iPhone Users- PLEASE HELP ME!!!

[absoluteMAC]

Hey guys, this is my first post and I am hoping the iPhone community can help me. I am really upset about this situation. I hope you guys can read this in full. I apologize for the length but I just want to be detailed in what happend.

My stupid cleaning lady put my iPhone in the washing machine. She took the sheets off my bed and my iPhone was buried in my sheets, which she obviously didn't see. Luckily, I realized this about a minute later and she managed to get it out of the washing machine within 1 to 2 minutes. She didn't speak much English so it was hard to know how wet the iPhone was or where exactly in the washing machine it was. When she handed it to me, it was wet but it wasn't completely submerged with water (I could be wrong; she might have dried it off quickly before giving it to me). When I was shaking the phone, I could see drops of water coming out from the charge port and interior of the phone.

Surprisingly, my iPhone was still working when my cleaning lady handed it to me. Within a few minutes (as I was playing around with it), the screen turned brownish and off color, clearing indicating it was water damaged. However, the phone never lost power. I didn't take the Sim Card out. I have this invisible case (like the Invisible Shield) over my iPhone and didn't feel like ripping that off and having to take the Sim Card out. I read it doesn't make much of a difference.

When I saw my iPhone was changing colors on the screen, I quickly turned my iPhone off and put it in a air tight bag of rice. When I took it back out 10 minutes later and powered the phone back on, the color went back and it seemed like the phone was good as new. To be extra cautious, I left the phone in the rice bag then went to Radio Shack and bought a Wet Phone Emergency Kit. I put the iPhone in the kit and am going to keep it in the bag overnight. It recommends keeping it in the bag for 48 hours but I am going to keep it in there for 24 hours (it's not as water damaged as most phones so I don't think I need the full 48 hours). I really need my phone tomorrow night.

What are my chances my phone can survive and be 100% functional?

Yes, I probably will end up firing the cleaning lady...

 

[YMark]

Yes, I probably will end up firing the cleaning lady...

For YOUR mistake. Nice.

 

[iceterminal]

There's so much that I could say here, but I'll refrain from them. However, let me highlight a few things for you.

My stupid cleaning lady
She didn't speak much English
in the washing machine
probably will end up firing

Not her fault you left it in the sheets, but is her fault for not checking if something would of been..such as phones/books/watches/etc.

I'd never hire anyone that I can't understand or can't understand me.

Leave it in the dry rice/bag for 48 hours like it says.

 

[verwon]

Well, the fact that you've already turned it back on and don't want to leave it in there for 48 hours is likely doom!

 

[Gr8fulMac]

Since it seemed to be working, it sounds like you "rescued" it in time. Give it some more drying time, but you should be good to go.

 

[maflynn]

Wow, that's wicked harsh. Firing a person because of your mistake. Why not chalk it up to your own lesson learned

 

[saving107]

Yes, I probably will end up firing the cleaning lady...

I read your entire post and the only thing that comes to mind is "First World Problems"

I also agree with what iceterminal said.

 

[KentuckyHouse]

My first thought...if you can afford a cleaning lady, you can afford to get a $199 replacement.

 

[absoluteMAC]

For YOUR mistake. Nice.

It's not my mistake. Just to clear it up. I was in the bathroom and she went into my room and took the sheets off my bed. This all happend in a one minute period.

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So it's OK to just go into your room and take your sheets off your bed when I was clearly in the room a second before? I just woke up and a few minutes later she takes them off and throws them in the wash. How can you possibly defend her?

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So it's OK to just go into your room and take your sheets off your bed when I was clearly in the room a second before? I just woke up and a few minutes later she takes them off and throws them in the wash. How can you possibly defend her?

 

[Interstella5555]

Hey guys, this is my first post and I am hoping the iPhone community can help me. I am really upset about this situation. I hope you guys can read this in full. I apologize for the length but I just want to be detailed in what happend.

My stupid cleaning lady put my iPhone in the washing machine.

Brutal

She took the sheets off my bed and my iPhone was buried in my sheets, which she obviously didn't see.

Oh, so it was actually your fault.

Luckily, I realized this about a minute later and she managed to get it out of the washing machine within 1 to 2 minutes.

good save

She didn't speak much English so it was hard to know how wet the iPhone was or where exactly in the washing machine it was.

You mean you didn't bother to learn her language, making communication difficult.

When she handed it to me, it was wet but it wasn't completely submerged with water (I could be wrong; she might have dried it off quickly before giving it to me).

