PSA – How to save your phone from a watery grave

This WIRED article (link HERE) makes clear that using a hairdryer and/or putting your phone in a bag of rice are not good ideas. Your best strategy (my take on the article):

  1. Turn your phone off ASAP to prevent short circuits.
  2. Wipe it dry with a paper towel (or whatever you have handy), trying to keep water from leaking inside.
  3. Put your phone into a sealed container (or zip-tight bag) filled with desiccant packets like the ones that come packed with shoes or vitamins for 24-48 hours. (That’s a long time!)

My key takeaway? I need to start saving those random little desiccant packets now so we’ll have them on hand when a wet-phone emergency happens. And maybe carry a little zippered bag of them with me in case things go terribly wrong as I’m taking pictures on a rainy day or during a snowstorm.

David Carrington, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0&gt;, via Wikimedia Commons

About Katherine Wikoff

I am a college professor (PhD in English, concentration rhetoric) at Milwaukee School of Engineering, where I teach film and media studies, political science, digital society, digital storytelling, writing for digital media, and communication. While fragments of my teaching and scholarship interests may quite naturally meander over to my blog, this space is intended to function as a creative outlet, not as part of my professional practice. Opinions are my own, etc.
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8 Responses to PSA – How to save your phone from a watery grave

  1. Alien Resort says:

    Good idea to start saving those.

    Liked by 1 person

  2. mworfolk says:

    Yikes! That is good to know. I was this close to just throwing away the dessicant packet I received with something recently, and thanks to your post I have saved it. I hope I don’t have to use it, and I hope you don’t need to use yours either!

    Liked by 1 person

  3. bmaneval says:

    Another solid idea instead of hoarding packets, find a good waterproof protective case for your phone. If you have a smart phone, protective cases abound. If you have that phone in the pic, I’d say the cosmos is suggesting you get a new(er) phone AND a protective case (though newer phones come with a standard IP67/68 type of waterproofing. Special nanotechnology coating to allow a phone to be submerged for up to 30 minutes in 3-6’of water. Anyway, some unsolicited advice….

    Liked by 1 person

    • I do have a smartphone and case, but I don’t know if it’s waterproof. I guess it probably at least provides an extra layer of
      protection, though. I appreciate your advice. I’ll check out the cases at my phone store. Although I figured there must be special cases for people who do underwater photography, it didn’t occur to me that there might be a waterproof option suitable for everyday use. Thanks!

      Like

      • bmaneval says:

        In the past for my non-waterproof phones, I’ve relied on lifeproof/otterbox. All of my phones have weathered everything I’ve thrown at them. They are reputable and one company, two different brands. Depending on how old your phone is, I would also advise checking out a simple query online, just type in your phone model and the word waterproof. The specs may give you an idea. As stated earlier, look for terms such as: IP67/68. You should be good to go now that you now know everything I know about technology. I caution you to not spend it all in one place

        Liked by 1 person

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