You get caught up in the rain, your phone fell into the pool or in the bathroom, your baby was playing with your phone and tossed it in water. There are different ways this could go.
One way or another, your phone gets wet. It’s nothing new. Some people just pick up theirs, clean it, and it worked, while for others the phone won’t even start.
Therefore it all comes down to this, how to get water out of your phone. The most common fix is to drop your phone in rice to remove the water. However, there are other effective ways to get water out of your phone. So in this article, I’ll be sharing tips on how to get water out of your phone with or without rice.
How to Get Water Out Of Your Phone Step-By-Step
Step 1: Remove Your Phone From The Water Immediately
The longer your phone stays in the water, the more damage it causes. Therefore, take it out of the water immediately. If the phone was connected to a charger when it got into water, unplug the charger from the wall socket, then unplug the phone from it. Do this quickly to prevent a short circuit or electrical damage.
Step 2: Turn OFF the phone
Do not attempt to open or use anything on your phone—simply switch it off immediately. Generally, switching the phone off ensures that there is no electricity running that could cause the phone to develop faults since water is a powerful conductor.
Step 3:Remove the Pouch, Battery, and SIM Card
If a pouch protects your phone, remove it immediately. Also, take out the SIM card and battery (if it is removable). Just remove anything removable because anything connected to your phone is susceptible to water damage and can also trap water inside the phone.
Step 4: Use a Lint-Free Towel to dry it
Drying it is part of the steps to get water out of your phone. So if you have a DSLR or wear glasses, chances are you keep a lint-free towel on hand. However, if you don’t have one, you can always use a paper towel or dry washcloth.
Step 5: Remove as much water as possible
By the time you’re finished, both the front and back of the phone should be fully dry. Next, ensure that you put the cloth into every hole in the phone, like the headphone jack, charging port, and SIM slot. Don’t rush it, do it gently because the more water you can get rid of, the better the chances of your phone working again.
Step 6: Additional water should be sucked out using a vacuum
If you have a wet/dry vacuum cleaner, such as a Shop-Vac, you can use it to extract additional water from the phone. Other vacuum cleaners may work; however, ensure that the vacuum you use will not develop faults if it gets wet.
Step 7: Air or Sun the Phone
Leave your phone in front of a standing fan and allow the air concentrate on the phone, leave the phone in a well-ventilated area to dry out, or leave the phone under direct sunlight so the heat dries the water.
Step 8: Cat litter also works
Get 4 to 5 cups of crystal-based cat litter or about 1 to 2 quarts. Crystal cat litter is made of silica gel, and you can find it in almost every grocery or pet store. Silica gel is very absorbent, and it will efficiently get water out of your phone. Use ONLY crystal cat litter. Like the clay-based or powdery types, other cat litter would stick to your phone, leaving a wet mess.
Get a big dry container, like a mixing bowl or a large saucepan, and place your phone in it with its face down and its back cover removed. Pour a substantial amount of the cat litter or silica gel into the container making sure the phone is completely submerged. That should thoroughly get water out of your phone. Leave it in for about 2-3 days to make sure the phone is completely dry before re-assembling it.
Step 9: Use instant oatmeal
Instant oatmeal is another good material for getting water out of your phone. Being more absorbent than regular rolled oats, it will come in handy. Just dip it in a container of unflavoured instant oats. Do note that your phone may be covered in small, wet pieces of oatmeal crumbs. If you didn’t get instant oatmeal, regular oatmeal would suffice.
Read also: How to Get Water Out Of Phone Charging Port
How to Get Water Out Of Your Phone with Rice
Placing your phone in a bowl or container filled with uncooked rice is quite popular when trying to get water out of your phone. While this is not ideal, it is better than nothing, especially if you can’t access other drying agents.
There are a few minor nuances that make a significant impact on the effectiveness of this method.
- Turn off your phone, disassemble it as much as possible, and thoroughly dry the outside and charging port.
- Get a lidded container, fill it to the brim with enough raw rice to thoroughly encircle the phone on all sides.
- If your battery is detachable, put it in the rice as well.
- Place the rice and phone in front of a desk lamp or other low-heat source to aid in the evaporation process.
- Allow as much time as possible. Ideally, you should give it 48 hours or more, but leave it overnight if that is not possible. While certain phones will not be revived regardless of how long they are submerged in rice, the longer they are submerged, the better.
- Before reassembling the phone, thoroughly inspect it to ensure no grains of rice remain within. Particular attention should be paid to headphone sockets and charging ports. You can use simple tools like a toothpick or sliver of wood to clear these if you find any grains there.
