Having a Teenager = Washing a Cell Phone: What to Do?

Yes, it happened. My daughter left her cell phone in her pocket and my husband washed it in the washing machine. It actually made it into the dryer but the initial thud was quickly investigated and the cell phone found.

My husband, being an engineer, was quick on the uptake and quickly took the battery off and did NOT turn on the phone to see if it worked. He dried off the battery and the phone, left it in the sun in a dry place (our house is very drive because the heat is on) and let it sit for 24 hours before attempting to turn it on. Amazingly, the cell phone worked briefly with the same battery, just enough for us to see that the data was still intact. He then charged the battery.

After the charge, we could see a little water behind the screen, but within a day that cleared up too. The phone works just fine now!

There are some factors that might have helped in this situation. First, the phone was off when it went into the washing machine. Second, it is a flip phone so it might be more protected. Third, it doesn't have any fancy cameras or anything in it. It is a Samsung A660 model. I also disabled the Internet option simply because it is just too much temptation for her.

Anyhow, I have a suggestion for Consumer Reports. At the end of their evaluation of cell phones, they should give it the washing machine test. Insurance policies are expensive, and if there is a chance that a phone can come out of the process and still be usable, that is a big selling point for parents! (By doing a Google search, this seems to happen quite a bit, and not just with teenagers.)

If you have washed your cellphone, please let me know! Also let me know the outcome... did the phone work? I also found a cellphone cleaning/drying service out there. If you have used that service, I'd love to know! Thankfully, we didn't have to try it.

Comments

[Meg]

My cell phone went into the washing machine also! I am not a teen! When I tried it, it did not work! It was turned on when it went into the machine. I let it air dry for about 6 hours and it still did not work. I then plugged it into the charger and it worked with everything in tact! I was so happy! my phone is a samsung SGH-c207. I just thought people needed a good wet cell phone story!!!

[jim]

dont worry guys! get a waterproof body for your mobile phone

[Amadou Diallo]

Hi,
I'm very nervous now because I just washed my cell phone and I'm scared of wearing my clothes. I don't know what are cell phone screens made off? If it is Mercury, I'm worried that with the G's associated with spinning the washer, some mercury if not all was not expelled out of the cell phone and is present in my clothes. I don't know where to get info about that. And I don't know if it is safe to wear my clothes.
I hope you have some info for me.
Thanks.

[Mike]

umm... i have a LG VX5200 flip phone and it was in my pants pocket when i put it in the washing machine. i noticed my phone was in there when the dryer was half way done. i turned on my phone and the display screen wouldnt show up so i turned it back off. any suggestions?

[kim]

I just put a sony cam cell in the wash last night, while it was on. i did open up the display screen side a bit because there was tons of condensation in there, and I had the tool to unscrew those crazy hex/phillips hybrid screws or whatever those are. But, I couldnt get the ones out were the keypad and speaker is, so oh well.
Its sitting by the window, with the battery out and I figure I will wait till tomorrow to test it. If anyone has any reminders other than what I have read, I'll be checking back in the morning before I put in the battery.
Thanks for all the info.

[danielle]

Okay, so today I washed my boyfriends phone in the wash. He doesn't know yet and I hope it dries out and works before I tell him because that would be horrible if I had to tell him I washed it and now it does not work at all. Wish me luck!