing Machine Vs iPhone. Turns out rice really is the answer.
good luck