Read also: iPhone Showing Charging But Battery Percentage Not Increasing? Best Fixes
How Long Do I Keep My Phone in Rice to Dry It Out
It’s preferable to leave your phone in rice for a minimum of 48 hours to get water out of your phone. Although there is no set time, leaving it for extended periods will guarantee that it dries completely. Additionally, avoid checking every hour to see if your phone is dried. Instead, allow 48 hours before reassembling and starting your phone.
Read also: iPhone Charging Port Not Working? Best Fixes
How to turn on water eject on iPhone?
You can get rid of moisture by using an app in your shortcuts. Before you can do this, you have the Shortcuts app downloaded on your iPhone already. If you’ve done that, here’s how to turn on water eject on your iPhone:
- On the ShortcutsGallery.com website, find the Water Ejects page and select Get Shortcut.
- Tap Add Shortcut.
- Next, go to My Shortcuts in the appand select Water Eject.
- Tap Start.
- Choose any of the intensity levels to begin ejecting. Your phone will begin to vibrate, and when the process is done, your phone will stop, and you’ll see a notification and a confirmation sound. If some parts are still wet after inspection, you can start the Water Eject again and do it repeatedly until you’re satisfied.
How to Get Water Out Of Your Phone without Rice
There are alternative drying agents to rice that you can use to get water out of your phone. Here are some other drying agents you can try if you don’t have rice: crystal-based cat litter, instant oatmeal, synthetic desiccant packets, rice, and instant couscous pearls.
Once you’ve chosen your drying agent, the following steps are necessary
- Get a big container or bowl and place your phone inside it
- Pour at least four cups of your chosen drying agent into the bowl
- Leave your phone in the bowl for 48-72 hours to dry
- After that drying period, remove your phone
- Rearrange it and power it on
How to get silica pearls?
You can get silica gel packets in your local grocery store or a pet store. You can also find small packets of it in boxes of new shoes or electronics or bags of dried fruits or clothes, with a label “DO NOT EAT.”
How does rice fix a wet phone?
Rice, particularly instant rice, is parboiled, which increases its porosity and makes it more absorbent of moisture. However, it is not a first choice for drying wet appliances as it isn’t as effective as silica gel, and it contains starch, which may further corrode components. Its grains can also get stuck in cracks or device seams.
How to get water out of an iPhone camera?
An effective way to get water out of your iPhone camera is to blow the moisture out with compressed air. Or use a vacuum cleaner and set a low pressure to suck the air out. Alternatively, you could submerge it in a bowl of silica gel packets or a Ziploc bag. This would effectively get rid of the condensation that fogs the lens.
How to tell if iPhone has water damage?
You can check for water damage in your iPhone or if water has seeped into its components by looking in the SIM card slot. iPhones have something called a Liquid Contact Indicator inside the SIM card slot.
When you remove the SIM card tray and see red color, water has gotten into the phone. If there is no water damage, the colour would be white or silver. Alternatively, corrosion or a fuzzy growth in the SIM/Memory port, charging port, or headphone jack could indicate water in your iPhone.
How to get water out of your microphone?
Gently shake your phone rapidly to get rid of water from your microphone. You could also use a hairdryer. Set the dryer on low heat and aim it at your microphone from a distance of at least 18 inches. A vacuum could also work to suck the extra moisture out.
How long can an iPhone 12 stay underwater?
The iPhone 12 has an IP rating of 68 which means it can stay underwater for 30 minutes at 6 meters.
Can iPhone 11 go underwater?
The iPhone 11 is rated at an IP of 68, meaning that it can be submerged underwater for 1.5 meters.
How to get silica pearls?
You can get silica gel packets in your local grocery store or a pet store. You can also find small packets of it in boxes of new shoes or electronics or bags of dried fruits or clothes, with a label “DO NOT EAT.”
Conclusion
We’ve all experienced it before, or someone we know has. It can be pretty frustrating when our phones get wet. Most especially if you are like me and your iPhone is a huge part of your day-to-day job. However, we have discovered different ways to help you get water out of your phone, different from the generic use of uncooked rice. You can try any of the ideas I’ve stated above, and you are good to go.
John follows everything happening in the tech industry, from the latest gadget launches to some of the big-name moves in the industry. He covers opinionated pieces and writes on some of the biggest names in the industry. John is also a freelance writer, so he shares articles on freelancing every now and then. email: john@tekpip.com Learn more about tekpip and the team here on our about us page.