Pretty amazing that she could essentially suck water out of the phone, wiping it off wouldn't really do a lot, especially given this:

When I was shaking the phone, I could see drops of water coming out from the charge port and interior of the phone.

Surprisingly, my iPhone was still working when my cleaning lady handed it to me. Within a few minutes (as I was playing around with it), the screen turned brownish and off color, clearing indicating it was water damaged.

big mistake

However, the phone never lost power. I didn't take the Sim Card out. I have this invisible case (like the Invisible Shield) over my iPhone and didn't feel like ripping that off and having to take the Sim Card out. I read it doesn't make much of a difference.

So after continuing to use it even though you knew there was water in it, and beyond that didn't take off the case which is esentially trapping water in there?

When I saw my iPhone was changing colors on the screen, I quickly turned my iPhone off and put it in a air tight bag of rice.

Nice

When I took it back out 10 minutes later and powered the phone back on, the color went back and it seemed like the phone was good as new.

Should have actually left it in there for at least a day if not longer, you're not really doing anything with 10 minutes in there.

To be extra cautious, I left the phone in the rice bag then went to Radio Shack and bought a Wet Phone Emergency Kit. I put the iPhone in the kit and am going to keep it in the bag overnight. It recommends keeping it in the bag for 48 hours but I am going to keep it in there for 24 hours (it's not as water damaged as most phones so I don't think I need the full 48 hours). I really need my phone tomorrow night.

Why exactly? And did you take the case off? Again, you know there's water in there, telling yourself "it's not as bad as other so I only have to leave it in there for half as long" is going to do about as much good as the 10 minutes in the rice.

What are my chances my phone can survive and be 100% functional?

Since you were actively using it after it got wet, it's more than likely there's permanent damage to the phone.

Yes, I probably will end up firing the cleaning lady...

Thank god, I though for a second you may consider that it was ultimately your fault that this happened, but instead you're doing the right thing and firing your cleaning lady. Good job buddy.

 

[matttye]

It's not my mistake. Just to clear it up. I was in the bathroom and she went into my room and took the sheets off my bed. This all happend in a one minute period.

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So it's OK to just go into your room and take your sheets off your bed when I was clearly in the room a second before? I just woke up and a few minutes later she takes them off and throws them in the wash. How can you possibly defend her?

----------

So it's OK to just go into your room and take your sheets off your bed when I was clearly in the room a second before? I just woke up and a few minutes later she takes them off and throws them in the wash. How can you possibly defend her?

Yes it is your mistake..she's a cleaning lady. She saw you were out of bed and went to clean your sheets, which is something you clearly pay her to do. How would she know your phone is there?

 

[cynics]

Just send your butler out to pick up a new one!

 

[absoluteMAC]

My iPhone was ON TOP of my sheets. She got it buried in there. She didn't take a second to look what was on my bed.

I'm not going to fire the cleaning lady. It was a joke. She was really upset about it and she didn't mean it. I just need some help or assurance. I apologize if I stirred up stuff.

 

[cynics]

I can understand both sides to the argument. You always check sheets and pockets before washing cloths ESP if you are a professional. Wallets, phones, keys etc

Then again I wouldn't fire someone for an honest mistake.

 

[matttye]

My iPhone was ON TOP of my sheets. She got it buried in there. She didn't take a second to look what was on my bed.

I'm not going to fire the cleaning lady. It was a joke. She was really upset about it and she didn't mean it. I just need some help or assurance. I apologize if I stirred up stuff.

Turn it off and put it in the emergency kit for the full 48 hours as indicated. Don't turn it on during those two days.

If you really need a phone for tomorrow night, go to your carrier, get a replacement sim card and a cheap dumb phone for the night.

You should turn your device off immediately/not turn it on as soon as you notice the water damage and NOT turn it back on until it's completely dry.

Oh and take the case off.

 

[absoluteMAC]

Turn it off and put it in the emergency kit for the full 48 hours as indicated. Don't turn it on during those two days.

If you really need a phone for tomorrow night, go to your carrier, get a replacement sim card and a cheap dumb phone for the night.

You should turn your device off immediately/not turn it on as soon as you notice the water damage and NOT turn it back on until it's completely dry.

Oh and take the case off.

It's an invisible shield case (but actually a better version that I got at the mall). It's not covering interior stuff. It's just a tight piece of plastic. It literally is sealed. Should I take it off? That makes a difference?

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It's an invisible shield case (but actually a better version that I got at the mall). It's not covering interior stuff. It's just a tight piece of plastic. It literally is sealed. Should I take it off? That makes a difference?

