Most of us have had a near miss and many have experienced the full horrors. Our beloved mobile phone has just fallen in the sink/bath/toilet (delete as appropriate). But don’t panic – act quickly and you may save it.
Those who have been there will know that it all seems to happen in slow motion…that moment when you realise what is happening. As your heart beats faster, you begin to consider the implications…
Is it because mobile phones are so small and portable these days or just because we can no longer bear to be apart from them? Either way, they tend to follow us everywhere – even into the bathroom – and mishaps involving water are increasingly common. Of course, nowadays we store documents, telephone numbers, email addresses, photos – all manner of information – on our phones, so the consequences of something going wrong can be pretty severe.
But having fished your phone out from the scene of its watery accident, don’t consign it to mobile heaven just yet. If you perform the following steps quickly enough, it could soon be making a full recovery.
4 quick steps when your phone gets wet
1) First things first, remove the battery – fast! Do this before switching it off – messing around with the keys could let in more water and do more harm than good. Of course, if you have an iPhone, you won’t have this option. You’ll just have to switch it off and keep your fingers crossed.
Avoid switching it back at any stage until you’ve completed all the steps below. If you switch it on too soon, you risk causing more damage.
2) Gently wipe off all excess water. Remove the battery and SIM card – wipe these too, but only after attending to your phone – that’s the most important part you want to save. Avoid the temptation to use a hairdryer. Rather than getting rid of the excess moisture, it will only serve to push it deeper into the nooks and crannies.
3) Now you need to put your phone into something which will absorb the moisture. Some uncooked rice is a readily available option. Simply fill a seal tight bag with the rice, pop the phone in and leave it for a few days. Alternatively, there are special bags and kits on the market for drawing out the excess water.
4) After a few days, remove your phone. Give it a shake – if no water droplets fall from it, you should be safe to try switching it back on – and pray for a happy ending!
