Does Putting Water Damaged iPhone in Rice Have Any Use?

Water is a very common threat to electronic devices and water damage is a common hazard for phone damage, here is a simple solution with rice which can save your phone

Water is what makes most of the life on the planet but at the same time, it is known to be not so friendly when it comes to electronics. Almost all of us has a story to tell where our phone or something else fell into the water and never made its way out. Sadly, this is not something that is uncommon as it has happened to the best of us.
I remember this one time I got a brand new OnePlus 6T McLaren Edition and the day after I bought it, the phone went straight into the pool of water and although I was quick enough to take it out of the water and dry it out, it was too late as the front camera had developed humidity. I tried every known method I had in my book but nothing worked.
Eventually, the humidity made its way out as I went on with my usage, and I was very relieved by the whole debacle, to begin with. However, at the same time, I have to say that not everyone is as lucky as I was in that situation, and there is always a chance of critical failure that we must be able to understand, to begin with.
Thankfully, modern-day smartphones are water-resistant but the thing is that not all of us are rocking flagship devices, to begin with. So, there is still someone out there who is using an older iPhone that is in perfect working condition they end up dropping it in water. The first thing after the panic is how to dry it out. Our initial suggestion would take it out of the water as soon as possible and dry it out in the best possible manner and then you start thinking about what to do.
Ideally, I would put the phone in a bucket of rice and leave it there overnight but a lot of the times, people are asking me just why that is needed, in the first place. Well, that is what we are going to talk about in this article. The question on hand refers to whether putting water damaged iPhone in rice has any use or not.

What Happens When You Put Your Wet Phone in Uncooked Rice?

Now, almost all of us have found ourselves in a situation where we have encountered stuff that needed to be put into uncooked rice, but a lot of the times, we do it just because we heard someone say it. But here is the thing, there is proper science behind it.

You see, uncooked rice can act as a desiccant, which happens to be a hygroscopic substance that is normally used to induce or sustain a state of dryness wherever its place. It has a great property of absorbing water, ensuring that everything remains moisture-free, and there is no water left in the form of droplets or humidity. The most common form of desiccant is the silica gel packets that we see, but not a lot of people know that a bag of uncooked rice works just as well.

So, if you have a phone that was dropped into water, burying your device in a bowl or a bag of uncooked rice is definitely a good idea as it will soak out any water or moisture, leaving a completely dry phone in general.

Now, you need to understand that in order for this process to work, your phone must not have suffered from any damage prior to being put in the rice bag. Simply because the rice is only going to suck out all the water, not magically fix your phone or whatever electronic device you have. If the screen has water inside it will need to be replaced as some areas are hard to remove water.

Now that we have it out of the way, we have to take a look at everything we must do when the phone does get wet. But first, we have to remain hopeful that it never comes to that.

What Should You Do In Case Your Phone Gets Wet?

Okay now, this is certainly one of the toughest questions that a lot of people are going to face but a lot of the times, you are going to run into issues with this and you might panic. However, in case of your phone getting wet, there are some steps that you will have to take in order to prevent any further damage, and below, we are going to explore those so you know what you should be doing.

Turn Off The Device

If your phone has fallen into the water and it is still powered on, the first step is to turn it off right away. Don’t wait for it to die or anything. Simply turn it off, if it has a removable battery, you should remove the battery right away, but considering how we are talking an iPhone, turning it off is the only way out.

The reason behind this is simple. By turning it off, you are cutting the power source from everywhere, which means that there will be no power channelling through the device, which means that the chances of any short circuit happening are not going to be there, which certainly is an important thing when it comes to making sure that your phone does not get damaged beyond repair

Start By Cleaning The Exterior

Okay, a lot of people make the mistake of putting the phone as it is in a bag of rice, and while that might seem like the smart idea. I would suggest that you clean the exterior and make sure that it is dry in the best possible way from every corner. That way, you will not have to worry about any more issues coming in the way, as you would be able to ensure that the outside of your iPhone is completely clean.

Get a Bowl or Pack of Clean, Uncooked Rice

The next step is rather simple, you have to find a bowl or a packet of clean, uncooked rice. The reason why I say clean is that there are times that uncooked rice is full of dust or other such abrasive material which might look like it’s harmless but in reality, can damage your phone’s internals or your phone’s externals as well. Especially if it’s dust or sand, and the phone is made out of glass, then you should be prepared for scratches.

Once you have ensured that the rice is completely clean, make sure that you bury the device inside of the rice, and seal the packet, and leave it for 24 hours, but that’s minimum. If the phone was submerged into the water for longer, then you might need to let the phone remain under the bag of rice for over 48 hours.

Once the time has passed, carefully remove the phone from the rice, you might see some substance on the phone, make sure you give it a thorough cleaning with a slightly damp or completely dry piece of cloth and once you are done, try switching it on before you put it on the charge. Make sure that you are not putting it on charge right away.

To ensure that there is no water, shake your phone carefully but with force and see if any water makes its way out.

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