# Need Answer Fast: I just ran my cell phone through the washing machine **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 17, 2010, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-answer-fast-i-just-ran-my-cell-phone-through-the-washing-machine/557391 "2010-10-17T01:45:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Patch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Patch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patch)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2010, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-answer-fast-i-just-ran-my-cell-phone-through-the-washing-machine/557391/1 "2010-10-17T01:45:57Z")
Is is salvageable? There was power still in it when I pulled it out, but the screen was wonky and none of the buttons work. Is there a way I can bring it back? This is the only phone I have (I lack a landline). ---
**Author:** ![SSG\_Schwartz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@SSG\_Schwartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SSG_Schwartz)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2010, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-answer-fast-i-just-ran-my-cell-phone-through-the-washing-machine/557391/2 "2010-10-17T01:51:11Z")
Take the battery out and put it in a ziploc bag half full of rice. Leave it overnight and it should work in the morning. SSG § Schwartz ---
**Author:** ![Patch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Patch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patch)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2010, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-answer-fast-i-just-ran-my-cell-phone-through-the-washing-machine/557391/3 "2010-10-17T01:54:35Z")
> [@SSG\_Schwartz](#): > > Take the battery out and put it in a ziploc bag half full of rice. Leave it overnight and it should work in the morning. > > SSG (P) Schwartz … Do… do I need to start a thread tomorrow on how to get rice out of my cell phone? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![DxZero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@DxZero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DxZero)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2010, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-answer-fast-i-just-ran-my-cell-phone-through-the-washing-machine/557391/4 "2010-10-17T02:32:46Z")
Let me second the recommendation of rice. I’ve seen it work numerous times. ---
**Author:** ![Patch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Patch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patch)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2010, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-answer-fast-i-just-ran-my-cell-phone-through-the-washing-machine/557391/5 "2010-10-17T03:07:31Z")
Man, that’s the third person to tell me to dump it in rice. Hope it works. ---
**Author:** ![unclelem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ac91a4/32.png) [@unclelem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/unclelem)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2010, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-answer-fast-i-just-ran-my-cell-phone-through-the-washing-machine/557391/6 "2010-10-17T03:30:41Z")
> [@Patch](#): > > > [@SSG\_Schwartz](#): > > > > Take the battery out and put it in a ziploc bag half full of rice. Leave it overnight and it should work in the morning. > > > > SSG (P) Schwartz > > … > > Do… do I need to start a thread tomorrow on how to get rice out of my cell phone? 😕 you understood that they mean dry, uncooked rice, right? Another thing is to put some of those silica gel packs that you find in electronics boxes or in some pill bottles - which serve the same purpose: to actively absorb the moisture from the air in the sealed bag. In the future, do _not_ turn it on to see if it still works. Immediately remove the battery, and let it dry out in the bag of absorbant (rice or whatever) overnight or even for 24 hours. If it still doesn’t work after the above process, see if you can find a local phone repair business. They will often have the ability to try to clean any residue from the washed electronics to see if that helps, and if that doesn’t fix the problem, may be able to repair whatever has been damaged. (washing may have caused physical trauma to the phone from being klunked around in the wash too). ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2010, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-answer-fast-i-just-ran-my-cell-phone-through-the-washing-machine/557391/7 "2010-10-17T03:39:48Z")
I also want to recommend rice. I’ve never seen it used myself, but Kari Byron mentioned it on Head Rush just the other day. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2010, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-answer-fast-i-just-ran-my-cell-phone-through-the-washing-machine/557391/8 "2010-10-17T03:41:10Z")
Uncooked rice will act as a mild desiccant, but unless you live in a very humid area, it’s really not going to do much. This is one of those things that gets passed all around the internet. Then when someone accidentally dunks their phone and they put it in rice and it works afterwords, they go AHA! It must have been the rice! The important thing is to take the battery out of the phone immediately. Then just let the phone dry out. You can put it in uncooked rice. You can leave it on the counter. You can set it on top of your shrine to the flying spaghetti monster if it makes you feel better. Once the phone has had time to completely dry out (a day or two) put the battery back in and see if it works. If it did, you can tell everyone that your rice, counter top, or shrine to the flying spaghetti monster fixed it. One of the things going around the internet is to put the phone in the freezer. This is very bad. Not only will the ice crystals damage the phone when they form, but then when the phone thaws out the ice turns back into water and you are right back where you started from. Another bit of advice is to put it in the oven on a low temperature. As long as it’s not too hot, this actually will help the water evaporate out of it faster. This is kinda dangerous though because if the temperature gets too high it will damage the phone. It’s safer just to leave the phone on the counter. ---
