Jackson Jambalaya

Dropped your phone in the water and don't want to pay $300 for another one (ex. Blackberry)? Thought you would send in your phone claiming it was broken only to find out those pesky little humidity stickers inside the phone betrayed your intentions to Verizon or better yet, found out your cell phone insurance had a nice deductible of $125 and now you really need to save that phone? Here is what you do. I did this two weeks ago.

1. IMMEDIATELY take the battery out of phone. Biggest risk is water and current as they don't mix, so get the two apart pronto.
2. Rinse with DISTILLED water. It's de-ionized. Use it anyway. Regular water has a hard water component which can cause corrosion, and other liquids have contaminants which can do the same. This is the key step.
3. Dry with compressed air (the same you use on a computer). Do NOT use a hairdryer as it can cause condensation in the lens and warp the glues and other sensitive materials inside OR set your blowdryer on COLD and use it.
4. Ready for this? BURY your cellphone in RICE for two days. You read right: r-i-c-e. It absorbs the moisture out of the phone. The small silica packets found in drug bottles work even better. However, bury the phone in rice. It needs to be covered completely and do the same for the battery. Cover the container with a lid so it's in a somewhat sealed environment. After 48 hours, the phone should work.

This worked for my Blackberry Curve two weeks ago after I dropped it in water. Got it out instantly, dried it,no dice. Found this technique online and it worked. This method does not work on iphones usually as you can't remove the battery without considerable effort and the iphone is sealed anyway. Apple doesn't fix them for water damage nor does the insurance cover it.