# My cat, my sink, and a soaking wet phone.



## Droidscythe (Jun 10, 2011)

So... I came into my bathroom after running around the house and it would appear as if my cat had knocked my phone into my sink, which was full of water. I grabbed the thing, ripped off the case and back, and pulled the battery. I did a complete tear down of my phone, dried what I could and let it sit till I felt it was truly dry. Phone booted up, and everything seemed fine... Then I noticed today that the camera was dead. No camera apps will load, and the front camera appears dead as well. I took it apart again to see if I left it unplugged and it was connected.

Then I remembered that when I picked up the phone, the tiny flashlight app turned on my flash when it was picked up. I'm kind of not sure what to do here... Any advice would be helpful, I need a camera.

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## droidmakespwn (Jun 14, 2011)

Do you have insurance that covers it? Sorry to ask the obvious.

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## Barf (Sep 26, 2011)

Kill the cat. Then use insurance to get a replacement.


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## Art Vandelay (Jan 4, 2012)

Put the phone in rice, maybe some parts are still wet. Otherwise you are SOL unless you have insurance.

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## mustbepbs (Nov 19, 2011)

I agree with the posters above.

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## fcisco13 (Jul 26, 2011)

Art Vandelay said:


> Put the phone in rice, maybe some parts are still wet. Otherwise you are SOL unless you have insurance.
> 
> Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using RootzWiki


Yes put some rice, phone on top and add some etouffee!

G Nexus


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## miketoasty (Jun 10, 2011)

I would have to agree with everyone else put it in rice and hope for the best.

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## event121 (Jun 7, 2011)

Barf said:


> Kill the cat. Then use insurance to get a replacement.


Insurance will replace cats?


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## ap4tor (Dec 24, 2011)

You may be lucky with washing the boards with rubbing alcohol. Hard water could leave mineral deposits behind. Alcohol should dry quickly. Don't get it on the screen though. I killed my OG screen like that.


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## GrandMasterB (Jan 24, 2012)

Your cat, my shotgun, and a hole in your backyard.


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## pmoradi2002 (Jan 7, 2012)

You might be too late, it sounds like the board is shorting.

For future reference, after pulling the battery and drying whatever you can, place the phone in a bowl of rice for 24 hours.


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## cvbcbcmv (Sep 14, 2011)

Yeah just put it in rice for a good 2 days just in case. Then see how it is, if the camera still isn't working then it's probably dead. I hope you can get an insurance replacement! It should only be around $80 if you have it, that's not too bad.


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## ElectroFetish (Sep 2, 2011)

What color is the cat? I'm looking for a black cat with white paws.


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## Jeremiah_1988 (Dec 10, 2011)

Learn how to troubleshoot your boards, might have to sodder in a new coil or something

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## micro23 (Sep 1, 2011)

Wait you left your phone in the bathroom next to a sink full of water? Since that makes no sense to me I have a hard time getting any further









This works for all electronics!!!!
As a hardware repair tech, I can vouch that everything said here is correct except a few things.* NEVER EVER try to turn on a spilled device in under 24 hours. *Always wait at least 24 hours before even attempting to turn the unit back on. Turning it on and sending electric thru the device is most often what causes the failure.

Also do not put the phone in a bag and then pour in rice. Take a ziplock bag fill it with rice (or the little bags of pellets that come in new electronics or food they suck up moisture) and then put a little piece of paper towel or something between the device and the rice. Do not pour rice on top of your device it will get inside and get stuck in the device. Then seal the bag and let it sit for 24 hours. The rice or pellets will suck out any water.


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## Droidscythe (Jun 10, 2011)

Yeah no insurance, but thanks for the obvious responses. I did toy with the idea of throwing my cat off the back patio. I'm going to try the alcohol idea and ill let you know what happens.

My theory is moisture stuck under the flash fixture. I may try and find a safe way to remove that and clean it out.

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## auxiliarypie (Jan 3, 2012)

well since you dont have insurance, might as well take the thing apart and hope for the best


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## NegativeOne13 (Dec 27, 2011)

If it makes you feel any better, I was using the restroom on the phone. Went to hang up and dropped the phone in the toilet filled with urine. I admit I reached in for the dear life of my HeroC. Luckily the battery fell out when it hit the bottom, so I thought. Took it apart, cleaned it all with rubbing alcohol inside and outside for obvious reasons, and blew it out with compressed air. Turned it on and the screen was cracked.... everything else worked perfectly fine. I ended up just buying another HeroC off eBay. Just a little relief hopefully, ps cats are bastards.


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## davidnc (Jun 7, 2011)

Droidscythe said:


> I did toy with the idea of throwing my cat off the back patio.
> Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using RootzWiki


Jump off the back patio yourself instead of throwing cat off it.
You left water in sink,,, wasnt the cats fault

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus


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## ERIFNOMI (Jun 30, 2011)

davidnc said:


> Jump off the back patio yourself instead of throwing cat off it.
> You left water in sink,,, wasnt the cats fault
> 
> Sent from my Galaxy Nexus


I'm sure it wouldn't have jumped in the sink on its own if the cat weren't there. Damn cats.


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## mustbepbs (Nov 19, 2011)

Yeah I don't really understand how you thought leaving your expensive device anywhere near a sink, let alone one filled with water, was a good idea. My phone comes with me to the pot, but I have my hands extended over any possible opening holding the phone and it immediately goes into my pocket when I flush.