**Author:** ![Patch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Patch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patch)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2010, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-answer-fast-i-just-ran-my-cell-phone-through-the-washing-machine/557391/9 "2010-10-17T03:43:47Z")
> [@unclelem](#): > > In the future, do _not_ turn it on to see if it still works. It was on when it went into the washer. :eek: I figured the rice was working as a desiccant. I’ll give that a go and see what happens. ---
**Author:** ![Patch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Patch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patch)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2010, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-answer-fast-i-just-ran-my-cell-phone-through-the-washing-machine/557391/10 "2010-10-17T03:45:12Z")
> [@unclelem](#): > > you understood that they mean dry, uncooked rice, right? “Yeah, about this rice thing… Should I put the phone in the rice cooker, or just boil it on the stove?” 😃 Yeah, I understood the intent. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2010, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-answer-fast-i-just-ran-my-cell-phone-through-the-washing-machine/557391/11 "2010-10-17T04:15:42Z")
if it went into the washer powered up that could be bad. powered up or not if it got suds in it then that could be bad. the suds could leave a residue inside which could cause trouble even after dry. ---
**Author:** ![Patch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Patch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patch)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2010, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-answer-fast-i-just-ran-my-cell-phone-through-the-washing-machine/557391/12 "2010-10-17T04:16:52Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > if it went into the washer powered up that could be bad. powered up or not if it got suds in it then that could be bad. the suds could leave a residue inside which could cause trouble even after dry. Yup, that’s my worry too. I almost wonder if I should wash it in clear water while turned off. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_C](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Captain\_C](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_C)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2010, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-answer-fast-i-just-ran-my-cell-phone-through-the-washing-machine/557391/13 "2010-10-17T04:22:30Z")
Not sure how good a phone you have, so take this for what it’s worth: When I did something similar last year, my phone was salvageable but I managed to save the memory card. If you buy one of those cheap pre-paid phones at Walgreens and put the card in it, it will continue to function on your plan. Not a great fix if you had a blackberry, but if you are used to a limited-feature phone it’ll only cost you around $20. ---
**Author:** ![Patch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Patch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patch)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2010, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-answer-fast-i-just-ran-my-cell-phone-through-the-washing-machine/557391/14 "2010-10-17T04:24:55Z")
> [@Captain\_C](#): > > Not sure how good a phone you have, so take this for what it’s worth: > > When I did something similar last year, my phone was salvageable but I managed to save the memory card. If you buy one of those cheap pre-paid phones at Walgreens and put the card in it, it will continue to function on your plan. Not a great fix if you had a blackberry, but if you are used to a limited-feature phone it’ll only cost you around $20. Verizon Wireless phone. Doesn’t have a SIM card. Oooh… but it does have a little tiny memory card. I saved a bunch of stuff to that. All is not lost! ---
**Author:** ![Cubsfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Cubsfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cubsfan)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2010, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-answer-fast-i-just-ran-my-cell-phone-through-the-washing-machine/557391/15 "2010-10-17T04:25:06Z")
Quickly put it in a bag then drop it in your trash can. Hurry it out to the curb without delay. ---
**Author:** ![Patch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Patch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patch)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2010, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-answer-fast-i-just-ran-my-cell-phone-through-the-washing-machine/557391/16 "2010-10-19T01:14:12Z")
Got the phone up and running finally. The LCD is blotchy, and not all the buttons want to work. I’ve ordered another one. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2010, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-answer-fast-i-just-ran-my-cell-phone-through-the-washing-machine/557391/17 "2010-10-19T02:58:09Z")
You know, you are supposed to use long grain rice. They didn’t tell you that, did they? ---
**Author:** ![Patch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Patch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patch)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2010, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-answer-fast-i-just-ran-my-cell-phone-through-the-washing-machine/557391/18 "2010-10-19T04:27:34Z")
> [@Dag\_Otto](#): > > You know, you are supposed to use long grain rice. They didn’t tell you that, did they? I had boil-in-a-bag rice. What can I say, I’m a bachelor who hates cooking. There was a lot of water in the LCD screen that wasn’t doing a damn thing, so I set the oven to about 80^F, pried open the case a little to vent, and left it in there overnight. Dried it up fairly well, but I think the soapy water mucked things up.