How (Not) To Dry Your Wet Phone

While listening to the radio this morning, I heard Zoe Ball announcing that her 13-month old daughter, now walking, had dropped Zoe’s mobile phone into the bath last night. I don’t expect for one minute that Ms. Ball had one of the indestructible cases shown in a recent edition of The Gadget Show, so she might want to consider one of the following Top Ten Ways (not) To Dry Your Mobile Phone:

10. Microwave. NOT a good idea. The microwave radiation will FRY your mobile phone in seconds, damaging it totally beyond repair. In addition, the metal parts of your phone will spark and will probably catch fire.

9. Car Engine compartment. A nice warm place, you would think this is ideal. Although this might dry your phone, it is also a bit too warm. Plus if you leave it there, the vibration will almost certainly damage your phone, if it’s still there when you look for it!

8.  Hairdryer. Any form of heat applied to your mobile phone is likely to cause damage. The best policy here is to avoid direct heat in any form.

7. Radiator. Again, this falls into the direct heat category. Radiators get very hot. Heat will break your phone!

6. Under a desk lamp. Heat again. Gentle heat should be ok, such as slightly warm air passing over the phone, but it could take a while.

5. Airing cupboard. As long as you don’t put your phone on top of the hot water tank, finishing off the drying process in the airing cupboard might well be a good option.

4. Dismantling and drying with a cloth. If you don’t mind taking things apart (and more importantly, you are ok putting things back together!), carefully dismantling your mobile phone might be an option, although some phones are easier than others.

3. Shaking the phone vigorously. Some phones might get seriously damaged with this technique, so only try this if you are certain that yours isn’t one of them.

2. Burying the phone in dried rice. This can certainly be a good idea, the rice absorbs the water, in the same way it does when you cook it. No need to add salt though!

1. Burying your mobile or iPhone in sachets of silica gel. These are those little bags of crystals, which seem to come free with certain items. The crystals are a desiccant, and are designed to absorb moisture, and are very effective at this.

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