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## Barf (Sep 26, 2011)

No need to rip on the OP, he knows he made a mistake and is just asking for help to correct it. Takes a lot of balls to admit a mistake I'm sure many have made and he most certainly won't do again.


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## idefiler6 (Sep 3, 2011)

*Related.*


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## Deathshead (Aug 15, 2011)

Do not use rice, go to a craft store, and pickup a tub of silica used for drying flowers, its MADE to suck moisture out of anything.

its like $5.00 put it in there for 2-3 days sealed. Blow it out with compressed air and see what happens.


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## doobie711 (Jan 24, 2012)

davidnc said:


> Jump off the back patio yourself instead of throwing cat off it.
> You left water in sink,,, wasnt the cats fault
> 
> Sent from my Galaxy Nexus


I gotta say it was the cats fault. Cats are indeed bastards and get jealous of nice new toys so they destroy them to get attention.


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## ERIFNOMI (Jun 30, 2011)

Deathshead said:


> Do not use rice, go to a craft store, and pickup a tub of silica used for drying flowers, its MADE to suck moisture out of anything.
> 
> its like $5.00 put it in there for 2-3 days sealed. Blow it out with compressed air and see what happens.


Rice sucks up moisture as well and chances are he might have it on hand. It's not going to hurt anything to put it in rice but there's a chance that it's too late at this point and the damage has been done. He should have done this before turning it on.


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## idefiler6 (Sep 3, 2011)

doobie711 said:


> I gotta say it was the cats fault. Cats are indeed bastards and get jealous of nice new toys so they destroy them to get attention.


And knowing is half the battle.


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## BlackDobe (Sep 2, 2011)

My vote is to buy a cat carrier & a large trash bin. Follow these simple steps to success.
Step 1: Fill large trash bin with water.
Step 2: Fill cat carrier with cat.
Step 3: Submerge cat carrier in large trash bin.
Step 4: Profit.


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## youneek (Jul 25, 2011)

I have a friend who used to pee himself when he was drunk. Every time he would fall asleep with his phone in his pocket. He would turn it on in the morning and it wouldn't work so I would take the entire thing apart and then use an eraser to clean every piece of the board where you would see something probably shorted and sparked and then I would let it dry out for a day (I also dried the pieces with a paper towel while it was in pieces). It worked 100% of the time.

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## bawb3 (Nov 20, 2011)

My cats love knocking over any liquid in a glass. Two dead Nintendo ds's and a dead phone later we finally learned to not set electronics near any standing fluids.


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## idefiler6 (Sep 3, 2011)

youneek said:


> I have a friend who used to pee himself when he was drunk. Every time he would fall asleep with his phone in his pocket. He would turn it on in the morning and it wouldn't work so I would take the entire thing apart and then use an eraser to clean every piece of the board where you would see something probably shorted and sparked and then I would let it dry out for a day (I also dried the pieces with a paper towel while it was in pieces). It worked 100% of the time.
> 
> Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk


You should suggest he get a holster or something lol.


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## superchunkwii (Aug 5, 2011)

bawb3 said:


> My cats love knocking over any liquid in a glass. Two dead Nintendo ds's and a dead phone later we finally learned to not set electronics near any standing fluids.


Too bad you didn't learn to not own a freakin' cat. Those monsters are horrible and they taste like poo.


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## Art Vandelay (Jan 4, 2012)

youneek said:


> I have a friend who used to pee himself when he was drunk. Every time he would fall asleep with his phone in his pocket. He would turn it on in the morning and it wouldn't work so I would take the entire thing apart and then use an eraser to clean every piece of the board where you would see something probably shorted and sparked and then I would let it dry out for a day (I also dried the pieces with a paper towel while it was in pieces). It worked 100% of the time.
> 
> Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk


Seriously, why would you want to touch your friends pee phone?

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## ronsa (Jul 12, 2011)

I would have to agree with ap4tor. Been in industrial electronics for 30 years. Isopropal alcohol 90% works the best. leave dry overnight or an oven with the door open at the lowest setting for an hour. Good luck. power to wet or damp circuits don't mix. ;(


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## bdsullivan (Jun 25, 2011)

Cats have got to be the worst pet to have. They are 100% useless. Hope you get your phone working.

Maybe we should start a cat bashing thread. I am cracking up at all the great ideas on how to deal with them.

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## peanut_butter (Aug 6, 2011)

Classic case of you showing your phone more attention than the cat. The cat wanted revenge, so he waited for the right moment to strike or splash as I should say. Next thing you know BOOM Nexus homicide. The cat should get the gas chamber, or at least stick tape to the bottom of his paws and watch him walk around. Case closed. I'll send you me fee for the investigation through pm.

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## bawb3 (Nov 20, 2011)

superchunkwii said:


> Too bad you didn't learn to not own a freakin' cat. Those monsters are horrible and they taste like poo.


Wasn't my decision haha I'd rather a dog


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## bawb3 (Nov 20, 2011)

Double post, I'm drunk


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## imperivm (Jan 26, 2012)

Put the cat in rice.


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## Barf (Sep 26, 2011)

imperivm said:


> Put the cat in rice.


Like in a sushi roll? I could dig it.


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## SpinningHook (Jun 15, 2011)

Art Vandelay said:


> Seriously, why would you want to touch your friends pee phone?
> 
> Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using RootzWiki


And on more than one occasion, at that.

It's cool to help a friend out, but I draw the line when it comes to having to be in contact with their urine under any circumstances. Next time he R Kellys the phone, tell him to get a new one and to keep it somewhere where it won't come in contact with urine.


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