The charge port or head phone jack and all the interior stuff is NOT covered. Only the screen and the sides but how can something even get in there?

 

[matttye]

It's an invisible shield case (but actually a better version that I got at the mall). It's not covering interior stuff. It's just a tight piece of plastic. It literally is sealed. Should I take it off? That makes a difference?

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The charge port or head phone jack and all the interior stuff is NOT covered. Only the screen and the sides but how can something even get in there?

I'd take it off anyway. No matter how sealed you think it is, there's still a chance water can get in there. Even if it's only covering the screen it could still be holding water against the screen, which you don't really want.

 

[Toby Ziegler]

Go easy guys. He's obviously got this all figured out on his own.

 

[lordofthereef]

Who cares who's mistake it was? The beauty of hiring a cleaning lady is you can hire another one. People have been fired for less. If that makes you feel better to fire her, that's your prerogative. The only mistake I see you made was telling us the entire story about why the thing ended up in the wash. We didn't need all of that info. Now the thread has turned into something I am sure you didn't expect it to (or maybe you did, I don't really know). Dry it out, you may be fine. If not, it's only $200 to replace. While that doesn't feel good, I am sure it wouldn't be the end of the world based on the fact you hire someone to do your laundry.

Since we are all adding our input on whether we feel it was your fault or not, I can't say that I feel it was 0% the cleaning lady's fault. She should be checking things before tossing them in the wash, but so should you, knowing that you have a cleaning lady doing the wash for you... Would I fire her over it? Probably not, but I would make sure she understood that it's important to check things before just tossing them into the washer next time. I may be a little biased. My fiance (who was my girlfriend at the time) tossed some blankets off the couch into the wash with my iPhone 4 in it the evening of launch. I obviously still proposed, and we are getting married in October, so I obviously didn't get rid of her. Different situation entirely, but thought I would share. Also, firing her won't guarantee that the next person will not make a mistake. So keep that in mind.

 

[aDRock1154]

My first thought...if you can afford a cleaning lady, you can afford to get a $199 replacement.

This times ten.

 

[YMark]

Can anyone get an iPhone replacement for $200? What would be the purpose of purchasing insurance?

 

[Arnezie]

Man my mom would be pissed if I referred to her as the cleaning lady. But your right tell mom to stop washing your stuff and promise her you will do it every Saturday morning, then just set a reminder on your new iPhone to remind you to wash your sheets.

 

[KentuckyHouse]

Can anyone get an iPhone replacement for $200? What would be the purpose of purchasing insurance?

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure if you took a water-damaged iPhone in to an Apple store, they would give you a replacement for $199. That's always been my understanding. Unless you get REALLY lucky and are REALLY nice and get a REALLY understanding Genius...then they might give you a one-time free replacement. But, I wouldn't count on that.

Man my mom would be pissed if I referred to her as the cleaning lady. But your right tell mom to stop washing your stuff and promise her you will do it every Saturday morning, then just set a reminder on your new iPhone to remind you to wash your sheets.

Well-played, sir. I hereby award you 100 intranets.

 

[sulpfiction]

Can anyone get an iPhone replacement for $200? What would be the purpose of purchasing insurance?

If you have a 4S then yes, a replacement is $199. AC+ is $100 and includes 2 user damaged replacements with a $50 deductible. So basically you save $50 if you have drop or submerge your phone. It's that 2nd replacement where you get your moneys worth. It really makes no sense to get AC+ unless you are very clumsy. Without AC+ you are only really risking $50. And if you happen NOT to drop and break your phone you saved youself $100.

 

[lordofthereef]

Can anyone get an iPhone replacement for $200? What would be the purpose of purchasing insurance?

The purpose of insurance, IMO, is loss. Outside of that, if you are not accident prone, I do not see one. And yes, so long as you are able to bring in your broken phone, they will replace it with a refurbished unit for $200.

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If you have a 4S then yes, a replacement is $199. AC+ is $100 and includes 2 user damaged replacements with a $50 deductible. So basically you save $50 if you have drop or submerge your phone. It's that 2nd replacement where you get your moneys worth. It really makes no sense to get AC+ unless you are very clumsy. Without AC+ you are only really risking $50. And if you happen NOT to drop and break your phone you saved youself $100.

It will add resale value as well, I am sure. Even at a year (next iPhone), your phone remains under manufacturer's warranty for another year, and has however many of the two $50 replacements you didn't use. I was in the market for a used iPhone 4 on Verizon recently and went with the one with Apple care (not +) just for the added warranty. Unfortunately these phones do tend to wear down, especially on heavy use.