Dropped your phone in the toilet, walked in the soaking rain and came home to a drenched phone or did you run it through the washing machine?

All questions that anyone owning the latest mobile phones would dread to answer with a ‘yes’! Well, if you did, unfortunately, drop your phone in water or any liquid, there are some steps to follow that just may save your cherished smartphone. Read on for details.

Step One – Save the Phone!

Get your phone out of the water or any liquid it may have fallen in; do this immediately!

Step Two – Do Not Turn it On

If your phone is off, leave it at that; basically try not to see if it works. Listed below are steps you must avoid should your smartphone fall in water or get exposed to any type of liquid.

• Avoid turning on the phone
• Do not press any of the keys
• Avoid trying to navigate
• Simply, don’t use the phone

Step Three – Take out the Power Source

If your mobile phone gives you access, remove the battery. Most of the new Android phones and the Apple iPhone do not give you access to the battery, but if you do own one that allows it, take out the battery. Doing so will cut out the chances of your phone short circuiting.

Step Four – Get your Phone Out of the Case

If you have bought a protective case for your phone, make sure to dry the outside of the case before removing it. While removing the case, try to avoid moving the phone around as this may cause any water lodged inside the case to seep into inner parts of the phone, such as, holes, ports, plugs, cracks and any other opening which will allow the liquid into the internal section of your phone. Keep in mind that while you can easily buy phones online, there is a host of accessories to choose from as well; amongst these phone cases are very popular, most online mobile stores like Phonepola, for example, stock up on the latest accessories for smart phones, hence you can choose a case which fits your mobile device snugly and maybe save your phone from easily getting wet.

Step Five – Remove the Internal Parts

The removable parts of your phone include the SIM card, memory card and battery (the latter in some models). By taking out the SIM and memory card you can allow them to dry. Keep the back case open so that the inside of the phone can air dry. Don’t worry about the SIM card as that can be easily replaced, and if you had invested in a good quality memory card, it would most likely be waterproof.

Step Six – Drying the Phone

Use a towel or good absorbent cloth to dry your phone. Do so with care, paying attention to drying the outer parts and insides of the phone; while doing so make sure that no water runs into the internal parts of your phone, avoid twisting and turning it around too much.

Step Seven – No Blowing Please!

Avoid artificially drying your phone, this means no blow dryers, blowing air through a straw or even simply blowing with your lips to try and dry the internal parts of your smartphone. With a blow dryer, it’s possible to cause heat damage to the sensitive parts of your phone and when attempting to blow dry the phone with your lips or air through a straw, you may cause water to shift to other internal parts of the phone causing more damage.

Step Eight – Do Not Unscrew or Take the Phone Apart

Apart from getting out the battery, the memory and SIM card, you must not attempt to take your phone apart. The liquid would most probably have activated your Liquid Damage Indicator (LDI) voiding your warranty, but that does not mean you can take the phone apart, doing so will void any guarantee that remains on the device.

Step Nine – The Best Methods to Dry the Phone

Once you have dried all visible liquid with a dry cloth or towel, it’s time to dry the phone thoroughly. Listed below are a few methods to help you do so.

• Vacuum the Phone – blow drying the water may not be a good idea, but you can try sucking it out with a vacuum. Do so with caution and avoid scratching the phone or creating static

• Rice – this is a popular method for drying a wet phone, get hold of some uncooked rice and bury your phone in it; use a zip lock bag or air-tight container to contain the rice and phone. The rice will absorb any moisture remaining.

• Silica Gel – These are the little packets you find in shoe boxes or other accessories. The silica gel packs help absorb the moisture from the phone. Store the device with a few of these packs; do not use old ones as they may have already reached their absorbency capacity.

• Phone Drying Pouch – yes there is such a thing; if you already knew about it and bought one at the time of purchasing your phone, get it out and use it to dry your phone. If not, scour the online mobile phone stores and buy a phone drying pouch to use in case of an emergency.

Step Ten – Wait for the Drying Process to Complete

Leave your phone to dry at least 24 to 48 hours; at the end of this time, check and if any moisture remains let it dry longer.

Step Eleven – Power On

Once completely dry, attempt to power on your phone; if it turns on check for any odd noises, make sure the touchpad works, check if the speakers work and the phone is responding. If it does not turn on, connect a charger cable and see if the battery responds, you can try switching your battery with a compatible one to see if the battery was damaged. If not it’s off to the phone shop!

Good luck!