How do you fix a wet electronic device?

Answer 1

There are several ways to try and dry a wet device, like an iPod or cellphone. They work to differing degrees in different times, and can be used together or alone.

• Place it in a warm, dry room for a few days, testing daily to see whether it has dried yet.
• Turn a hair dryer to low and wave it over the device from about a foot away for 20 to 30 minutes. Test it, and continue drying for another 20 to 30 minutes if necessary.
• Place it in a cup of rice (rice absorbs water, but won't clog up the device).

Another Answer

Using a hair dryer is a very bad idea: all it does is push the water further into the cracks and crevices of the device, making the problem worse. Rice also does not work, as it does not absorb moisture from the air, and it only absorbs a significant amount of water if the water is boiling. The only reason people say it works is that sometimes, if the device wasn't too wet to begin with, it just dries out by itself. It would have dried out without the bag of rice, but since it was in the bag of rice, people think it was the rice that dried it. Not so. The device just dried by itself.

By far the best way to dry out wet electronic devices is with silica packets. You know those little packets you find inside your new shoes, or in your medication bottle? They usually say "Silica - Do Not Eat?" These packets draw in and absorb moisture. They are put in shoes and medication bottles to keep humidity and moisture from ruining the product. Sometimes in medication bottles they come not in packets, but in little white plastic cylinders.

Every time you find a silica packet or plastic cylinder, save it. Put all of them in a sealed plastic bag, so they stay fresh and do not absorb moisture from the air. Next time one of your electronic devices gets wet, wrap it in a paper towel and seal it up in the bag with the silica packets. Wait 3 to 5 days. Your device should be good as new.

Several months ago I dropped my TV remote into a bucket of water. I didn't even notice at first, so the remote stayed submerged for nearly 10 minutes. After shaking the excess water out of it, I wrapped it in a paper towel and put it into a Ziploc bag full of silica packets and cylinders I had saved. Five days later I took it out, and it was good as new. It's still working perfectly, some 8 months later.

Answer 2

If you haven't applied power to the video card, don't. Remove it and let it thoroughly dry out (give it two to three days) and then re-install it to see if it works.

Today's electronics circuit boards are usually sealed with some type of coating, like epoxy to seal them from the elements and once dried out will continue to work. All you can do is give it a try and if it doesn't, then you'll know it's time for a replacement card.