Drying wet phone in a rice bag: Myth or Fact

Drying wet phone is still needed even though your phone is waterproof. We know it’s heartbreaking to see your phone getting drenched in water. Whatever the reason might be, the after-effects are scary and expensive. With the recent onset of water-resistant phones you can be safe to some extent as they are water-resistant but not waterproof and if you don’t fall under that category, don’t panic., we got you with a few things to keep in your mind at that time.

So What exactly happens when a phone gets wet like falling in a pool, a sink, or a water splash? 

Water enters the device through the charging port, speakers, headphone jack, and any other openings on the phone. If it is left unattended for a long time, this water goes deeper into the circuits causing great damage. This is when everyone googles for ideas and the very first one to pop up is the rice water hack. 

Will Drying wet phone in rice work?

 According to some research, this hack has been on the internet even before the smartphone’s entry into this world. It would be hard for some people to believe these hacks in this 5G generation but still end up doing them to save their dying phone by any means. Placing a wet phone in a bag full of uncooked rice won’t save the device, instead, it can lead to more damage as the starch in the rice corrodes circuits, according to phone experts. Many argue over the web that rice acting as a dehumidifying agent absorbs moisture naturally and made their phones dry and damage-free, but it could have dried faster if it was left to dry out in the air, and sometimes it is just mere luck. Some studies show only 13% of water comes out after placing it in a rice bag for 48 hours. 

Now that we know that this trick is not going to help us, do follow these steps without losing your hope. 

• First, remove it from the water ASAP.
• Switch it off and don’t try to press any other buttons to check if it is working or not, as this lets more water seep in.
• Remove SIM cards, memory cards, battery if you can, and let the phone stay still.
• You can wipe off the water with a soft microfiber cloth and use 90% isopropyl alcohol to rub the internal parts.
• You can rush to any phone service center to get this done if you can’t do it personally. This is the best thing that aids us.
• Let it air dry or fan dry for 24 hours or 48 hours if you can. Don’t use any hair drier as it pushes water into dry parts, making it worse. You can use vacuum cleaners with low pressure to suck out the water from the device.
• Be patient for at least 48 hours as this is going to take time, mostly a few days in many cases.
• If none of the above steps work, please go to the nearest certified store.

So we conclude that using uncooked rice bags for drying out wet phones is an age-old myth still in practice. If you ever come across someone trying this hack, be the myth-buster. And lastly, take extra care of electronic devices coming in contact with water because prevention is better than cure.

Now you learned a myth buster, it’s time to learn more at How to section in Half of The.