How to Dry a Cell Phone Out With Rice

Any type of uncooked rice works for drying a cellphone.

When disaster strikes and your cell phone ends up soaked with liquid, don't panic. If you act quickly, your phone won't need replacing. With just a bowl of uncooked rice, your phone can be up and running within 24 hours. The rice pulls the moisture out of your phone and dries the water-logged interior areas of your cell phone.

Things You'll Need

• Bowl or large baggie
• Rice, uncooked

Instructions

1. Turn off your phone. Do not turn it on to see whether it works or not. The water in the phone conducts electricity all over the internal circuits, causing the phone to short out.

2. Pour the dry rice into a bowl or a large baggie. Pour enough to cover the cellphone parts.

3. Place the cellphone components into the bowl of rice and cover them completely. Do not worry about dust from the rice getting into the phone. Do not use compressed air to blow out any dust from the phone, because you could drive dust into the phone where it mixes with water and cakes onto internal components.

4. Wait at least 24 hours before removing the phone from the rice. If your phone was completely submerged, wait up to one week. Replace the battery and turn the phone on.

Tips & Warnings

• You may need to purchase a new battery if the phone doesn't turn on after sitting in the rice. Try this before replacing the phone.

• If the phone falls in the toilet, you can wipe the outside with alcohol to sanitize it, but do not submerge your phone in alcohol.

• Using a microwave or a blow dryer to dry the phone permanently damages components inside the cell phone.

References

• "Popular Mechanics"; How to Save Your Wet Cellphone: Tech Clinic Read more: How to Dry Out a Cell Phone - Fix a Wet Cell Phone; Joel Johnson; July 2008